Sony has obtained a patent – interestingly enough, based only on theory, with no working invention available yet – that may lead to full-sensory virtual reality.
THE Japanese entertainment giant Sony has patented an idea for transmitting data directly into the brain, with the goal of enabling a person to see movies and play video games in which they smell, taste and perhaps even feel things, it was reported today. <snip> In Sony's patent, the technique would be entirely non-invasive - it would not use brain implants or other surgery to manipulate the brain.
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The patent has few details, describing only a device that would fire pulses of ultrasound at the head to modify the firing patterns of neurons in targeted parts of the brain.
They're doing interesting stuff with ultrasound these days.
The inventor was not available for interview. Other experts think the technique could work, but they worry about safety. This is a valid concern, since ultrasound with enough intensity can cause cavitation in tissue. Cavitation is the production of bubbles of gas in a liquid (or mostly liquid) medium. The gas in the bubbles is steam, generated by the energy from the sound waves, and the formation of bubbles of steam in tissue is not good for it. In this case, the damage would be to the very areas that are needed to process the sensory information being delivered.
"Don't watch those porn VR disks, you'll go blind!"
Of course, if this does work, there's another application that comes immediately to mind – direct stimulation of the visual cortex in the blind, completely bypassing non-functional eyes.
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