The Robo-Chick
Just a quickie from Digg, another example of cybernetics - a blind woman who has a camera connected to her brain and has regained very basic sight. I’ve already touched on this briefly in the past, although not directly, but the basic idea is that a camera (mounted on a pair of glasses) takes images which are converted by a 5 kilogram computer around the the subject’s waist into signals which are sent into electrodes implanted in the person’s brain at the back of the skull.
There are many improvements to be made - at present, the technology can only be used for a short time each day, and the computer is extremely heavy (why?) and more resolution would be desirable. But it’s the first step towards some truly amazing advancements that are probably only just around the corner.