When Oscar Wilde claimed that life imitated art most of the time, he might not have had science fiction in mind, but if he had lived long enough to witness the many sci-fi inspired innovations that have appeared in product reviews over the last decade, he would have felt vindicated. The following gadgets that amazed audiences when they first appeared in television and film have now become the stuff of reality, with many of these products now available for home use.
- Tablet Devices. Tablet-sized computers have appeared in science fiction for a long time, and a scene from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey was even used as evidence in a patent suit between Samsung and Apple regarding their popular tablet devices. For some reason, a wafer-thin computer just feels futuristic, so it’s no wonder why these tablets are beginning to attract consumers away from traditional laptops.
- Motion Sensitive Controllers. Gaming companies have for years tried to produce innovative controllers that would give users a more immersive experience, but only until Microsoft introduced its Kinect hands-free controller for the Xbox did the concept of gesture-controlled screens from films such as Minority Report (2002) become a reality.
- Robots. Where would science fiction be without robots? While no company has produced artificial life as sophisticated as the Terminator, product reviews occasionally examine robots that can perform small tasks such as iRobot’s Roomba, the first in a line of cleaning robots developed by the company that may someday revolutionize housework.
- Universal Translators. While the need to translate alien languages from the Star Trek universe does not yet exist, Voxtec has designed the Phraselator, a handheld device designed to translate over 100,000 English phrases into more than 40 different languages.
- Video Phones. The street corner vid-phone from Blade Runner captured the attention of audiences more than twenty years ago, and though public payphones have yet to offer this technology, consumers can now purchase video phones for home use that take advantage of Skype’s online video communications software.
- Full Body Scanners. Love them or hate them, but the full-body scanners featured in Total Recall have now become a reality at many major airports. Not only do these scanners produce a detailed (and very revealing) image, but they are also being designed to detect hazardous liquids and other chemicals.
- Flip-Style Communicators. Yet another technology popularized by Star Trek, Captain Kirk’s flip-open voice communicator is now possible with mobile phones that can take advantage of voice communication services such as Google Talk and Skype. In fact, there is even a phone designed to resemble the original Star Trek model, making it the perfect gift for any Trekkie.
- Holographic Displays. Holographic image display became famous when Princess Leia used it to warn Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars, and for years they have been used in static ways as decorations. Product reviews, however, predict that when the Sony RayModeler 3D display moves beyond the prototype stage, users will finally be able to experience fully-interactive holographic images.