The BrainPort: Using Your Tongue to See

Imagine if you will what something might look like if it were drawn on your tongue. This idea is the foundation of the BrainPort, an experimental device being developed to help the blind see the world around them. The BrainPort uses sensory substitution in the same way as braille, and the thought is that if the blind are able to read language using their hands, than they should be able to understand images drawn on their tongues.

The BrainPort is not a very complicated device. It uses a small camera that is hooked to a pair of sunglasses, and than that image is translated into small electrical impulses on the tongue. This YouTube video shows an earlier prototype of the BrainPort in action.

In March of this year, WICAB the owner of the BrainPort and Eric Weihenmayer the world renound blind mountain climber unvailed the product at a conference in Wisconsin. Eric has been using the device since its earliest prototypes. Using the device, Eric has ben able to “avoid obstacles while walking, catch moving balls, identify and reach for objects, and play tic-cat-toe and rock-paper-scissors with his daughter.”

This technology sounds very promising to me. Although I think it might be a little strange to see using my tongue, I think seeing objects again would be amazing. The BrainPort is still in experimental stage, but WICAB hopes to be submitting their application to the FDA for approval to sell and market the BrainPort soon.

What other ways do you think sensory substitution could be used to help people with disabilities?