Computers will see, taste, smell, touch and hear things better in the future_美文

Computers will see, taste, smell, touch and hear things better in the future

Every year, IBM Corporation chooses five new technologies it believes will change the world within the next five years. The IBM list is called "Five in Five." The company says it considers its own research and the new directions of society and business when identifying the technologies.

This year, the list describes some future devices that will extend our five senses. Imagine looking for clothes online and touching your computer or smartphone to feel the cloth. IBM Vice President Bernie Meyerson predicts that technology could be available in the next five years.

"You're talking about almost reinventing the way computers operate and how you interact with them as humans."

Touch is just one of the senses that computers will help to extend. IBM says smart machines will soon be able to listen to the environment and give us information about the sounds they hear. For example, Bernie Meyerson says an advanced speech recognition system will tell new parents why their baby is crying.

"From the sound the baby is creating, that particular frequency in the voice of the child, you know the difference between a child for instance who is sick as opposed to a child who is just lonely. That kind of understanding would be great for parents. This kind of thing is not possible today, but with a sophisticated enough system, it actually is possible."

Smart machines will also help identify medical conditions. If you sneeze on your computer or cell phone, the machine will study thousands of molecules in your breath. Then it can tell you whether you need to see a doctor.