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

2013-02-19 09:20

分享到

 

Get Flash Player

Download

From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report in Special English.

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.

"It can give you an alarm and say; ‘Hey, you may not feel sick yet, but you have an infection, which you must go see your doctor immediately.'"

In the near future, built-in cameras in our personal computers will be able to examine and name colors and recognize images. Mr. Meyerson says IBM scientists are also developing a computer system that can examine and combine food molecules to create the most popular flavors and smells.

"It'll start to be able to recommend to you foods you'll love the taste of, but it can also keep track of the caloric limits, whether you have limits on fat or cholesterol that you can eat. So it strikes this almost ideal balance between the best possible taste and the best possible nutritional outcome."

Mark Maloof is a computer science professor at Georgetown University. He says he hopes the progress that IBM is predicting will lead more students to create future inventions.

"It's going to be very exciting to see what young people do with the increased availability of mobile platforms and networking and computing power."

Professor Maloof says advances in computer technology will make what now seems like science fiction a part of our everyday lives.

相关阅读

Small Business in the United States are struggling to survive

Words and their stories: dog talk

Music would not be the same without the guitar

Famous New York train station turns 100

(来源:VOA 编辑:Julie)

 

分享到

中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883561联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。

中国日报网双语新闻

扫描左侧二维码

添加Chinadaily_Mobile
你想看的我们这儿都有!

中国日报双语手机报

点击左侧图标查看订阅方式

中国首份双语手机报
学英语看资讯一个都不能少!

关注和订阅

本文相关阅读
人气排行
热搜词
 
 
精华栏目
 

阅读

词汇

视听

翻译

口语

合作

 

关于我们 | 联系方式 | 招聘信息

Copyright by chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved. None of this material may be used for any commercial or public use. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. 版权声明:本网站所刊登的中国日报网英语点津内容,版权属中国日报网所有,未经协议授权,禁止下载使用。 欢迎愿意与本网站合作的单位或个人与我们联系。

电话:8610-84883645

传真:8610-84883500

Email: languagetips@chinadaily.com.cn