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]

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Wearables

BrainPort lets you see with your tongue, might actually make it to market originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This post is tagged: blind, blindness, brain, BrainPort, BrainPort Vision, BrainportVision, disability, eyes, eyesight, health, medicine, neural, sense, senses, sensory, sensory substitution, SensorySubstitution, tongue, vision, visual, Wicab