Depending on who do you ask, we have five, six, or even twenty-one senses. Besides touch, vision, hearing, smell and taste, which we are taught about in kindergarten, we have senses of balance, hot and cold, pain, magnetic orientation (although very weak and close to nonexistent), position of our limbs relative to other parts of the body (can you touch your nose while eyes shut?), and more. If you hoped the sixth sense has anything to do with paranormal, I have to disappoint you.

Humans have been fascinated with light and optics since prehistoric times, when the first “camera” was used to project upside down images onto cave walls. IEEE recently presented the world’s first Visual Innovation Award to showcase innovations that made great impact on human experiences with visual technology or are anticipated to do so in the near future.

Nasir Memon, Computer Science and Engineering NYU Tandon School of Engineering
The use of biometric data – an individual’s measurable physical and behavioral characteristics – isn’t new. Government and law enforcement agencies have long used it. The FBI has been building a biometric recognition database; the Department of Homeland Security is sharing its iris and facial recognition of foreigners with the FBI.