From: O'Regan, Emlyn (Emlyn.ORegan@actew.com.au)
Date: Tue May 18 1999 - 23:40:38 MDT
David said:
>A fascinating and attractive idea. Because I ride my bicycle on the
>street often, and because I have frequently been reminded of the fact
>that large numbers of motorists drive as though I am not there, I have
>often longed for this ability. But, like always, I must make do with
>what I have, so I have spent a lot of time developing my sense of hearing
>and my ability to generate a rough model of my surroundings based on
>auditory information. Now when I hear cars around me, I have a much
>better knowledge of where they are, how fast they are moving and which
>direction they are moving.
Did you see the stuff about Steve Mann posted earlier? An excerpt from
"Cyborg Seeks Community" posted by Gina Miller:
Every morning I decide how I will see the world that day. Sometimes I
give
myself eyes in the back of my head. Other days I add a sixth sense, such
as
the ability to feel objects at a distance. If I'm going to ride my
bicycle,
I'll want to feel the cars and trucks pressing against my back, even
when
they are a few hundred feet away.
...
While at McMaster, I added biosensors to the WearComp so that it could
monitor my heart rate (as well as the full EKG waveform) and other
physiological signals. I also invented the "vibravest"-a garment studded
with radar transceivers and vibrating elements. Wearing this vest made
objects at a distance feel as if they were pressing against my body. I
could
close my eyes and walk down the hallway, confident that any wall or
other
obstacle would be felt as warning vibrations on the appropriate side of
the
vest. By sparing myself from the cognitive load of processing all that
visual information, I found I was able to think more clearly.
(I am assuming that this stuff is real - it blows my mind)
Emlyn
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