New Delhi: In about five years, you may be able to feel the touch of a Banarasi or a Kanjeevaram sari through your Smartphone screen before buying it online, claims IBM.

This year the technology giant's Five in Five list talks about five such innovations that "have the potential to change the way people work, live and interact during the next five years," IBM said.

The 2012 list focuses on one element of the new era, the ability of computers to mimic the human senses in their own way, to see, smell, touch, taste and hear, it added.

IBM said its scientists are developing applications for the retail, healthcare and other sectors using haptic, infrared and pressure sensitive technologies to simulate touch, such as the texture and weave of a fabric.

Using the vibration capabilities of the phone, every object will have a unique set of vibration patterns that represents the touch experience, helping differentiate silk from linen or cotton, it said.

"We envision a day when computers make sense of the world around them just like human brain relies on interacting with the world using multiple senses," IBM India/South Asia Director (India Research Lab) and Chief Technology Officer Ramesh Gopinath said.

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