The best futuristic gadgets often appear first on movies before they become real. Many conceptual movie gadgets that were considered impossible to produce in the real world in the past are now making their way to reality. If you are curious about sci-fi movie gadgets that you can actually use now, here are six best movie gadgets that have become reality today.
Google Glass
Google glass is an all-in-one headset that is shown on movies quite frequently. The glasses can perform many advanced things that make your life much easier. They can translate spoken language into readable subtitles that are projected to the glass, recognize faces and help the wearer identify the person they are encountering or speaking with, and show smart data on the transparent glass. The ability to project an image on a transparent glass is itself an imagination that is very common in sci-fi movies. All in all, Google Glass is basically a smartphone transformed into a pair of glasses with some added functionalities that an ordinary smartphone lacks.
Holographic Display
Another sci-fi gadget that you see quite frequently in movies is a holographic display. The gadget that was considered entirely fictional in the past has now manifested in many forms. The most basic hologram is the one that you can create using a specific app that projects the image on a DIY glass or plastic frame. There are also more advanced holographic gadgets that are available today, including a holographic TV, Sony’s 360-degree display, and even touchable hologram that harnesses the power of ultrasonic waves to read physical pressures made with hand or fingers. With all of these holographic technologies, future smart gadgets will take the shape of not only touchable 2D surfaces but also 3D environments that you can feel and interact with.
Modular and Foldable Display
Since the earliest time people knew about television and computer monitor, the size and the form factor of this electronic display has always been fixed and rigid; however, sci-fi movies have frequently made displays with adjustable sizes and flexible form a subject. Today, since the release of Samsung’s The Wall and LG’s rollable display, everything that you see on sci-fi movies can now be enjoyed in real life. The modular display allows you to have a display with dynamic size. It can be as big or as small as you want. You can start small and later when you can afford extra modules, you can enlarge your TV without having to buy a new one. With foldable and rollable display, you will have many new amazing ways to enjoy the display.
Flying Bikes and Cars
If you had watched futuristic movies in the past, you are certainly aware that the dream to have a personal flying vehicle has become people’s long-lasting dream since many centuries ago. While people can indeed fly using helicopters and airplanes, those flying vehicles cannot be considered personal vehicles. With the release of autonomous passenger drone, flying cars, and flying bikes that are recently demonstrated as police bikes in a Middle Eastern country, you know that the era of a personal flying vehicle is already in your doorstep. The high vehicle purchasing and operational cost is currently the only obstacle that prevents it from appearing on your driveaway.
Laser Weapon
We can safely say that there is almost no sci-fi movie that doesn’t feature a laser weapon. While the possibility to harness the power of the laser in the weaponry industry has already been conceived since many decades ago, the inability to produce powerful enough beam is still the biggest hindrance, at least until recently. Lockheed Martin recently announced its ATHENA project and performed its first test to use a 60-kilowatt laser beam to shoot a flying drone. The success of this test is proof that laser weapon will not be something that you see only in movies like Star Wars and Star Trek.
VR, AR, and XR
Another focus of most sci-fi movies is the absent barrier between the real world and the digital world. With all VR, AR, and XR gadgets that are circulating today, you should already know that what those movies suggest is actually pure science and not fiction. Many establishments, such as Sony, Microsoft, and Oculus, are now competing to produce the best VR gadgets that allow users to immerse themselves in the digital realm they are interacting with. Some companies even produce an immersive full-body suit that allows them not only to see their digital environment but also to feel it. The AR and XR parts of this technology have allowed users to read restaurant menus and supermarket products by hovering their smart gadgets on the establishment’s signage
