Cortical Cybernetic Implants

Floody writes "Wired is running a story with amazing cyberpunk "wow factor." Implanted visual cortex stimulation, complete with "percutaneous pedestal"; a metal jack installed directly into the skull. Where can I get a night vision enhancement module for this with HUD and distance finder?" We've posted a couple of previous stories about Dobelle and his work on bionic eyes, but this one has more details: one frame per second, $100,000. Wow.

Comments

Re:umm...

[romi]

yeah actually it says 10.9, which is Wired issue 9, volume 10 I believe - making it current (besides which it says september 2002 right next to it).

Re:X-ray vision?

[DunbarTheInept]

I would hope your microwave is shielded well enough that you *don't* see very much when you look at it with your x-ray vision. Plan on having kids?

The thing about the sorts of x-ray photos we've all seen before, like the type a doctor would use, is that to get such a photo requires more than just a device that can "see" x-rays on film. It also requires a device that *emits* them ot be seen, since, as the other poster pointed out, there isn't a whole lot of x-ray "light" down here on Earth occuring naturally. Thankfully.

Just like trying to use normal vision on somewhere like, say, Pluto, where you would need a flashlight to see anything, here on Earth you would need an x-ray "flashlight" to see anything with your x-ray vision. And I doubt you'd be allowed to just walk around dosing random strangers with it.

Not Useful?

[phriedom]

After one day of calibration and one day of the patient being plugged in so his brain learns to interpret the signals, patient alpha got into a car and drove it around the parking lot. Sure it started at 1 FPS when they turned him on, but it is clearly operating at a much higher level than that, and all with only one eye calibrated.