What Your Tongue Can "See"...

The Wicab BrainPort is a device that takes information gathered by a small digital camera in a pair of glasses and sends it to a "lollipop" electrode array that sits on your tongue. The device was designed to help people who are blind or who have extremely low vision.

The camera in the glasses transmits the light information to a small base unit the size of a cell phone, an article at Scientific American explains. The base unit converts the light information into electrical impulses; this replaces the function of the retina. The retina is the surface at the back of the eye that encodes light into nerve impulses and transmits them to the brain.

The base unit then sends that information into a set of 144 microelectrodes arranged on a lollipop-like paddle that you place on your tongue. The microelectrodes stimulate the nerves on the surface of your tongue. Users have likened the sensation to placing Pop Rocks candies on the tongue.

Although it seems incredible, the user's brain actually learns to interpret the tongue sensations as a kind of visual image. After all, your brain cannot "see" - it can only interpret the nerve impulses from your eyes and then create a picture that helps you move through a room, or find nearby objects.

The base unit has features like zoom control, light settings control and intensity. Using these controls, users can successfully use the BrainPort to find doorways and elevator buttons and even read letters and numbers. At table, users can easily see cups and forks; I suppose you'd take it out to eat.