See more objects with the tag blind, wearable, black, assistive device, vibrating, headset, foam, mouthpiece, low vision, haptic.

Object Timeline

  • We acquired this object.

2017

2025

  • You found it!

Vision Aid, BrainPort Vision Pro

This is a Vision Aid. It was designed by Wicab Inc..

This object is not part of the Cooper Hewitt's permanent collection. It was able to spend time at the museum on loan from Wicab Inc. as part of Access+Ability.

It is dated 2017. Its medium is polycarbonate plastic, cables.

BrainPort is based on the proposition that one sees with the brain, not with the eyes. Embedded in the headset is a camera, a surrogate “eye,” that translates the shapes of things in the physical world into vibrations that can be felt through a device placed on the user’s tongue. With practice, one can learn to interpret the vibrating patterns and actually start to see.

It is credited Lent by Wicab, Inc., Middleton, WI.

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Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 7.6 × 27.9 × 20.3 cm (3 × 11 × 8 in.)

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Access+Ability.

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/1158794687/ |title=Vision Aid, BrainPort Vision Pro |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=6 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>