IBM has some great expectations when it comes to technology that engages the 5 senses. They predict computers in the next five years will broaden the sight, touch, and sound as well as implement smell and taste in to everyday technology. To view IBM’s videos with each prediction click here.
#1 Smell
IBM is predicting that computers will be able to use smell data to analyze someone’s air quality and test for diseases. This can be valuable in healthcare where a doctor could analyze airborne diseases instantly from someone’s breath.
#2 Hearing
Hearing is already used in everyday technology but it may be able to have more uses than before. IBM predicts that there are practical uses for sound devices in disaster zones prone to flooding and or mud slides in South America. The devices could monitor and predict these disasters based on the unique frequency given from roar of moving water and or mud down the hill sides.
#3 Taste
In five years computers will be able to break down what we individually need in our diets as well as analyze which foods we crazy by their chemicals. This can provide better ways to adjust our eating habits to foods that taste great and meet our diets.
#4 Touch
Already our touch phones provide haptic feedback responding to inputs of text or dialing numbers. IBM says that phones can provide more detailed feelings of touch like feeling the fabric of shirt you are ordering online. I imagine this will provide a larger avenue for communication apps with the blind as well.
#5 Sight
Sight has been important for a while now sending picture texts providing great UI for operating systems and entertainment platforms. With new technology they expect images to be a big part of cognitive computing to predict disaster paths with photos from a storm system. They also mention how photos of medical scans can be mined for nuances and predict cancerous patterns for an early warning system.
IBM has been releasing their predictions since 2006. Click here to see past predictions that have become reality.
#6 Multiple Senses and Touch/Gesture Controlled Technology
We are seeing touch technology being used with tablets, phones, computers, and even coffee table tops. 
And now gesture technology is used in Xbox 360 Kinetic or Nintendo Wii systems where your body is the controller in the console. Here is a great article from zdnet.com about gesture controlled tech in education. They are utilizing the sense of touch to correlate directly to sights and sounds and if IBM is correct it could include tastes and smells soon. I predict that more technology will combine your senses to provide even deeper user experiences.
Predictions #7-#20 are some of my favorites selected from Popular Mechanics 110 predictions for 110 years.
2012—2022
#7 People will be fluent in every language.
#8 Nanoparticles will make chemotherapy far more effective.
#9 That car part you need will be sculpted inside a 3D printer.
#10 Drones will protect endangered species.
#11 Rescuers will use electronic noses to locate disaster victims. (IBM was on to something predicting smell data in technology!)
#12 Smart homes will itemize electric, water, and gas bills by fixture and appliance
2023—2062
#13 Contact lenses will grant us Terminator vision.
#14 All 130 million books on the planet will be digitized.
#15 Highways will handle three times as many cars.
#16 Supercomputers will be the size of sugar cubes.
#17 Navy SEALs will be able to hold their breath for 4 hours.
2063—2122
#18 One of us will celebrate a 150th birthday.
#19 WITHIN 40 YEARS…Nanobots will perform medical procedures inside our bodies.
#20 WITHIN 60 YEARS…Digital data (texts, songs, etc.) will be zapped directly into our brains.
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Images: Victor Habbick & Antony Bennison
