One of the first compute jobs on record was for the U.S. Census, but now it seems computers are ready to handle other “senses” as well – all five of them. IBM researchers foresee the day when computers will provide touch sensations (smartphones already have touch capabilities), which will enhance online retailers; pick up on visual cues, which will enable remote medical diagnosis; enable speech recognition and real-time language translation; and even smell and taste. This is a far cry from the days when computers were just number-crunchers.
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