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This device helps the blind navigate by tingling their tongues
Remember the BrainPort, that device that helps the blind get around by sending electrical signals to their tongues? It's finally getting the green light. The Food and Drug Administration has cleared the BrainPort V100 for sale in the US, giving sightless Americans a unique way to augment their perception of the world around them. In its finished form, the BrainPort sends visual signals from a pair of camera-equipped glasses to a set of electrodes that stimulate your tongue based on object characteristics such as distance, movement and shape. You only need to pay close attention to the V100's tingles and vibrations to identify items. It's not the same as restoring vision and won't completely replace guide dogs or other conventional assistance, but it could fill in a lot of missing information.
BrainPort lets you see with your tongue, might actually make it to market
We first saw the crazy BrainPort in 2006, but the intervening time hasn't been wasted by its developers, who've brought the quirky visual aid to the cusp of commercial viability. If you'll recall, the device translates signals from a head-mounted camera to electrical pulses that lightly zap your tongue in response to visual stimuli -- early results have shown people can regain a good bit of their spatial awareness and even read large writing. The next step is FDA approval, which is expected by year's end, meaning that the BrainPort could arrive as early as 2010. There is a steep entry fee though, with prices expected to begin at $10,000, but the very fact you'll be able to buy it is a milestone in our book. Edifying video after the break. [Thanks, Toy]
