Building Machines With Human-Like Senses

From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report in Special English. Every year, IBM chooses five new technologies that the company believes will change the world within the next five years. The list is called "5 in 5." IBM says it considers its own research and the new directions of society and business when identifying the technologies. This year, the list describes devices that will extend our five senses. Imagine looking for clothes online and touching your computer or smartphone to feel the cloth. IBM's vice president of innovation, Bernie Meyerson, says this technology could be available in the next five years. Touch is just one of the senses that technology 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. Smart machines will also help identify medical conditions. If you sneeze on your computer or cell phone, the device will study the molecules that came out of your mouth. It will then tell you whether you need to see a doctor. Another prediction is that computers will be better able to not just look at images but understand what they show and act on that information. Bernie Meyerson says IBM scientists are also developing a computer system that can examine and combine molecules to create the most popular flavors and smells. Mark Maloof is a computer scientist at Georgetown University. He says it will be exciting to see what young people will do with the mobile technology, networking and computing power of tomorrow. For VOA Learning English, I'm Carolyn Presutti. (Adapted from a radio program broadcast 18Feb2013)