Touch & Feel Before You Shop Online

Very soon, you may be able to feel the touch of your clothes (you wish to buy) through your smartphone screen before buying it online. IBM research predicts within five years, touchscreens will use a mixture of close-range vibrations and temperature variations to accurately convey the feel of objects you're viewing.

As we touch the screen, our nerves would generate patterns of electrical impulses which our brain can interpret creating the sensation of touch. The depth, vibration time, and intensity will create a touch pattern corresponding to the said object. This will enable online shoppers to feel and touch the objects say garments upon their handheld devices. Systems will be able to recreate a sense of touch based on texture through vibration that would match the exact physical experience.

Smartphones and tablets to communicate using haptics, non-verbal communication that enables people to experience how an object feels. Very soon cognitive computing will enable smartphones and systems to understand and react on the human brain patterns. The cognitive interactions will be able to understand and recreate the touch upon the devices with lifelike precisions using vibrations, pressure and movement.

Robyn Schwartz, associate director of IBM Research Retail Analytics, artisans in developing countries will access new markets by inviting retailers to experience their wares and products online. Not only this, it will be a boon in the field of medical technology.

Doctors will be able to provide hands-on patient examinations in remote areas using this touch-sense technology. This technology will make driving safe. Advanced API and apps will make it possible to sense the driving ability of the drivers. For example, if the driver is too tired to drive or drunk.

Using digital image processing and digital image correlation, cognitive systems will capture texture qualities in a Product Information Management (PIM) system to act as that dictionary for the objects to be felt. Online shoppers could then use this dictionary of patterns to match textures with the corresponding products. This touch feel will be supported by real time analytics for the said object. Say, appropriate data - sizes, ingredients, dimensions, cost, and any other information the customer might expect before they make decision to buy.

IBM states, pretty soon we will be surrounded by not just any ordinary computers, instead we will see the rise of Cognitive Computers, computers that would respond like any other living being. Which would possess the ability to understand the basic five senses of life and ultimately would respond to the thinking equation of "if then what."

Very soon cognitive computing will enable smartphones and systems to understand and react on the human brain patterns. The cognitive interactions will be able to understand and recreate the touch upon the devices with lifelike precisions using vibrations, pressure and movement.

 

What are Cognitive Systems

Cognitive systems are systems that incorporate psychological data and the sensing ability, similar to the humans. They have the ability to think and process information as they have the ability to take information from the environment and use it to make wise decisions like the human thinking process.

It makes the decision based on the data gathered from the environment and corresponds changes within itself responding to the surroundings. It is said that the original basis for cognitive systems were based on theories from psychology and are also part of artificial intelligence (AI) movement.

There are four characteristics of cognitive systems. They are data-centric, have ability for statistical analytics, "scale-in" function and ability to workload management and automate systems. The system mechanism is based on the "Cognitive Theory".

It states to explain human behavior by understanding the thought processes, assuming that the humans are logical beings that make the choices that make the most sense to them.

All this decision process is based on the information processing, which is a commonly used description of the mental process, comparing the human mind to a computer.