Patents: New Scientist: Sony patent takes first step towards real-life Matrix:
IMAGINE movies and computer games in which you get to smell, taste and perhaps even feel things. That’s the tantalising prospect raised by a patent on a device for transmitting sensory data directly into the human brain – granted to none other than the entertainment giant Sony.
It’s a very lame ‘first step’ though — Sony has done no research and development on this invention whatsoever, it’s just a patent form of the old ‘in the future, we’ll wear tinfoil suits! And here’s how they’ll probably work!’ speculation. Sony’s comment:
Elizabeth Boukis, spokeswoman for Sony Electronics, says the work is speculative. ‘There were not any experiments done,’ she says. ‘This particular patent was a prophetic invention. It was based on an inspiration that this may someday be the direction that technology will take us.’
That’s nice; I’m sure they have some in the pipeline for flying cars, too.
It’s good to know that if an inventor does eventually come up with an ultrasound-based human-computer brain interface, they’ll have to pay license fees to Sony so they can use their ‘prophecy’ in their invention. The USPTO’s high standards are being maintained, as usual…
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