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
 |
Tongue-Controlled Tong Wearable Mouth Computer
Tong, the wearable tongue-controlled computer, was created by designer Dorothee Clasen for her master's degree at Köln International School of Design. The wearable part of the device is a dental retainer fitted with a tongue-ball with a magnet on a set of rails on the underside. A wire connects the brace to a Wi-Fi transmitter that hooks behind the ear.
To make Tong, a snugly-fitting retainer was made from a dental imprint using polyethylene terephthalate glycol, or PETG, a type of thermoplastic. To make it safe as an oral device, Clasen used silicon instead of glue to attach all of the electronics. The electric cables are also covered with a thin layer of silicon so as to not shock the wearer.Developing and testing Tong was a unique challenge for the designer.
"Building a wearable for an area of your own body was a bit tricky," Clasen told Dezeen.
"Normally you could stick your design to another person's body and work on shaping details. But in this case, the device would only fit into my mouth. I could not put it in my mouth and work on its shape at the same time," she continued.
(Via Dezeen.)
Although this idea has been instantiated before (see Tongue Controller Uses Tongue Magnets [2008]), this is a very nice implementation of the idea.
Science fiction readers may recall the dental switchboard that Gully Foyle had installed; here's an excerpt from Alfred Bester's 1956 classic The Stars My Destination:
He pressed hard with his tongue against his right upper first molar. The operation that had transformed half his body into an electronic machine, had located the control switchboard in his teeth. Foyle pressed a tooth with his tongue and the peripheral cells of his retina were excited into emitting a soft light...
(Read more about Bester's dental switchboard)
Use your finger, not your tongue, to click on any of these tongue interface stories. Because this is Technovelgy, and we've got your weird tech stories covered.
- Tongue Drive System Validated In Clinical TrialAlso, fans of sf writer Greg Bear will recall the tongue mouse from his 2007 story Quantico.
- iLickit App Reveals iPhone Tongue Interface
- Intraoral Tongue Drive System
- Tongue Mouse Created By Valve Engineer
- Cyborg Eye Flashlight Lights Up The Room
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 1/9/2023)
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 ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Computer ")
Jetson Orin Nano Super 70 Just $249
'Rayno folded up the microterm and tucked it back inside his jumper.' - Bruce Bethke, 1983.
Automatic Bot Traffic Is 38 Percent Of HTTP Requests
'there were so many worms and counterworms loose in the data-net...' - John Brunner, 1975
Neuroplatform Human Brain Organoid Bioprocessor Uses Less Electricity
'Cultured brains on a slab.'- Peter Watts, 1999
AI Worms That Spread
'...there were so many worms and counterworms loose in the data-net now' - John Brunner, 1975.
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
JAXA Int Ball 2 Coming Right Along As Star Wars Remote
'Hocus-pocus religions and archaic weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side.'
Robot Bricklayer Or Passer-By Bricklayer?
'Oscar picked up a trowel. 'I'm the tool for the mortar,' the little trowel squeaked cheerfully.'
Robot Gas Station Attendant Pumps Gas For You
'... he waited for the robotrix attendant to finish fueling up his ship.'
Engineer Creates Crazy Motorized Track Hospital Bed
The Roujin Z system provides care to fully bedridden patients - and then some!
Tiny Flying Robot Weighs Just One Gram
'Aerostat meant anything that hung in the air. This was an easy trick to pull off nowadays.'
Some Ringworld Configurations Are Stable
'The Ringworld had no horizon. There was no line where the land curved away from the sky.'
TRANSFORM Dynamic Furniture Concept Becomes What You Need
'An adjustment panel outside the door would cause it to extrude various appurtenances in memory plastic...'
Harvard Metamaterials Change Structure Instantly
'Annealed in any shape for a time, and codified, the structure of that shape is retained down to the molecules.'
SnapBot Robots - You Choose Their Legs And They Choose Their Gaits
It's not really polite to tear the limbs off robots.
Dino From Magical Toys An AI Companion To Children
'...the imaginary companions discovered by needful children.'
Humanoid Robots Building Humanoid Robots
''Pardon me, Struthers,' he broke in suddenly... 'haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?''
Darpa 'Defiant' Unmanned Autonomous Ship
'There was no wheel, and no steersman!'
What's The Best Way To Ship And Unpack Humanoid Robots?
'I opened the oblong box, where lay the automatons side by side...'
DNA Printed Book By Isaac Asimov Now Available
'They tied the memory to the bloodline and that was their record!'
AI Computer Chip Designs Passeth Human Understanding
'It seems that at one time computers were designed directly by human beings.'
Space Traffic Management (STM) Needed Now
'...the spot was a lonely one in an uncharted region, far from the normal lanes of space traffic.'
