For several years IBM has been making predictions about “innovations that will change our lives in the next five years”. Its latest spell of crystal ball gazing looks at the five senses and how computers will be able to use them to help us. In case you need a reminder, the five senses are; touch, sight, hearing, taste and smell.
In the next five years IBM thinks that computers won’t only be able to use these five important senses but that their abilities will be good enough to augment and extend the human senses. There will be “no need to call for Superman when we have real super senses at hand”. Let’s look at the senses in turn and see how IBM thinks computers will be able to extend our cognition.
Touch
Yes, we can touch our computer screens to interact with them now, but IBM’s vision goes much further than that. IBM’s touch prediction isn’t about user input but about the computer screen simulating touch and feel upon the display in some way. “Infrared and haptic technologies will enable a smart phone's touchscreen technology and vibration capabilities to simulate the physical sensation of touching something,” suggests IBM. An example is given of the screen giving the user an experience of Egyptian cotton sheets. I wonder if that will work with a screen protector...
Sight
Already we have face recognition systems in computers. In the next five years computer ability will go beyond recognising to being able to analyse and respond. Examples are given in areas such as medical scanning, emergency response from surveillance images and also, much more trivially, companies will be able to offer personalised products that fit you.
Hearing
Our brains recognise sound patterns and tell us what is important among the throng. In the next five years IBM believes computers will be able to distinguish important sounds and with their much better sensors, be very useful to us. Examples include sensors within instable areas which will be able to give early warnings of rock falls, mudslides etc. Also a baby monitor will be able to detect the reason for a baby crying from its sound.
Taste
IBM predicts that “in five years, computers will know what you like to eat better than you do”. Food will be able to be optimised for medical needs and flavour preferences. Your smart connected device will provide “a way to compute "perfect" meals using an algorithmic recipe of favourite flavours and optimal nutrition”. Yum.
Smell
Computers with a sense of smell are going to be important in healthcare and general health areas. IBM predicts that “your phone will be able to smell when you’re getting sick”, sensors will find bacteria in food supplies preventing poisoning outbreaks and “healthcare facilities will be instrumented with sensors to detect infections.”
Now imagine that computers have access to all the above senses and all the knowledge required available to them via an internet connection. Below is a nice summary video from IBM and the scientists involved in drawing up this year’s 5 in 5.
