Sensory Overload

If you think video games are engrossing now, just wait: PlayStation
maker Sony Corp. has been granted a patent for beaming sensory information
directly into the brain. The technique could one day be used to create
video games in which you can smell, taste, and touch, or to help people
who are blind or deaf. The U.S. patent, granted to Sony researcher
Thomas Dawson, describes a technique for aiming ultrasonic pulses at specific
areas of the brain to induce 'sensory experiences' such as smells,
sounds and images. 'The pulsed ultrasonic signal alters the neural timing in
the cortex,' the patent states. 'No invasive surgery is needed to assist a
person, such as a blind person, to view live and/or recorded images or
hear sounds.