Gadgets from Sci-Fi Movies That Actually Exist Today

Science fiction’s predictions about the future aren’t always accurate. For example, we’re now more than 20 years after the war between man and machine predicted in “The Terminator.”

But when it comes to technology, science fiction is surprisingly often right.

Here are some of our favorite technologies that first started on screen and later became reality.

Star Trek Assistant

When the idea of ​​a talking assistant, a computer that could be controlled by talking, emerged in Star Trek, it was an idea straight out of science fiction.

These days, almost every smartphone can be controlled with your voice, and voice assistant speakers like the Amazon Echo are becoming a necessity.

Amazon Echo users can now wake their device by saying “Computer” instead of “Alexa,” just like in the TV series.

Minority Report Holo Touchscreen

When Steven Spielberg was making the Tom Cruise-starring sci-fi hit Minority Report, he consulted Silicon Valley futurologists to figure out what personal computers would look like in 2054.

They envisioned that computer users would no longer need to touch the screen, but would instead be able to interact with a “screen” floating in the air.

Gadgets like the Leap Motion HD already let users control their computers using gestures, and the rise of augmented reality and VR headsets will make this control system increasingly common.

Leap uses infrared sensors and cameras to track your fingers, allowing people to interact with non-existent objects just like Tom Cruise does in the movie.

Robocop

In the grim sci-fi satire “RoboCop,” the cyborg cop is an unstoppable, vengeful force who crushes crime with his metal fists.

But the “future of law enforcement” has already arrived: real robot cops are patrolling in America and Dubai.

Fortunately, they are not as deadly as the movie Robocop, and all current models are unarmed.

The 21-stone Knightscope security robot is not only unarmed, it has no hands at all and is used to patrol office spaces with the help of a built-in security camera.

Speeder Bike

In Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia chase stormtroopers through the forest on speeders, motorcycles that hover just above the ground.

While the Star Wars version uses fictional “repulsorlift” technology, a very similar, but real, hoverbike is now available.

Malloy’s Hoverbike is a sort of supersized drone, with rotors powering a machine you can sit on.

Star Trek Replicator

In Star Trek, the Replicator could create any inanimate object out of thin air.

NASA currently uses a very similar device in space – a 3D printer from Made In Space, which produces spare parts for astronauts on demand.

Timothy Creamer, a NASA astronaut who spent time on the ISS, said: “This allows us to recreate our own version of Star Trek on-site.

“It helps us replace things we’ve lost or broken and make anything we can think of useful.”

Flying board

In the movie Back to the Future, Marty McFly hops on a hoverboard that hovers a few feet above the ground (until he makes the mistake of trying to fly over water).

While it’s not as small as McFly’s device, someone has managed to create a real, working hoverboard that’s available to rent right now.

Invented by Franky Zapata, the Flyboard Air is powered by four motors that propel it upwards and forwards, stabilizing itself in a way similar to a drone.

The plane can fly for about 10 minutes and is fueled by a backpack filled with kerosene.

Iron Man Exoskeleton

In the movie Iron Man, Tony Stark pilots a metal suit using the power of his mind.

But the real thing already exists, with Miguel Nicolelis and a team of Brazilian neuroscientists demonstrating a mind-controlled exoskeleton at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

An exoskeleton, controlled by an EEG cap that measures brain activity, allowed a paralyzed patient to kick a ball to start the World Cup.

Team member Dr Gordon Cheng said: “The basic idea is that we record signals from the brain and then those signals are translated into commands for the robot to start moving.”