From billboards with facial recognition to paper thin phones, here are 10 Sci-Fi movie
gadgets that actually exist in real life!!
10.
The Sigmo – Universal Translator
When humans travel to the furthest reaches of the Universe, where no-one has gone before,
one of the most important gadgets they need is the ability to communicate with any alien
species they encounter.
Instead of showing how long it would take to learn a brand new language, Sci Fi offers
up a Universal Translator that automatically converts any language into your own!
Once a flight of fancy, increasing computer power is actually making these devices a reality.
Of course we haven’t yet discovered an alien race that we need to communicate with, so
it’s hard to test it out for sure, but there are plenty of languages on earth.
The ability to instantly translate one language to another without needing a human translator,
would be incredibly useful right??
Unless you work as a translator doe the UN...Now, this year it became a reality!!
The “ili” is a self contained device that doesn’t need to be connected to the internet,
(I know, right!!) and is able to translate in real time between English, Spanish, Japanese,
and Mandarin.
It’s designed to help travellers easily communicate with people in countries they
visit, and from all accounts does the job really well.
It’s not quite perfected yet, but soon enough we’ll be able to talk in any language without
sounding like an idiot or having to quickly leaf through books and trying to remember
our 6th grade french.
9.
Personalised Billboards
One of the potentially frightening ideas from Sci Fi movies of the past was the idea that
you could walk through a shopping center or down a street, and the advertising billboards
were actually able to recognise you and speak directly to you.
They would offer products that were specifically targeted to your demographic.
At the time, these ideas seemed intrusive and wildly futuristic, but they’re becoming
all the more common now.
This started in simple ways, such as installing a smoke alarm at a bus shelter and, when it
detected smoke, putting an anti-smoking ad on the billboard nearby.
This has now developed further, with some places in the US getting fitted with facial
recognition technology to identify characteristics like your age and gender so you can be shown
ads specifically geared to you.
Of course, almost all of us carry smart devices with us wherever we go now, and it’s possible
for companies to monitor our location.
As well as the government!
And, if they want to, send us messages or offers related to nearby stores.
It won’t be long until most shop fronts and advertising spaces will be reacting to
who is looking at them, which could be hugely beneficial for all involved.
I don’t know about you but I still think smart billboards are creepy.
Who knows who else is using them.
And now for number 8, but first, if you are new here be sure to subscribe and click the
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8.
Drones
Drones, as we now know them, have been a part of Sci-Fi worlds from as far back as 1989
when a news drone was featured in Back to the Future Part 2.
Nowadays they are, of course, one of the most popular gadgets around the world and used
for all kinds of things from real estate to recording concerts.
Whether it be recreational, video production, or even warfare to reduce the risk to human
life, drones are arguably one of the most important and influential devices of this
decade.
Just imagine how they will develop into the next.
The idea had been around for a long time, but it was only in the past 20 years that
technology caught up and made them possible.
Sure, RV aircraft have been around for decades.
But the first mass produced drones available to the public that could operate for long
periods of time, and reliably hold camera equipment in place were recently launched
in 2010.
Since then, millions have been sold around the world.
Regulators are scrambling to ensure they are being used in the right ways and not for spying
on your neighbor, or top secret military bases!
7.
Power Laces
Another futuristic gadget that was first featured in Back to the Future were the self-tying
shoe laces.
Ever since that movie, they have been the second most desired product, after the hoverboard
of course, but have just now started to become a reality.
Nike’s HyperAdapt sneakers are the world’s first power lacing footwear, and they’re
currently in the process of being released for sale around the world.
They are designed to help save time by not needing to worry about tying simple knots,
and do it in style.
As soon as your foot is inside the sneaker, a pressure sensor detects it and automatically
tightens the laces.
Two buttons on the side allow you to tighten and loosen the laces, which ensures you get
a perfect fit.
With no sneaky loops hanging out.
This future look and functionality comes at a cost, though.
Nike aren’t marketing them at sportswear customers- instead they are considered concept
wear.
At a price of 720 dollars they aren’t really for everyone just yet, but as the technology
becomes tested and more prevalent, the price should hopefully drop.
6.
Bionic Suits
Of course you need a bionic suit!!
What if you have to move something heavy, or fight a robot war, or end up on a planet
with much higher gravity than ours??
The the only way to be able to carry an object is by using a bionic suit to work together
with our muscles and skeletal structure to give extra strength and support.
Better yet, what if you could help people who couldn’t walk??
Spurred on by the desire to help paralyzed patients and the elderly gain more independent
movement, various companies have begun to develop Bionic Suits as a solution.
McLaren, the Formula 1 car manufacturer, recently entered the field after being approached by
one of their billionaire customers to design something to give him more mobility.
He apparently had a weakened sternum and rib cage, and with half a million dollars on the
table, McLaren’s Applied Technologies division came up with Project Invincible.
Made from carbon fibre and Dyneema, a material used in bulletproof vests, they made a breastplate
for him that provided all of the strength and support he needed to get back to the usual
day to day activities of a busy billionaire.
5.
Self Driving Cars
Self driving vehicles are supposed to be the way of the future!
Plus they are usually electric!
You can just program wherever you want to go and travel to your destination while you
just relax, instead of having to concentrate on the road.
Due to the computational power required to make the calculations needed for a safe and
automated trip, the development of self driving systems has been driven by tech companies,
as opposed to traditional car manufacturers.
The development goes hand in hand with battery technology, and it’s perhaps unsurprising
that the Ubers, Apple’s, and Google’s of the world have been pushing this sci-fi
idea.
The company pushing the limits the most, though, is undoubtedly Tesla, who has already put
self driving cars on the road at the same time as powering them with batteries.
Despite being a relatively recent entry in the car market, they are now on the verge
of being the highest valued car company in the world and, while they don’t produce
as many vehicles as the others, they are leading the way in futuristic car tech.
True, they’ve had some snafoos, but we are almost there!!
4.
Medical Scanner
When you’re travelling to distant worlds to explore, it’s crucial that you have advanced
medical technology to be able to diagnose any illnesses.
These have been imagined as hand held scanners or even smart hospital beds, and the underlying
tech behind them is now becoming a real possibility.
You know, like in the movie Passengers??
Scanadu broke Indiegogo records a couple of years ago with their device, the Scout.
Worn as a cuff, it would monitor the wearers vital signs like temperature, heart rate and
blood pressure, and send the details directly to your smartphone.
The California company has a number of ideas in the pipeline that will take the functions
far beyond what they are today, so the devices seen in Sci Fi are not too far off.
Unfortunately support for the Scout has ended because of FDA regulations, but it’s only
a matter of time until something is developed that can pass the strict approval process.
In the meantime, smart watches are providing very similar capabilities, with users being
able to monitor their health in a way that’s never been possible before.
3.
Optical Camouflage
Both the Klingons and Predator have an amazing piece of technology that militaries have been
trying to get for a long time.
The ability to truly camouflage themselves so they become invisible.
They can bend light to project on the front what would be seen if the hidden object wasn’t
there.
After a number of unrealistic solutions, like a rig of cameras along one side of a car and
video screens on the other, the US military set their sights on a battlefield-ready solution
in 2015.
They sent out a request for companies that were developing stealth fabrics to get in
touch, with the purpose of developing an adaptive camouflage that could be used to conceal people
or vehicles and, ideally, without needing a massive power source.
At the time, a number of companies stepped forward and claimed that they already had
working prototypes that fulfilled the brief.
Companies like the Canadian Hyperstealth Technology, that also produces a wide range of traditional
camouflage uniforms, demonstrated a metamaterial camouflage solution to military scientists.
While no perfect optical camouflage has been demonstrated yet, it’s something that is
thought to have been created, but has been kept confidential.
At the moment it just costs too much for full scale deployment.
2.
Paper Thin Display (OLED)
Sci Fi shows invented tablet computers, and used them to control the ship and send information
between people on other planets.
You don’t need me to tell you that tablets became a reality a while back.
Taking that a step further, another screen technology that has been featured a lot is
the idea of paper thin screens that can roll up, take up a tiny amount of space, but provide
perfect clarity and colour.
The race between mobile phone manufacturers has brought screen technology to new levels
in recent years.
OLED screens, for example, work without needing a back light like LED screens require, so
are much thinner.
It has been used in high profile products like the recent Iphone X, and the development
of these screens has only just gotten started.
The CES trade show is a great place to see emerging tech like this, and LG seems to be
leading the field with a truly revolutionary design- a completely flexible screen that
can be scrunched up, rolled, and retains a full HD image.
These types of screen will make tablets much more durable, and their use on a wide scale
is only just around the corner.
1.
Contact Lens Displays
We have all seen the movies where soldiers have contact lenses that privately display
information to them, and also Mission Impossible.
But so far miniaturised viewing screens have merely been a pipedream in the real world.
Google made their own trial into the area with the Google Glass, but their cost, as
well as the style issues meant that they never took off.
The real desire of this type of technology is the discretion, and the Google Glass was
anything but!!
However, there are a number of companies who have developed contact lenses with screens
in them, and they are currently trying to bring them to market.
Emacula is one of these companies, and they have brought their know-how in AR and VR to
design a combination of contact lenses and glasses that are used to project a digital
interface.
It can only be seen by the user, and to anyone else it looks like they are just wearing sunglasses.
Of course, this is just at the early stages of the ultimate aim- lenses that can be used
on their own- but they are getting very close.
Would you get some of these??
Thanks for watching!!
Are you ready to get some of these sci-fi gadgets?
Let us know in the comments below!!
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Byeeeee.