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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.
Where can I get a night vision enhancement module for this with HUD and distance finder?
.. uhh .. nevermind ;-)
Forget that, where can I get an x-ray enhancement? Nothing like seeing through
Yeah, sounds like oodles of fun. Shiver...
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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).
when I can sit down at a desk with maybe just a keyboard, and plug in the sound screen and everything directly into my head.
:-)
:-)
Sound would be amazing if they could get the entire range (including that which is naturally lost after childhood) to work. Imagine hearing music absolutely perfectly clear. Wouldn't that be awesome.
And screen would be even better. Considering I have contacts as is, so the screen isn't 100% clear, just good enough.
Imagine if they could have the screen show up with clarity beyond that of 20/20 or even 20/10 . Movies where everything is perfectly clear.
If scientists were to actually work on ways to "jack" ourselves in. There are so many things we could do with it. Even just the sheer speed increase of data entry if we just had to think about it.
The possiblities are endless...
~ kjrose
Now the question that would be interesting...
What happens with copyright laws when people have these (types of) implants in them?
If you can record, verbatim, (i.e. through the use of some static ram, etc) what you see as a "perfect" digital copy, then would that be copyright infringment? Is the implant going to be considered the same as other (external) hardware?
Its a sticky issue, imho- Will the copyright holder "rights" force us to unlearn what we have learned because they have a patent or copyright on the idea? What happens when the electronic thought ends up being the same as normal "human" thought because the devices are a part of us?
I imagine that "our" lawmakers havn't even considered considering such a thing. The lack of foresight isn't suprising, but it is disheartening.
-R
I will NOT be volunteering for beta-testing of. No, no and no. I'll wait for other people to pioneer this field. I like my brain, and until they get the "regenerate and repair of brain damage" thing down pat I'll wait. For people who need this, I'm happy it's advancing, but I want to give the tech a bit to mature to the point it's a viable elective option.
If I put a big-azz heatsink in my brain with the fins sticking out the back of my head, can I overclock it to get better framerates?
(Hmm, or watercooling. Overclock it and wander around with a big ice bath. :)
Just one question left - for those of us who checked "C++++" (I'll be first in line to get the new cybernetic interface installed into my skull. " in our Geek Code .sigs, where do we sign up?
Impractical but fun choice: Ability to see ultraviolet. Walk through a botanical garden and get a bee's-eye view.
Practical but more useful choice: Ability to see near infrared.
Impractical but even cooler choice: Ability to see far infrared. Know which dark alley the d00d you're trying to frag walked down... even if you're 5 minutes behind him. The coolant for the sensor might help with overclocking, too - anything to keep the frame-rate up! :)
And finally, some good uses for serious overclocking - real-time image reprocessing! Imagine driving with night-vision active at night (and software to filter out glare of incoming high-beams), and use the same software to highlight road signs and banner-block ugly billboards with pictures of trees or background patterns by day. Interface with GPS, visit New York and hack it to put up a picture of the WTC towers overtop of whatever sawed-off 20-storey mundane blocks they try to "replace" them with.)
Er, wouldn't it be easier to use wireless communications and transdermal power rather than poking holes in you're #1 infection prevention mechanism (your skin)?
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
At first, he is shown a lower res image (lower than 32x32) - he then is upgraded to 32x32 and asked if he can see anything. He can see blobs of color and such - but then suddenly, he says things "resolve", and he can see things more clearly. He asked if they upped the res again, and they responded "No", that his brain was re-learning the "see" the new image.
Now, I don't know what kind of image processing software and such they were using (for all I know it may be some simple image mosaic tiling software like is used to mask peoples faces on TV), but I wonder how "sharp" or well defined the image he saw was? Further I wonder if you did look at one of those mosaic images on a TV in the right conditions (ie, through an HMD with no outside light penetrating like the reporter wore), if the res would "pop up", and you could see who the real person was?
Also, this effect seems real similar to what was noted a long time ago back when VR was just getting started (early 90's), in that when using a low-res HMD (320x200 or less pixels), you had to "learn" to "look past" the pixels, and the image would slowly become clearer.
So, in the area of VR HMD research, I am wondering if resolution really matters at all, or if there is a minimum resolution you can give the eyes, and let the brain fill in the rest? If this is really the case, then wide FOV HMDs, using lower-res displays and some training (so the brain can learn to "see" in one of these things) could possibily bring VR back in the limelight.
Anybody have any thoughts or comments on this?
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
omg, then you'd be sleeping with fat chicks, overpaying for cars and freaking out when all your pepsis taste like another drink.
Liberty.
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.
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