4/06/2005

Sony Patents Technique of Beaming Info into Brain

If you think video games are engrossing now, just wait: PlayStation maker Sony Corp. has been granted a patent for beaming sensory information directly into the brain. The technique could one day be used to create videogames in which you can smell, taste, and touch, or be used to help people who are blind or deaf. The US patent describes a technique for aiming ultrasonic pulses at specific areas of the brain to induce “sensory experiences” such as smells, sounds, and images. A Sony Electronics spokeswoman has said that no experiment had been conducted yet, and that the patent “was based on an inspiration that this may someday be the direction that technology will take us.” What do you think about this product? Would you buy it and do you think it will have as high as a demand as the other PlayStation products?

2 comments:

Eric said...

I think this kind of technology becoming a reality is very slim. But if Sony were to develop such a thing they could go in every direction! I don’t think that it would just be a Video Gaming Console it would be more little the movie Total Recall! Movie theaters, military training, vacation planning all would be effected!

Dr. Tufte said...

This would be so cool if we hadn't all seen The Matrix.

I don't know if it's fortunate or unfortunate that it is just a pipe-dream right now.

Another issue is whether or not you think Sony should be able to patent something they can't actually do just yet.

WRT Eric's comment, they have also already identified part of the brain that when stimulated makes people believe they are having a religious experience.