Chip maker Intel has commissioned leading science fiction authors to pen short stories that imagine future uses for the firm's technology.
The collection, called "The Tomorrow Project", aims to capture the public's imagination regarding the company's current research.
Intel believes this can help anticipate consumer aspirations, and drive future adoption of its products.
The anthology has been made available online as a free download.
The Tomorrow Project is led by Intel futurist Brian David Johnson, who regards the scheme as an important way to assess future technology trends.
"When we design chips to go into your television, your computers, your phones - we need to do it about five or ten years in advance. We need to have an understanding of what people will want to do with those devices," said Mr Johnson."What science fiction does is give us a way to think about the implications of the technologies that we're building, for the people who will actually be using them."
The concept is called "future casting" - and aims to drive future technology uses, rather than simply responding to market forces.The project features work from UK sci-fi author Ray Hammond, who took research in development at Intel's labs and used it as the basis for "The Mercy Dash" - the story of a couple battling futuristic traffic technology in a race to save a mother's life.
The author believes narrative has an important role to play in future technology.
"Story telling is often under-appreciated in marketing and development. It can engender reactions you just don't get if you show a bunch of slides. The best CEOs - like Apple's Steve Jobs - are the most brilliant story tellers," said Mr Hammond.
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