The future will be a feast for the senses, with breakthroughs that enhance computers' ability to hear, see, and even smell for us.
by Eric Griffith
Buzz up!on Yahoo!
Each year when we talk to the leading research labs for our future tech story, we learn new things, some stunning and some almost heart-breaking, because often the coolest technology is going to take a long, long time to reach perfection.
This year was no different. We saw a pattern early on, finding technology projects under way at the big companies and university labs that mimic or enhance the human senses. They include an innovative touchpad that will let you control your future mobile device from the back, a vision system for your car that will help you see through thick fog, and an electronic nose that will sniff out rotten food for you. Perhaps most amazing, to both science-fiction aficionados and the ever-growing numbers of war victims, are new artificial limbs controlled by existing nerve endings and, eventually, by direct input from the brain.
It's not all about the senses, of course. Researchers are trying to find the next great material for microprocessors, without which many of these technologies could die on the vine in a few years. Naturally, we are thinking about our gadgetry-filled future as well, and we present a look at the possibilities for what tech toys such as laptops, phones, and cameras may become by 2020. Turn the page and prepare to enter the future.
