For the past few years, IBM has gathered its best and brightest minds to make five bold predictions about the technological innovations that could change our everyday lives within the next five years. The series, fittingly named 5 in 5, gives experts a chance to both outline the current state of research and innovation surrounding a topic and set a roadmap for its future development and applications.
This year, the underlying theme of the series is making the invisible visible, focusing on advanced perception and increased awareness of the world around us. Of the five predictions, there's one standout that really catches the eye: IBM believes that hyperimaging and AI will give us superhero vision.
SEE ALSO:Artist finds brilliant way to mess with facial recognition technologyBut the powerful heat vision shown off in the Superman's latest big screen exploits isn't exactly what researchers are predicting. Instead, the tech we'll get in the next five years will be more comparable to the character's x-ray vision powers. IBM says the new tech will use the aforementioned hyperimaging technology and AI to "help us see broadly beyond the domain of visible light."
According to IBM, vision today is largely restricted to the field of human perception — but over 99.9 percent of the electromagnetic spectrum (like radio waves, microwaves, millimeter waves, infrared and x-rays) can't be observed by the naked eye. Scientists have developed imaging tech to capture images within certain ranges of wavelengths (medical imaging devices and airport scanners are the first that come to mind), but they're far from practical or accessible for use by the general public.
Alberto Valdes Garcia of IBM Research and his team are hard at work to bring more of the electromagnetic spectrum into our day-to-day lives.
"We are building a portable hyperimaging platform that 'sees' across separate portions of the electromagnetic spectrum in one platform to potentially enable a host of practical and affordable devices and applications that are part of our everyday experiences," he writes of his current work in a detailed 5 in 5 post. "We anticipate that the ability to leverage information from two or more separate portions of the spectrum will tell us a lot more about objects in the world around us."
Garcia predicts that within the next five years, we'll have greater access to portable imaging devices "to see beyond the domain of visible light," mapping out images over the greater electromagnetic spectrum, which will improve (and even change) perception.
With them, we'll be able to see microwave, millimeter wave and infrared images — maybe even through apps on our phones. Consider that an early rumor for a feature of the 2021 iPhone.
The applications for this type of tech are limitless, affecting industries across a range as wide as the electromagnetic spectrum it looks to map. From showing a colorblind person what orange looks like (seen in the video above) to greatly improving a driver's perception of an unclear road in real-time, making superhero vision a power accessible to everyday people will greatly improve our day-to-day lives.
Once we have that, maybe we can move onto Superman's other powers. How about flight?
TopicsArtificial Intelligence
(责任编辑：時尚)
The U.S. will no longer have the final say on internet domain namesChewie isn't solo: Star Wars fans howl over a Wookiee love storyNicolas Cage finally gets to play Superman, in 'Teen Titans GO!'Is there going to be 'Outlander' Season 5?The five guys who climbed Australia's highest mountain, in swimwearHere's what 'Game of Thrones' actors get up to between takes
Warning: Contains some mild Season 6 spoilers right at the end (the video is spoiler-free).
。LONDON -
...[详细]Google accidentally confirms Pixel 3 in Android Oreo commit
Google done goofed. 。 In a commit message on the Android Open Source Project, spotted by。 XDA-Develop
...[详细]Parkland activist has best response to transparent backpack rule
When the students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School returned to campus after the March for Our
...[详细]Rudy Giuliani has no idea how to wear Apple Airpods, and the internet is roasting him
Now that Rudy Giuliani isn't on TV defending President Trump's every move like he was during the cam
...[详细]U.S. pole vaulter skids to a halt for national anthem
An American pole vaulter took his patriotism to the next level at the Olympics.
。Sam Kendricks, a sec
...[详细]Verge cryptocurrency hack shows, no, blockchain isn't invincible
Privacy-oriented cryptocurrency Verge (symbol: XVG) was apparently hacked Wednesday, with the attack
...[详细]Lexus concept yacht to become a bigger, 65
Forget those dreams you've been having about owning a 42-foot luxury yacht that can easily haul your
...[详细]I will delete Facebook, but you can pry Instagram from my cold, dead hands
Go ahead, take my Facebook, but don't you dare touch my Instagram.。 You may have noticed over the la
...[详细]17 questions you can answer if you're a good communicator
Whether you regularly speak in public and write online, or you mostly express yourself over email, b
...[详细]Margot Robbie wells up when her brother surprises her in an interview
Sibling mockery is everywhere.
。SEE ALSO:The 'Best Actress' losing nominees hugging it out might be t
...[详细]Carlos Beltran made a very interesting hair choice
Break out your 'SATC' jokes, Cynthia Nixon is running for New York governor