Crowds of people move along the busy streets of megalopolises - someone is in a hurry to work, someone is leisurely strolling with a mobile phone at their ear, an iPad in their hand, a smart watch on the wrist that counts steps, and other gadgets. Many of these inventions appeared in science fiction works decades before their invention.
Science fiction has not only predicted many inventions, from space travel to home appliances. In some cases, she could be a source of inspiration for inventors.
The first commercial cell phone was created by Martin Cooper in 1983. The clamshell phone is featured in the fantasy series Star Trek, which aired from 1966-1969.
Despite the fact that the communicator of Captain Kirk was used exclusively for communication between the ship and the station, it is surprisingly similar in shape to the cell phone that subsequently appeared.
Communicator from the TV series "Star Trek"
Star Trek allowed humans to look at the devices of the future. The Personal Access Display (PADD) from Star Trek: The Next Generation is similar to the iPad released by Apple in 2010.
The transporter from Star Trek is still unavailable to us. But scientists are one step closer to creating it. In 2012, scientists from the Austrian Academy of Sciences and other European institutions were able to teleport photons over a distance of 143 km from one Canary Island to another.
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The series' replicator, which could create objects and food from molecules, practically became a reality with the advent of 3-D printers. In the near future, they will become cheaper and more accessible to the general public. Of course, you should not expect that they will "print" a cup of coffee, but with the help of such a printer you can really create many things.
A Star Trek replicator and a modern 3-D printer
Another controversial invention is shown in the 1993 film Jurassic Park. In the movie, dinosaurs were cloned to be used for entertainment. Dinosaur cloning is beyond modern science.
However, scientists are discussing the possibility of cloning a mammoth using DNA obtained from the remains of a 9,000-year-old mammoth. An elephant must be used as a surrogate mother. But it is not yet completely clear whether the 9000-year-old samples will do for this purpose.
Dolly the sheep was cloned by the Rosslyn Institute in 1996. Dolly was euthanized in 2003 after a fatal tumor was found in her chest.
In HG Wells' 1898 War of the Worlds, aliens use deadly "heat rays" to destroy humanity. In 2007, heat rays became a reality. The US military has introduced weapons that, using microwave waves, cause a burn sensation in individuals or crowds, causing them to disperse.
Another military technology that first appeared in science fiction, particularly in comics, is superhero protective suits. They are found, for example, in the 1959 novel Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein, the 2008 film Iron Man, or the video game Halo. A similar suit is already under development by the US military.
Called TALOS, it is equipped with an exoskeleton, night vision devices and ballistic protection. Currently, developers are trying to overcome the difficulties with its power supply. The suit will not be used in combat until 2018, according to the Washington Post.
Robots appeared in science fiction films as early as the silent film era. One of the first appearances of the robot on the screen was a humanoid robot in the silent film Metropolis in 1927. Its modern counterpart, the Japanese robot ASIMO, was created by Honda. The last modification was released in 2005.
Robot from "Metropolis"
ASIMO
This robot is not as perfect as the Terminator or C3PO from Star Wars, but it can walk, run, climb and climb stairs, avoid obstacles, pick up objects, and even perceive and respond to simple voice commands.
Other inventions include the credit card, which was first described in the 1888 futuristic novel A Look Back by Edward Bellamy, and the bionic limbs, which were shown on The 6 Million Dollar Man TV show, and now come to life.
In 2013, Patrick Kane became the first British teenager to receive a bionic arm. “It's different now,” says Kate. “She lets me do small but important things like holding a glass and pouring liquid into it, or slicing food on a plate. Now I don't have to ask other people to do it."
Video calling, which has been featured in many sci-fi works of the past two decades, became an everyday reality with the invention of Skype in 2003.