Another step towards a true video iPod/brain interface has been taken. Boffins at Harvard Medical School have successfully implanted a very simple bionic eye in a monkey.
When electrodes were wired into the sight centre of the brain and stimulated, the monkeys moved their eyes to look at a light as if it were really there.
The 'eye' is pretty low res at the moment. Although this part of the brain is well suited to being zapped, the real problem is getting enough electrodes implanted to make up a decent image. Read: No 1080p anytime soon. Future plans are for external video cameras to be hooked directly to a human brain to help the blind or those with degenerative eye diseases.
We're one step ahead of them already with dreams of a permanent internal YouTube hookup.
Research opens way for bionic eye [BBC News]
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