Cthulhu Shield

SKU: SEN-15897 Brand: Sparkfun

Retired Product

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This product has been retired. It is no longer available, but this page has been kept for reference.

The Cthulhu Shield is the worlds first open source sensory substitution and sensory augmentation development platform! Sensory substitution is the name that has been given to tools and techniques that take sensory information you would normally receive on one sensory organ, and presents that information in another form to another sensory organ. Your brain then figures out what to do with this information and translates it into usable data. The Cthulhu Shield lets anyone experiment and make devices that can expand your sensory experience! This input device attaches directly into a 5V Arduino development board, enabling it to electrically activate nerve endings in your tongue (yup, your tongue) through an array of 18 electrodes with the included Flexible Electrode Array.

This type of "tongue I/O" could be extremely useful to replace senses that are weakened or absent, and could even be employed for augmentation, such as sensing infrared or ultrasonic signals for example, or receiving updates from the Internet. Using an 18 electrode grid to tactilely display signals on the tongue, the electrodes on the array can be activated with patterns of electrical pulses to depolarize nerve membranes in the tongue to create different types of touch sensations. You can use these touch sensations to draw shapes or simple images on the tongue, feel different sound frequencies, receive turn by turn directions with your tongue, send keystrokes to your computer, control the cursor, or even control a mobility device. Additionally, the Cthulhu Shield can sense whether or not your tongue is in contact with different electrodes using capacitive sensing.

You can attach other SparkFun sensors to your Arduino, like a small pressure sensor to use the Cthulhu to feel the force you are exerting on an object if you have nerve damage in your hands or are wearing thick gloves. Many people have used tongue stimulation to improve their sense of balance as well by using pressure sensors or accelerometers.

Note: The Cthulhu shield requires a Arduino R3 compatible device to work. Like the SparkFun RedBoard or SparkFun RedBoard Qwiic purchased separately.

Includes

1x Cthulhu Shield
1x Flexible Electrode Array
1x Ground Cable

Features

RC network attached to I/O pins to generate biphasic waveform
Visual LED grid to display electrode activation
Open source hardware & software
Cthulhu Arduino Library
Example source code for Arduino, processing, and Android

Documents

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Retired

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Exact shipping can be calculated on the view cart page (no login required).

Products that weigh more than 0.5 KG may cost more than what's shown (for example, test equipment, machines, >500mL liquids, etc).

We deliver Australia-wide with these options (depends on the final destination - you can get a quote on the view cart page):

$3+ for Stamped Mail (typically 10+ business days, not tracked, only available on selected small items)
$7+ for Standard Post (typically 6+ business days, tracked)
$11+ for Express Post (typically 2+ business days, tracked)
Pickup - Free! Only available to customers who live in the Newcastle region (must order online and only pickup after we email to notify you the order is ready). Orders placed after 2PM may not be ready until the following business day.

Non-metro addresses in WA, NT, SA & TAS can take 2+ days in addition to the above information.

Some batteries (such as LiPo) can't be shipped by Air. During checkout, Express Post and International Methods will not be an option if you have that type of battery in your shopping cart.

International Orders - the following rates are for New Zealand and will vary for other countries:

$12+ for Pack and Track (3+ days, tracked)
$16+ for Express International (2-5 days, tracked)

If you order lots of gear, the postage amount will increase based on the weight of your order.

Our physical address (here's a PDF which includes other key business details):

40 Aruma Place
Cardiff
NSW, 2285
Australia

Take a look at our customer service page if you have other questions such as "do we do purchase orders" (yes!) or "are prices GST inclusive" (yes they are!). We're here to help - get in touch with us to talk shop.

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