• Question: What are your thoughts on neil harbissons cyborg eyeball? Do you think it is going to develop humans in the future? How did they make it?

    Asked by to Willem, Kev, Aled on 21 Mar 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Aled Roberts

      Aled Roberts answered on 21 Mar 2014:

      Hey Mohawk!

      I think it is an amazing device! Being able to tell the difference in colours when you are colour-blind is a big leap… especially when you consider the method in which it is being done! It is a step in the right direction for developing humans however it will never overtake us, we still need the human scaffold as it is truly a remarkable object!). We will however see machines/computers being put into humans to help overcome certain things (i.e. when the human body can’t do something that it was evolved for… such as seeing colour / walking etc…)

      It works by using a camera which causes vibrations on the back of his skull… He has associated certain colours with certain vibrations allowing him to tell what certain things are coloured! He also has a phone that can send signals to the back of his skull… so he can hear vibrations of pictures without even looking at them! Truly remarkable stuff!

      Really hope that helps you! If not… ask me more! Don’t forget to vote 🙂

    • Photo: Willem Heijltjes

      Willem Heijltjes answered on 21 Mar 2014:

      Neil’s “eyeborg” works by translating colours into sounds, which Neil can recognise. This is not the only experiment of this kind: I saw a documentary about blind people, who use *sonar* to see – the echo of sharp sound clicks – like bats and dolphins!

      The amazing thing about these devices is that your brain can learn to adapt the part normally used for *vision*, to work for *sound*! It’s the same area of the brain that’s being used!

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