Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Brainport Tongue Vision In Use By Navy SEALs
Soldiers have a lot of information to process; Army Rangers could use 360-degree vision, and Navy SEALs could use sonar vision under water. The Brainport can give it to them - through their tongues.
(Brainport tongue vision system test by Dr. Anil Raj)
The Brainport is a set of 144 microelectrodes that transmit information to the brain via the nerve fibers in the tongue. A narrow strip of red plastic connects a sonar device (or other source of live data) to the tongue of the user.
Veteran Navy Diver Michael Zinszer used it to sense compass direction and depth while in a swimming pool. He said it felt like having Pop Rocks candies on his tongue.
"You are feeling the outline of this image," he said. "I was in the pool, they were directing me to a very small object and I was able to locate everything very easily."
The device was pioneered more than thirty years ago by a University of Wisconsin neuroscientist, Dr. Paul Bach-y-Rita.
Right about now you might be thinking that the idea of being able to see with your tongue is too bizarre even for the world of science fiction. If so, you are wrong.
In the 1984 cult classic film The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai Across the 8th Dimension, Italian physicist Dr. Emilio Lizardo uses a tongue interface. In the film (take a deep breath here), Dr. Lizardo, in a failed attempt to create an oscillation overthruster, has his mind taken over by Lord John Whorfin, leader of the Red Lectroids, from another dimension. While imprisoned in an insane asylum, Whorfin/Lizardo constructs a device that lets him see into the past, clamping it carefully on to his tongue.
(Dr. Lizardo/Lord John Whorfin (John Lithgow) prepares his device)
I'm not going to claim this one as an sf prediction, because the purpose of the tongue clamp is not very well specified. However, this item leaves me up in the air on that whole "which is stranger - truth or fiction?" question.
Read more at Scientists Probe the Use of the Tongue.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 4/24/2006)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 2 )
Related News Stories - (" Display ")
iPhone Air Fulfils Jobs' Promise From 2007 - A Giant Screen!
'... oblongs were all over the floor and surfaces.' - Kazuo Ishiguro, 2021.
Transparent 4K OLED Wireless TV From LG
You will note that HG Wells also figured out the aspect ratio of the future!
DOTPad Braille Device Offers Live Access
Amazing tactile display.
Transparent MicroLED Screen From Samsung
Has Samsung nailed the Look of Things To Come?
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Natural Gait With Prosthetic Connected To Nervous System
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain...'
Woman Marries Computer, Vonnegut's Dream Comes True
'Men are made of protoplasm... Lasts forever.'
Spidery 'Walk Me' Toyota Autonomous Wheel Chair Like Star Wars
Walk along with the emperor.
Dancing Robots Taught Dance Moves
'A clockwork figure would be the thing for you...'
Proof Of Robothood - Not A Person
'Who are you people? - Show 'em.'
Indonesian Clans Battle
'The observation vehicle was of that peculiar variety used in conveying a large number of people across rough terrain.'
The 'Last Mile' In China Crowded With Delivery Robots
Yes, it's a delivery robot. On wheels.
Tornyol Microdrone Kills Mosquitoes
'The real border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.'
PLATO Spacecraft, Hunter Of Habitable Planets, Now Ready
'I ... set my automatic astronomical instruments to searching for a habitable planet.'
Factory Humanoid Robots Built By Humanoid Robots
'...haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?'
iPhone Air Fulfils Jobs' Promise From 2007 - A Giant Screen!
'... oblongs were all over the floor and surfaces.'
ChatGPT Now Participates in Group Chats
'...the city was their laboratory in human psychology.'
iPhone Pocket All Sold Out!
'A long, strong, slender net...'
Did The Yautja Have These First?
What a marvel of ingenuity the little device was!
Jetson ONE Air Races Begin, Can Air Polo Be Far Behind?
'If you're one of those rarities who haven't attended a rocket-polo "carnage", let me tell you it's a colorful affair.'
Will Space Stations Have Large Interior Spaces Again?
'They filed clumsily into the battleroom, like children in a swimming pool for the first time, clinging to the handholds along the side.'
