Thursday, April 06, 2006

Robo-Chick


Some call her the bionic woman. Others call her a medical miracle. But Cheri Robertson has given herself another title:

"I just call myself the robo-chick."

A camera on the tip of Robertson's glasses sends signals to a computer that's strapped around her waist. The computer then stimulates electrodes in the brain through a cord that attaches to the head. Patients see flashes of light and outlines of objects. She traveled to Portugal to become the 16th person in the world to have special electrodes implanted in her brain.

"Whatever I see is just two splashes of light, so I know something is there," Robertson says. She admits support from her mom and the local Lion's Club keeps her spirits high. "If I was all depressed, I couldn't affect anybody's life for the good, and I want to make a difference." Friends, family and doctors say she already has.
Pretty sweet. Don't miss the video link on the article. Not sure about that computer she has to wear to process the images. Kind of looks like a suicide bomber vest.

Right now all she can see is splashes of light, but expect the resolution on these artificial eyes to get better year by year until they have the same resolution as normal eyes. Then we will all want implants so we will be able to plug directly into the internet, TV or a DVD. And we will also be able to take advantage of night vision and infrared technologies. Or maybe we would want a pop up windows to appear in our vision with instant messages, or other data off of the internet. Good stuff that will come in the future, and thanks to people like this here Robo-Chick that day will come sooner than we think.

via News 14 Carolina

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

wowwwwwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeeeeee :-)

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