Neil Harbisson, the world's first legally-recognised cyborg, talks to Roshni Nair about the untapped potential of cybernetics and the need to make technology more intrinsic

The story of Neil Harbisson is one for the ages. Born with a rare vision disorder called achromatopsia, this British-born, Barcelona resident saw the world only in black and white.

That was until 2003, when he collaborated with Adam Montandon, Associate Professor of Innovation at Denmark's Erhvervsakademiet Lilleblt institute. Together, they created a revolutionary device called the 'eyeborg'. Fixed on the wearer's head, the eyeborg converts light waves (colour) into sound waves. This effectively gives one the ability to hear colour.

To say Harbisson's life changed thereafter would be a trivialisation. Once fully colour blind, Harbisson now perceived the world like no one could. "Art galleries became sound galleries," he says. "I was suddenly able to listen to a Picasso or a Rothko, and supermarkets became orchestras of sound."

A year later, in 2004, Harbisson became the only person in the world allowed to wear a head-mounted apparatus for his passport photo. This made him the world's first legally-recognised cyborg.

Today, this contemporary artist, who creates 'sound portraits' of people, is a champion for cyborg rights. His Cyborg Foundation, established in 2010, is dedicated to creating awareness and promoting cybernetics as a way of life.In this interview, Harbisson talks about his vision for the future. Edited excerpts:

You've said that you were teased in school because of your disorder. Was achromatopsia something that always made you feel out of place?

Not really. I always thought it was good to be different. There's no problem seeing in black and white. It's just that colour is a very social and popular element, so I wanted to have a sense of it. Not necessarily change my sight.

Since colour is everywhere, weren't you bombarded by too much noise when you first wore the eyeborg?

Yes. When I first started hearing colour, it was too much information because it's all around us. My brain was being remapped, so I'd get headaches and feel really tired. It took around five weeks for me to get used to it. Other than that, I also had to get used to my new height, because the eyeborg antenna made me 7cm taller. So I'd bump into doors or branches (laughs).

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Meet the world's first cyborg