A new sense
A bat understands exactly where a tasty moth is through echolocation.
People don't come equipped with this natural ability. We had to develop an artificial echolocation method (sonar) where the science is similar to, and inspired by, bats.
We've developed other senses including night vision, electroreception, ultraviolet vision, infrared vision, polarization vision and more.
Some artificial sense humans developed are not naturally occurring. Nearly all animals have the sense of touch, but no animal utilizes it in the same way as humans can with David Eagleman's haptic wearable, VEST.
VEST uses 32 haptic actuators to convert sound into vibration patterns. For people with hearing impairment, this could be a strong alternative to the expensive and intrusive cochlear implant.
Learning the vibration patterns is like learning any other language. You wear the suit and practice with someone speaking different words. After a few months of effort, you can become fluent.
This technology was demonstrated in Westworld where soldiers were wearing suits that light up and sense surroundings. VEST can be used to sense visuals and to create an immersive experience with activities. It sets the best precedent for haptic gaming suits as seen in Ready Player One.
Even more significantly, it's a new sense that could assist millions of people with visual or hearing impairment.
