Scientists have always been able to predict the future: ever since Jules Verne they came up with technologies, which were then implemented in one form or another. Watching science fiction become a reality is especially amazing today, because many technologies that we saw in films and TV series have turned into real devices and solutions before our eyes. We have selected some of the most striking examples.
Mobile phones: “Star Trek”
Mobile phone is a means of communication, without which modern life is inconceivable, but half a century ago they seemed like something incredible. Heroes of the series “Star Trek”, in particular, captain Kirk, used communicators very much like modern gadgets to communicate with other crew members.
According to rumors, it was the episodes of the fantasy series that inspired Martin Cooper to create the first mobile phone Motorola DynaTAC in 1973. It was bulky and expensive, and it took decades to evolve into today’s compact smartphones.
By the way, one of the latest trends in the smartphone market is “clamshells”, reminiscent of Captain Kirk’s communicator. History repeats itself?
Bionic Prostheses: Star Wars
People have used prosthetic limbs for millennia, but we first saw bionic prostheses in a series of films. “Star Wars”… After Darth vader chopped off Luke Skywalker hand in a long-meme scene, the young Jedi received a bionic limb capable of performing all the functions of a normal hand.
Today, bionic prostheses – slightly less realistic than Luke’s – have already changed the lives of thousands of people, allowing them to easily perform many daily tasks. These devices work by the fact that special myo-sensors read electrical signals generated when the remaining muscle tissue of the arm is strained, similar to how it is shown in the film. The signal is transmitted to the microprocessor, where it is processed and transmitted to the motors that perform the desired actions.
Self-driving cars: “Total Recall”
In one of the scenes of the film “Remember all”set in 2084, the protagonist Douglas Quaid performed by Arnold Schwarzenegger trying to escape the villains in an unmanned taxi. All it takes to start the car is to name Johnny Cab, the intelligent on-board system, the correct address.
Despite the fact that unmanned vehicles have not yet become a part of our life, they are already real, and you can ride them even in Russia. Engineers Yandex have been developing autonomous cars since 2017, and in 2018 the company launched a robotaxi service in the city of Innopolis. Experts predict that in a few years “independent” machines will become more widespread.
“Smart” room: “Iron Man”
Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist Tony Stark from the universe Marvel in films, he repeatedly created his inventions in a high-tech workshop. Such “smart” rooms already exist – though not in the homes of eccentric superheroes, but in educational institutions. For example, the first virtual classroom in Russia and Eastern Europe at a business school SKOLKOVO – a real virtual space, a domestic analogue of the developments of other business schools in the world: Harvard, Oxford or IESE…
The main component Glassroom – huge semicircular display, consisting of 27 large-format panels Samsung diagonal 55 inch, which can display up to 80 images of meeting participants, lecture materials, information about projects and completed assignments, and much more. On an interactive flipchart, the instructor can take notes, draw diagrams, and annotate the displayed content, and then relay the information to the students. All interaction between the meeting participants remains as lively as possible thanks to real-time feedback and two video cameras with automatic tracking of movement, which shoot the lecturer from different points.
Voice assistants: 2001 A Space Odyssey
One of the crew members of the spaceship Discovery from a cult movie Stanley Kubrick – HAL 9000, a high-tech computer with artificial intelligence that (spoiler!) becomes the main enemy of the heroes. HAL 9000 is controlled as simply as possible – by voice.
Modern voice assistants such as Alice, Alexa, Siri or Bixby, are also controlled by voice, but, unlike their fantastic predecessor, they do not have their own insidious goals. On the contrary, they provide tremendous benefits: they help to keep track of the daily routine, provide entertainment content, control Smart Home devices and perform many other tasks. We hope that over time, artificial intelligence will remain the same benevolent.
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