Synesthesia is an intriguing neurological condition in which a person's senses blend together, allowing one to, say, see sounds or taste colors.
Although only synesthetes truly understand this experience (and only for themselves, since sensual feedback differs by person), a unique DIY mask can mimic the effects of the condition to give the rest of us some idea of what synesthesia is like.
Manipulate Surreal, 3-D Landscapes With Music
This mask, created by Zachary Howard from Instructables, hacks your sense of smell, offering a rare opportunity to sniff colors.
If you're interested in altering your sensory perception of the world, you can follow Howard's lead to create your own DIY mask. A list of the materials he used and instructions are available here.
Howard enlisted an off-the-shelf mask and a 3-D printer, along with some strategic tweaking of electronics, to arrive at his contraption. The mask uses a hand sensor that reads colors from the outside world and a built-in camera that transforms the pixel color into a scent. After the color is identified, an Intel Edison board triggers a spritz of the corresponding scent inside the mask.
Smell-O-Vision Lets You Watch And Sniff
Each scent that's mapped to a color can be programmed based on the mask's creator and his desires. For example, the color red could be programmed to smell like roses. When the user crosses over several colors at once, he's bound to inhale an interesting combination of fragrances.
Watch Howard's reality become distorted as he puts on his DIY synesthesia mask in this video.
The next time you're looking to alter your sensory perception, grab a mask, follow Howard's instructions, and then inhale... and enjoy the fruits of your labor (or the smells of your colors).
This week, our tech slideshow is all about the Mobile World Congress, the consumer electronics show that takes place in Barcelona each year. Innovative smartphones, wearable computers and Internet-connected cars are among some of the technologies that were on display. Here are some of our favorites.
The Mirama smart glasses, from
, have a gesture recognition system combined with augmented reality technology. The wearer uses her hands to interact with virtual objects seen in the glasses. Brilliant service wants their smart glasses to one day replace for smartphones.
For its unique aluminum unibody design, the HTC ONE was awarded this year's "Smartphone of the Year."
Walldorf, Germany-based SAP is working with the German national football team to prepare for the World Cup in 2014, and take soccer to the next level. The ball has embedded sensors and electronics that capture and analyze a wealth of data in real time, including spatial analysis of player movements.
Blackphone is the world's first smartphone that places security back into the hands of the user. The $629 phone, which comes unlocked, was developed in a partnership between Silent Circle and Geeksphone. Along with the PrivatOS, built on Android, the phone comes with a suite of Silent Circle apps, including Silent Phone, Silent Text and Silent Contacts; anonymous search, private browsing and VPN from Disconnect. SpiderOak provides a secure cloud file storage and the Blackphone ships with a remote-wipe and device recovery tool.
LG was on hand to promote its new G Flex, which has a 6.0” curved OLED screen, that while not flexible, does have a shape that fits well into the palm of a hand. The big screen provides an impressive panoramic view, while minimizing glare.
Samsung's Galaxy Fit was among many wearable fitness devices on display at the Mobile World Congress. The Fit has a thin, curved shape meant to follow the wrist; the user navigates menus by swiping horizontally. Along with a heart monitor, the Fit is designed to provide notifications for calls, e-mail and text message. A personal fitness coaching app is an option.
One of the most surprising announcements at the Mobile World Congress came from Mozilla, who plans to launch seven new devices using Firefox OS, including a smartphone -- the ZTE Open C -- priced at $25. The devices are being aimed at people in developing countries.
Chinese company Gionee presented its Elife 5.5, the world's thinnest smartphone. At 5.5 millimeters thick, the phone edges out the 5.75mm Vivo X3. For comparison, the iPhone 5s is 7.6mm thick.
The new Xperia Z2 phone and tablet from Sony are waterproof, come with brighter screens and noise-canceling earbuds.
Sony's SmartBand SWR10 is also waterproof, which makes sense if you plan to sweat while wearing them.
Practically speaking, cars are becoming gadgets. Ford was among several automakers displaying their versions of fully connected Internet cars. These cars work in conjunction with a person's smartphone or work like a smartphone to run apps that connect to the Internet, play music and movies, display GPS navigation and control security features at home, among many other features.