Four futuristic sci-fi predictions that have come true
From self-tying shoes to virtual display glasses — the future is now.
Our perception of the future — and what is deemed ‘futuristic’ — naturally changes as we evolve. But, often, we are so focused on where we are headed that we forget to marvel at how far we’ve come. To paraphrase a recent Tweet by @roastedryebread who has been confusing their Siri and Alexa requests — we are actively living in a time where we have more than one talking robot servant at our disposal. I’ll let that sit there ominously for a moment.
My grandfather was the proud owner of a Teasmade — a device, alien to anyone under the age of 25, which aligned with an alarm clock to produce a steaming cup of tea as you woke up. I want to protectively shield the eyes of a Teasmade when faced with the smart coffee machines of today. Armed with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities, the latest coffee machines can be linked to your smartphone which can, in turn, control temperature, blend variety and can probably somehow do that little heart-in-the-foam trick, too.
You get my point. The future is now. Sometimes cool, sometimes scary. Here are four ‘futuristic’ predictions — once contained to the realm of Sci-Fi — that have come true.
The Hologram
Originally futuristic in: Star Wars
It’s an iconic scene: the figure of Princess Leia, blue and glimmering in her holographic form: “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope,” she says, as though in the room. Star Wars made the incredibly complex reality of holograms look easy — but, while producing a live digital replication of a person out of nowhere might never be possible, science is bringing us closer to this type of technology.
The University of Southern California has created a 360-degree light field display, which certainly wouldn’t look out of place on the Millennium Falcon. The result is a fully 3D human head, which can be controlled by hand and seen from all angles. While the ‘hologram’ is not able to communicate, it certainly looks the part.
Self-tying shoes
Originally futuristic in: Back to the Future II
With a satisfying “ziiiip” sound, Marty McFly’s Nike trainers fastened themselves in one seamless motion in Back to the Future II. Those who were taken with the state-of-the-art sneakers can now breathe a sigh of relief, as Nike is set to release a pair in 2019. Nike says of its HyperAdapt shoe: “It senses you. It adjusts to the shape of your foot and activity in real-time. You run, it runs. You jump, it jumps. It’s a revolution disguised as a robot, disguised as a self-lacing shoe.” For £314.00, you’d hope so.
3D printing
Originally futuristic in: Star Trek
The characters in Star Trek were able to print 3D objects — even food and drink — in a matter of moments. And while we haven’t yet been able to master an edible roast dinner, printed in seconds, after a long day at work — the 3D printer is currently being used all over the world for other purposes. In fact — you can even buy a 3D printer from ALDI for £249.99. Bargain.
Virtual display glasses
Originally futuristic in: Back to the Future II
Another eerily accurate prediction from Back to the Future II is its inclusion of smart eyewear — which has been brought to life in recent years by the likes of Oculus and Snapchat. In the 1989 film version, the interactive glasses can receive phone calls, which can now be done with Google’s smart eyewear product Google Glass — which the film interpretation looks incredibly similar to!
So, there we have it — in hindsight, the present day is looking pretty futuristic. Marty McFly would be proud. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some work to do on my DeLorean…
