Like almost every other kid in the galaxy, I watched Star Wars at a very young age and fell completely in love with George Lucas’s cinematic universe. The only drawback was that none of it existed, and I really wanted a lightsaber. Twenty years later, not much has changed, and I’m disappointed to report that we’re not any closer to slashing open frustrating packaging with a laser sword.
Despite this, technology has moved at light speed when it comes to innovation. Take a look at the following visuals that reveal the futuristic gadgets from my favorite movies that did get some IoT tech predictions right.
Dick Tracy – Smartwatches
The 1990 movie Dick Tracy featured Warren Beatty talking into his wristwatch, but the comic books actually predicted smartwatches all the way back in 1931! While Dick Tracy may have predicted a two-way radio watch, even they couldn’t predict that you’d eventually be able to control your smarthome with an Apple Watch.
The Jetsons – Robot Controlled Vacuums and Flying Cars
We don’t have robotic housekeepers like Rosie yet, but we do have the Roomba. Although Elon Musk recently revealed his trepidations about unregulated artificial intelligence, only a year ago he invested in OpenAI, which was working on training warehouse robots to do the housework.
Meanwhile, flying taxis are about to hit the skies of Dubai in late 2017.
2001: Space Odyssey – Virtual Assistants
I have to confess, because of 2001: A Space Odyssey I could never fully get on board with virtual assistants. I have a recurring fear that my house will someday catch on fire, and when I plead with Siri to turn on the sprinkler system, she’ll say, “I’m sorry Dave, but I’m afraid I can’t do that.” My name isn’t Dave, but that’s the power of cinema. Luckily for Apple, most people aren’t as neurotic as I am. Or perhaps they haven’t watched 2001: A Space Odyssey yet.
Total Recall – Self-Driving Cars
It’s debatable whether the first self-driving car appeared in 1990’s Total Recall, or 1983’s Christine! But the self-driving car of 2017 appears more like Arnold’s ill-fated taxicab than the possibly-demon-possessed 1957 Plymouth Fury. Check out IoT For All’s coverage of self-driving cars from 2017’s CES to learn more about the future of autonomous vehicles.
Back To The Future Part II – Google Glasses, Hoverboards, and A.I.
Who knew that Back To The Future would get quite a bit right about the future? 3D films have been in every major movie theatre since Avatar blew the box office away in 2008. Augmented Reality saw mainstream success with the game that launched a thousand yard invasions — Pokemon Go! Back To The Future Part II even predicted Google Glass and hoverboards!
While we’re still waiting to witness the real power of AR and VR, we can anticipate huge advances in the next few years. Companies like Magic Leap are experimenting with ‘mixed reality’ that promises a similar experience to the one that traumatized Marty in Back To The Future Part II!
Minority Report – Gesture-Based Interfaces
We’ve already written about how gesture-based interactions will be a critical design factor in upcoming IoT technology. But you saw it first courtesy of Tom Cruise in Minority Report. Right now there’s a few choices when it comes to gesture-based interfaces. We’ve been beholden to the touch screen for sometime, and although we’ve adapted well — it’s definitely not friendly.
As the millennial generation grows older, and less agile with their fingers, the need for gesture controlled technology will continue to grow. In fact, it’s likely we’ll see an explosion in this market in the next few years. Two smart mirrors that debuted at CES, the Ekko and HiMirror Plus, are already gesture-controlled. It’s only a matter of time before you can use your hands to bat off annoying Candy Crush requests on Facebook!
These images are courtesy of the post, 14 Times Pop Culture Predicted Future Technology, from GetVoip.
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