Gadget & Science
Science fiction has always been a huge inspiration for scientists all over the world. There have been numerous times when sci-fi writers imagined some crazy tech that eventually became reality. Then it were TV shows that took those ideas and showed them on screen, inspiring even more people to create gadgets like we’ve never seen before. Here are 10 fictional scientific inventions that went from screen to real life.
3D Printer
Star Trek has been inspiring generations of scientists to create various gadgets that were present on the show. In Star Trek they had replicators that could recreate broken ship parts and all kinds of foods. Today we have 3D printers that can almost do the same. We still can’t create food with them, but they can build human organs, machine parts, and whole mechanisms from scratch.
Digital Billboard
Just a few decades ago billboards were simply printed out, but that is slowly becoming the past of advertisement. The Blade Runner was among the first sci-fi movies that fantasized about the future of advertisement and came up with huge digital billboards. We can already see them in many big cities of the world!
Self-Driving Cars
Lots of sci-fi movies played with the idea of self-driving cars long before any of us thought it was possible to create them. You can probably remember the tech used in the movie I, Robot, and today this is pretty much the reality! Many companies are experimenting with AI-powered self-driving cars, creating more and more prototypes with each passing year. They might hit the roads as soon as 2021!
Hoverboard
Back to the Future movie came up with one of the most wanted devices ever – a hoverboard. Ever since the movie came out engineers have been trying to invent the technology that would help them make an actual hoverboard. In the recent years quite a few working prototypes have been created. Yes, they can actually fly! We can’t wait to try one of them.
Submarine
Can you imagine there was a time when people couldn’t go underwater? But it doesn’t mean they weren’t dreaming about it! In the book Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea Jules Verne wrote about the adventures of captain Nemo on a submarine and pretty much described sea expedition when it wasn’t even possible! Today we have submarines and they are used for all kinds of purposes.
Smart Watches
There isn’t a spy movie that doesn’t involve some cool multi-functional watches with various features. Dick Tracy, Spy Kids, and Golden Eye all incorporated this tech in their narrative, inspiring engineers to create similar watches in real life. Today we have a number of smart watches that offer different features and can all be connected to various other gadgets.
VR
Many science fiction writers have been dreaming about VR for the last few decades. In movies like Hackers, Ready Player One, and Jumanji virtual reality is used in various ways. Today we already have the VR glasses, and although they aren’t capable of much yet, the creators are working hard to improve graphics and broaden their capabilities.
Hand-Held Diagnostic Device
Another Star Trek invention, a medical tricorder, is something that has inspired modern inventors to create a similar gadget. While we don’t have the exact same device yet, we have infrared thermometers that can be used to detect temperature without touching the person. That is already pretty cool!
Gesture-Activated Devices
Seeing someone activate a gadget using only voice or hands used to look so cool and creepy in the movies, but now you won’t surprise anyone with tech like that! Minority Report and Star Trek showcased the possibilities of this tech and now it’s being developed on various scales. Even modern smartphones have gesture control already!
Flying Cars
In the very beginning of The Fifth Element, a cult sci-fi movie of the 90s, we see the main character played by Bruce Willis drive a flying car. It was so cool and seemed like the best thing in the world! Naturally, scientists and tech nerds wanted to create a similar car, and now there are some prototypes that come really close to the ones we saw in the movie! Japan has already come up with a flying drone car and more inventions are on the way!
