How Do You See with Your Tongue? Sensory Substitution Has the Answer

From eyes that see over a million different colours to ears that detect a staggering range of frequencies, the human senses are incredible. But none can hold a candle to the most powerful part of our sensory system: the brain.  

The human brain does the most impressive feat of data analysis imaginable – decoding electrical impulses from all over the body and combining them to create the rich, multi-modal experience we call reality. But what if a connection fails, and a sense is weakened or lost?

That’s where sensory substitution comes in. 

New technology is well on its way to helping blind people to see… using their tongues! And that’s not all. In time, it might help us to develop sensory superpowers such as the ability to see UV light or detect the Earth’s magnetic field.