Slashdot Mirror
Still More Bionic Eyes
jeno writes "An Australian-invented 'bionic eye' device is about to begin human trials. The device consists of a silicon chip inserted into the eye, which is designed to act like a retina -- receiving images captured by a pair of glasses worn by the user."
Well, I hope that radio signal is encrypted or keyed to the individual.. what if two of these folks stand right next to each other?? What if they walk near a radio transmitter, do their eyes go haywire??
Also, how do they know that animal trials were successful??
Just imagine if your bionic eyes get hacked and you spend 24/7 looking a banner ad burned into your silicon retina.
The article fails to mention how many frames per second (if that's the appropriate term) this technology would deliver... even 10x10 pixels would be helpful if delivered at 30 - 40 FPS, but almost worse than useless if delivered at 2 FPS...
The other bionic eye alluded to in the title is this article from Wired and its accompanying Slashdot post. Excellent read if you missed it.
:P
(And no, I don't need the karma, its stuck on... "yahoo, you're not 100% useless 'round here" or something...)
forma3
Speech for the Deaf, Sight for the Blind, now all we need is Sex for the Ugly and I'll be all set.
Manufacturers clamor for market dominance in the bionic eye market, and come up with a hodgepodge of several dozen incompatible technologies. The Justice Department demands the ability to remotely observe what people are looking at, and pressures manufacturers to secretly include key escrow technologies in their circuitry. Copyright-holding corporations realize that the junction between the optic nerve and the CCD chip is ripe for targeting, since you can effectively close off the "analog hole" by sticking an agent in there that enforces copyrights on all visual images passing through. They lobby intensively and as a result the government steps in and mandates that within X years all vision should be digital and incorporate some approved form of copy-protection. This is hailed by the corporate press as a "victory for the consumer" because of the expected abundance of pay-per-see content, even though the early adopters get struck blind by the mandated copy protection- making their eyes worthless, although they are still prized by a small minority for their ability to boot up free operating systems.
Manufacturers continue to trip over each other in their efforts to corner the market, and come up with even more incompatible formats. Consumers who purchase the systems find that the left eye from manufacturer X (about to go out of business) and right eye from manufacturer Y (about to go out of business) both want to be in charge of what you're looking at. Getting different components to cooperate is next to impossible. When one eye breaks, you have to get them both replaced because everything is incompatible with everything else and every model is discontinued or obsoleted as soon as it comes out. People start to write scathing reviews about how the industry and Congress both need to get their act together.
Meanwhile, consumers look at this fiasco and rightly conclude that their eyes are working fine, and that there is no reason to throw them out.
Damn now I have to get a fcc license for my eyes.
Hacker Media
This would still be a huge improvement over total blindness.
You also have to remember that the brain is extremely flexable and it will be able to learn to recognise shapes even at this low resolution. You would learn to cope very well. You just wouldn't be able to read probably.
You are used to seeing things at a normal human resolution. Imagine you are a hawk with the ability to see a mouse 100 meters below you. You are then shown human eyesite. You wouldn't be able to recognise anything either. But you would adapt.
Ok, this is a serious question so don't mod me down.
Would it be possible, with this new eye, for colorblind people to see color? Or is this still more along the lines of gene therapy.
Just as long as the bionic eye doesn't make that "do-doo-do-doot" funny noise everytime you use it. That would drive me nuts.
Reminds me of Babylon 5 when G'Kar has his bionic eye, especially when he can take it out and still see from it.
(Sheriden and Delenn - honeymoon night)
Londo: (something along the lines of) It almost makes you wish you could peek in and see what they are doing.
(G'Kar looks distracted)
Londo: G'Kar, where is the prosthetic eye that Dr. Franklin made for you?
(G'kar is smiling)
(Scene changes to show the eye on a table looking towards the honeymoon bed)
Are you local? There's nothing for you here!