Imagine shopping for clothes online and being able to run your hand across the screen of your computer or smartphone to feel the materials. That kind of simulation   technology could be available within the next five years. "We're talking about reinventing how computers interact  with humans," said Bernie Meyerson, IBM Vice President. Extending our sense of touch is one of the innovations   IBM believes will change the world in the next five years, according to the company's annual "Five in Five" list. Smart machines will also be able to listen to the environment and highlight (;)the sounds we care about most. For instance, an advanced speech recognition system will tell new parents why their baby is crying. This kind of thing is not possible today, but with an advanced enough system, it's actually possible. In the near future, personal computers will be able to do more than recognize images and visual data. Their built-in cameras will be able to analyze features such as colors, and understand the meaning of visual media, such as knowing how to sort family photos. Smart machines will also be able to smell. If you sneeze on your computer or cellphone, tiny sensors   in the machine will be able to analyze thousands of molecules   in your breath. "It can give you an alarm and says, 'Hey, you are probably sick, go to see your doctor immediately,'" Meyerson says. Mark Maloo is a computer science professor from Georgetown University. He hopes the advances will encourage more students to study science, technology, engineering and math, preparing them to play a role in future innovations. He believes there's little doubt that advances in computer technology over the next five years will make what now seems like science fiction a part of our everyday lives. The purpose of the text is to show us
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