A "taste" of the future of gaming

Here is yet another excuse to use the phrase "science fiction becoming reality." Researchers at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition are working hard on a device that will give humans extrasensory perception by attaching electrodes to the tongue. The device, known as "Brain Port," is a narrow strip of red plastic containing 144 microelectrodes, which transmits information from the tongue to the brain through connecting nerve fibers. The technology has been found effective in giving people an internal sonar -- one example of the device in action cited blind people who could "find doorways, notice people walking in front of them and [catching] balls."

The article mentions the uses in military (soldiers with an internal sonar to aid with night-time and underwater situations) and underwater crime scene investigation -- there is even a commercially marketed version of the device coming soon. But how could this apply to gaming? As an extension to a first-person shooter, might we replace the on-screen radar with a wired stick of gum that lets our minds know when a bad guy is creeping up behind us? Could we use a device like this for personal headphones?

How would you envision this technology becoming applicable in the world of gaming? If the "Brain Port" becomes commercially viable, expect Apple to release the iTongue sometime in 2008 -- sorry, we can't help but be a little tongue-in-cheek.