New Scientist reports on a Sony patent to protect a theory for a device that directs ultrasound waves to the brain to simulate senses like taste, smell and movement.
The aim was to use it to enhance entertainment like movies and video games, though a Sony spokeswoman said the work was a "prophetic invention" and that no experiments have been done on it yet:
IMAGINE movies and computer games in which you get to smell, taste and perhaps even feel things. That's the tantalising prospect raised by a patent on a device for transmitting sensory data directly into the human brain - granted to none other than the entertainment giant Sony.
The technique suggested in the patent is entirely non-invasive. It describes a device that fires pulses of ultrasound at the head to modify firing patterns in targeted parts of the brain, creating "sensory experiences" ranging from moving images to tastes and sounds. This could give blind or deaf people the chance to see or hear, the patent claims.
Sony patent takes first step towards real-life Matrix, via Threadwatch
Patents No.6,536,440 & 6,729,337 - "Method and system for generating sensory data onto the human neural cortex"
Slashdot | Sony Patents Matrix-Like Game Technology
Gamesblog: Sony smells
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