The ULTIMATE Interfacing Project..

Forum 2005-2010 (read only) Hardware Interfacing
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Ok, I know I have posted about this before somewhere but to see if I can rally up some interest I will write a little about this interest of mine and provide some good links as well.

Sensory substitution/augmentation:
In the 1960'es, professor Bach-y-Rita placed a grid of solenoids in a dentists chair. Each solenoid was made to correspond with the brightness level of one pixel in a camera. The point of the experiment was to see if the human brain could process information across modalities (eg. visual information through skin). The experiment was a success, the blind/blindfolded users could see basic shapes, though only if they were allowed to manipulate the camera themselfs.

Several iterations later, and we have the BrainPort. A 12x12 grid of pixels (or taxels: "tactile pixels"), placed on the tongue to provide the user with some very basic low-resolution sight. The BrainPort has also been attached to an accelerometer to help restore balance to people with inner-ear damage and such.

About Sensory Substitution/Augmentation in general, and some projects:

BrainPort/TVSS (Tactile Vision Substitution System), the system developed by professor Bach-y-Rita:

BrainPort balance device:
http://wicab.co.uk/technology/brainport-balance-device.php

feelSpace, belt that lets the user feel north:
http://feelspace.cogsci.uni-osnabrueck.de/en/technology_01.html

Haptic Radar, lets the user sense objects within ~70cm reach:
http://www.k2.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/perception/HapticRadar/index-e.html

Magnetic implant, lets the user sense EM-fields, magnets:

What I find most intriguing about this tech is how simple a lot of it seems, and the way the users of feelSpace and the recipiants of the magnetic implant describe the quick and total integration of the new senses into their world view. Several of the users of feelSpace experienced actual withdrawal symptoms when the extra sense was removed after only a few days/weeks of use!

The scientific community agrees (and have known for a long time) that the brain is superbly capable of piecing information together. When a new sense is attached (ultrasonic range finder -> vibrator on skin) the brain fairly quickly sees the patterns between the users actions, the impressions percieved from the other senses, and this new sense. Thus the brain integrates information from the new sense, to the point where it becomes perfectly natural to use and you could potensially feel real ill if it was removed.

Does not this seem like amazingly cool project concepts for the Arduino community? Do you not want to experience how something like the Haptic Radar (above), a rather simple project to build, would change your perception of the world? What about making something like the BrainPort and using an IR camera for input? What on earth would that "feel/look" like to a sighted person, considering that fMRI has shown that this type of stimuli is (in part) processed by the users visual cortex?

Edit:
Writeup of loads of SS/SA related stuff:
http://www.michaeljohngrist.com/2008/10/cyborgization-extra-senses/

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bump

Sorry, but is there really no interest for something this mindblowingly awesome? :frowning:

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The subject is interesting. But you've presented links to a TON of information. You may want to scale back your enthusiasm and address this as a specific project or set of projects. Folks here respond well to questions and needs for assistance. But your post is almost like a sales pitch and doesn't really leave the reader with any thing to respond to.

What do you want to know? Are you going to embark on a project in this space and are maybe looking for a partner to invest in new ideas? Do you need to know how to drive a 12x12 matrix of solenoids?

I DO find this subject very fascinating and will probably read over the links you've provided this evening after work. But other than this response I don't have much to say other than "Ya, that's pretty cool stuff".

Come up with an idea and present it, looking for feedback on specific attributes. I'm sure you'll get a better response to that.

Cheers! :slight_smile:

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I am considering a project that monitors heart rate using the arduino and wonder of someone here can help. Any links to a small circuit that can provide heart rate pulses by measuring electrical activity using finger contact would be suitable for this intended project– (for an example see http://www.heartratemonitor.co.uk/1_strapless_cover_letter.pdf)

The project involves responding to the pulse rate of someone picking up a box, so chest straps or pulse-oximeter type optical sensors would not be suitable.

Any links to suitable circuits and information on getting reliable readings by measuring electical potential through the fingers would be appreciated.

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Thanks for the replies!

Koyaanisqatsi:
Sorry if I was not very spesific! What I am looking for are peoples thought about the subject. What would you like to sense, and why? How would you choose to implement it, and why? Does anyone have ideas for feedback devices other than vibrators (ha-ha::)) or electrodes on the tongue?

Mem:
I think I remember reading that heartrate can be measured by putting an IR LED on one side of the earlobe and an IR-sensitive photoresistor on the opposite side. They use this type of sensor for many applications, so the tech works. How you should implement it though, I don't know, but the general idea is that when the heart pumps the amount of blood in the ear/finger/wherever increases changing the amount of light passing through the tissue.

Try starting with the LED/photoresistor facing each other on opposite sides of your earlobe. Then, just read the photoresistor and Serial.println() it to your computer and see if the signal in any way correlates with your pulse.

Good luck! :slight_smile:

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PlastBox, thanks for responding but my project needs to get the pulse information by touching a box (probably with the fingers of both hands). I am looking for information on filtering and amplifying the changes in the weak electrical potential at the fingertips. As i mentioned in my post, the pulse-oximeter method (using ir photodetectors) won't fit the requirements.