Hi.
here is an article from me in a long time about something called a brainport.
Has vertual reality come at last?…
I got this in my inbox, and found it, at least, interesting, so I’m passing it on. On at least one bit of technology, the expected price is not as high as I figured it would be.
Before last month, Erik Weihenmayer, 40, had never seen his young daughter.
But through technology once limited to the imagination of science fiction
writers, Weihenmayer, born sight-impaired, now catches glimpses of people
and things he previously had only been able to touch or hear.
The technology is called BrainPort, and this weekend it will be one of
several jaw-dropping devices on display in Miami at the No Barriers
Festival, an international gathering of physically limited athletes, wounded
soldiers, disabled kids and hopeful parents, and the scientists and doctors
who develop the technology that lets them match the able-bodied step for
step.
”I can’t tell you how amazing and surreal it has been,” Weihenmayer, of
Colorado, says of his BrainPort — one of just three prototypes in
existence. ”This sort of technology is not just ahead of the curve, it’s
miles ahead of anything we’ve seen before,” said Weihenmayer, president of
No Barriers USA, which created the festival.
Weihenmayer, who has been completely blind since age 13, is not seeing in
high resolution or color, but the images are clear enough to make out words,
reach out and pet the dog or see the silhouette of his 8-year-old daughter
Emma and engage in simple pleasures like playing tic-tac-toe or rolling a
ball back and forth with her.
Along with the BrainPort, the festival’s Innovation Village and symposiums
will showcase advanced GPS devices for the blind and ”smart” prosthetic
limbs that read and react to brain signals like real nerve endings — the
latter being the creation of MIT professor and festival co-chair Hugh Herr,
who has used them in recent years to resume his rock-climbing hobby. Also on
hand: Molly the ”amputee” pony.
More than the ”wow” factor, experts say, the technology behind the devices
is changing the meaning of ”disabled” and redefining “able-bodied.”
‘There was a time not that long ago when most people might see someone like
me — a paraplegic in a wheelchair — and automatically assume `disabled,’
” says Harry Horgan, a sailor and founder of Shake-a-Leg Miami, the
nonprofit aquatic and sailing center in Coconut Grove that is hosting No
Barriers.
The BrainPort dates to the 1960s, when neuroscientist Paul Bach-y-Rita began
working to develop an artificial sight generator. By the time Bach-y-Rita
died in November 2006, Wicab — his Middleton, Wis., company — had
developed the BrainPort.
”One of Paul’s favorite expressions . . . was that you don’t see with your
eyes, you see with your brain,” says Wicab President Robert Beckman. “Paul
also liked to say that if your eyes or any other sensor are damaged, you can
use an alternate sensor, because the brain is not hard-wired.”
A second BrainPort prototype will be given to another test subject next
week. When the device is cleared for wider use — likely in the next few
months following presumed FDA approval, Beckman says — it will cost about
$10,000.
For all the hope and buzz the BrainPort may generate, some No Barriers
attendees are otherwise preoccupied. ”I’m really looking forward to the
hand cycle,” says Juan Carlos Gil, 27, a sailor and champion hand cyclist
who was born with cerebral palsy and has limited use of his legs.
Gil, who volunteers at Shake-A-Leg Miami, is referring to a new type of
cycle that with the flip of a switch can stand upright.
That’s important, Gil says, because traditional hand cycles have such wide
bases they can’t fit through doorways and other narrow spaces. “So you have
to rely on other people to carry your cycle outdoors and then help you out
and help you into your cycle. This is another step toward independence for
us.”
Technology has redefined what it means to be `disabled’
Devices that allow the blind to ‘see’ and prosthetic limbs that react to
brain signals will be on display at this weekend’s No Barriers Festival.
‘Exergaming’ provides hi-tech tools for disabled
Researchers at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis are using hi-tech gaming
equipment that encourages disabled to exercise.
Miami Herald Staff
Erik Weihenmayer: Blind adventurer, father, husband
Erik Weihenmayer lost his sight at age 13, but thanks to a BrainPort vision
device, he has had partial vision restored.
Courtesy of Serac Adventure Films
‘Exergaming’ provides hi-tech tools for disabled
Researchers at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis are using hi-tech gaming
equipment that encourages disabled to exercise.
a.. ‘Exergaming’ provides hi-tech tools for disabled
b.. Erik Weihenmayer: Blind adventurer, father, husband
a.. Photos
The festival, which starts Thursday and runs through Sunday, includes
symposiums, clinics, demonstrations and a regatta at various locations
throughout Miami-Dade. Most activities, including an Innovation Village
offered Friday through Sunday, will take place at Shake-A-Leg Miami, 2620
South Bayshore Dr. in Coconut Grove.
For information or a detailed schedule, call Shake-A-Leg Miami at
305-858-5550 or visit www.nobarriersusa.org.
BY JAMES H. BURNETT III
jburnett@MiamiHerald.com
Full Story
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b.. email
c.. print
d.. share
e.. buzz up!
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Comments: 2 Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first
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a..
randymax8 wrote on 06/04/2009 09:54:49 AM:
yeah sure, as long as you can pay the bills
Reply to this Comment Recommend (0) Report abuse
b..
meijerpb wrote on 06/04/2009 04:31:14 AM:
Thank for the article, and indeed the title is spot on. It will be good –
once device safety has been established – to see the Brainport tongue
display technology move out of the lab and into the hands of blind users.
Different people have different needs, preferences and interests, and
healthy competition is in the end good for quality.
Best regards,
Peter Meijer
Seeing with Sound – The vOICe
http://www.seeingwithsound.com
Before last month, Erik Weihenmayer, 40, had never seen his young daughter.
But through technology once limited to the imagination of science fiction
writers, Weihenmayer, born sight-impaired, now catches glimpses of people
and things he previously had only been able to touch or hear.
The technology is called BrainPort, and this weekend it will be one of
several jaw-dropping devices on display in Miami at the No Barriers
Festival, an international gathering of physically limited athletes, wounded
soldiers, disabled kids and hopeful parents, and the scientists and doctors
who develop the technology that lets them match the able-bodied step for
step.
”I can’t tell you how amazing and surreal it has been,” Weihenmayer, of
Colorado, says of his BrainPort — one of just three prototypes in
existence. ”This sort of technology is not just ahead of the curve, it’s
miles ahead of anything we’ve seen before,” said Weihenmayer, president of
No Barriers USA, which created the festival.
Weihenmayer, who has been completely blind since age 13, is not seeing in
high resolution or color, but the images are clear enough to make out words,
reach out and pet the dog or see the silhouette of his 8-year-old daughter
Emma and engage in simple pleasures like playing tic-tac-toe or rolling a
ball back and forth with her.
Along with the BrainPort, the festival’s Innovation Village and symposiums
will showcase advanced GPS devices for the blind and ”smart” prosthetic
limbs that read and react to brain signals like real nerve endings — the
latter being the creation of MIT professor and festival co-chair Hugh Herr,
who has used them in recent years to resume his rock-climbing hobby. Also on
hand: Molly the ”amputee” pony.
More than the ”wow” factor, experts say, the technology behind the devices
is changing the meaning of ”disabled” and redefining “able-bodied.”
‘There was a time not that long ago when most people might see someone like
me — a paraplegic in a wheelchair — and automatically assume `disabled,’
” says Harry Horgan, a sailor and founder of Shake-a-Leg Miami, the
nonprofit aquatic and sailing center in Coconut Grove that is hosting No
Barriers.
The BrainPort dates to the 1960s, when neuroscientist Paul Bach-y-Rita began
working to develop an artificial sight generator. By the time Bach-y-Rita
died in November 2006, Wicab — his Middleton, Wis., company — had
developed the BrainPort.
”One of Paul’s favorite expressions . . . was that you don’t see with your
eyes, you see with your brain,” says Wicab President Robert Beckman. “Paul
also liked to say that if your eyes or any other sensor are damaged, you can
use an alternate sensor, because the brain is not hard-wired.”
A second BrainPort prototype will be given to another test subject next
week. When the device is cleared for wider use — likely in the next few
months following presumed FDA approval, Beckman says — it will cost about
$10,000.
For all the hope and buzz the BrainPort may generate, some No Barriers
attendees are otherwise preoccupied. ”I’m really looking forward to the
hand cycle,” says Juan Carlos Gil, 27, a sailor and champion hand cyclist
who was born with cerebral palsy and has limited use of his legs.
Gil, who volunteers at Shake-A-Leg Miami, is referring to a new type of
cycle that with the flip of a switch can stand upright.
That’s important, Gil says, because traditional hand cycles have such wide
bases they can’t fit through doorways and other narrow spaces. “So you have
to rely on other people to carry your cycle outdoors and then help you out
and help you into your cycle. This is another step toward independence for
us.”
Technology has redefined what it means to be `disabled’
Devices that allow the blind to ‘see’ and prosthetic limbs that react to
brain signals will be on display at this weekend’s No Barriers Festival.
‘Exergaming’ provides hi-tech tools for disabled
Researchers at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis are using hi-tech gaming
equipment that encourages disabled to exercise.
Miami Herald Staff
Erik Weihenmayer: Blind adventurer, father, husband
Erik Weihenmayer lost his sight at age 13, but thanks to a BrainPort vision
device, he has had partial vision restored.
Courtesy of Serac Adventure Films
‘Exergaming’ provides hi-tech tools for disabled
Researchers at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis are using hi-tech gaming
equipment that encourages disabled to exercise.
a.. ‘Exergaming’ provides hi-tech tools for disabled
b.. Erik Weihenmayer: Blind adventurer, father, husband
a.. Photos
The festival, which starts Thursday and runs through Sunday, includes
symposiums, clinics, demonstrations and a regatta at various locations
throughout Miami-Dade. Most activities, including an Innovation Village
offered Friday through Sunday, will take place at Shake-A-Leg Miami, 2620
South Bayshore Dr. in Coconut Grove.
For information or a detailed schedule, call Shake-A-Leg Miami at
305-858-5550 or visit www.nobarriersusa.org.
BY JAMES H. BURNETT III
jburnett@MiamiHerald.com
Full Story
1.. 1
2.. 2
3.. Next »
a.. recommend
b.. email
c.. print
d.. share
e.. buzz up!
Join the discussion
The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share
information, experiences and observations about what’s in the news. Some of
the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We
encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you
refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are
off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of
MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post.
Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.
Comments (2)
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Login | Register
Comments: 2 Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first
Least-recommended first
a..
randymax8 wrote on 06/04/2009 09:54:49 AM:
yeah sure, as long as you can pay the bills
Reply to this Comment Recommend (0) Report abuse
b..
meijerpb wrote on 06/04/2009 04:31:14 AM:
Thank for the article, and indeed the title is spot on. It will be good –
once device safety has been established – to see the Brainport tongue
display technology move out of the lab and into the hands of blind users.
Different people have different needs, preferences and interests, and
healthy competition is in the end good for quality.
