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May 26, 2010
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The innovations from iconic sci-fi projects like Blade Runner or Minority Report always seem to point to a future that may look like the present, but feel frustratingly out-of-reach. But recent technological advances let us come closer than ever to hunting down replicants or driving cars that talk back to us. Take a gander at some shiniess that come straight out of a Federation supply ship.
Fictional doodad: The Universal Translator in The Last Starfighter, Star Trek and tons of other movies. An actual device common in science-fiction, the universal translator generally also works as a plot device, helping humankind grok what all those weirdo aliens are saying.
Real-world counterpart: Google Goggles and Microsoft's Translating! Telephone. The search engine conglomerate’s mobile app lets you take pictures of text that are in languages that you no habla and turn 'em into words that you can understand. Microsoft’s prototype technology runs spoken words through speech recognition database and then takes the result through text-to-speech software, all in real time.
The function we’re still waiting for: Alien translation. Of course, we need to find some aliens first. And, you know, get human beings out of the Milky Way. We’re pretty sure that Google knows where the aliens are. They know everything.
Fictional doodad: The PADD from Star Trek. Its initials stand for Personal Access Display Device, and the Federation gadget allowed users to remotely access databases, enter logs and play back audiovisual content with a touchscreen and a minimum of buttons. Other races in the Star Trek universe had similar equivalents. You mostly see 'em in Next Generation, but there were precursors in the electronic clipboards and data slates of the original Trek series.
Real-world counterpart: The iPad. I mean, look at the thing! Look at the name of the thing! You think Steve Jobs watched a little bit of Trek in his day?
The function we’re still waiting for: Subspace communications. 3G iPads are great and all, but what happens when you leave Earth altogether? We say, it's high time that Apple figures out how they're going to support Starfleet. Putting a communication satellite in orbit sounds like a good start.
Fictional doodad: Electrobinoculars from Star Wars: A New Hope. Luke used these peepers on Tatooine, first to watch the space dogfight high above the planet and then to try and find R2-D2 when he wandered off at night. Electrobinoculars allow for sharp visuals of faraway objects and the ability to make out objects after dark.
Real-world counterpart: Night vision binoculars. They may not have the way-way-way-over there range of their Star Wars doppelgangers, but these binocs offer up low-light viewing at a distance, just like the ones Luke wore.
The function we’re still waiting for: Video recording capability. Electrobinoculars appear to be standard issue for both the Rebel Alliance and the Imperial Army, and both factions used them to gather data on enemy movements. Throwing in a camera and some data storage into their real-world counterpart shouldn’t be that hard. At least not as hard as building a lightsaber.
Fictional doodad: The security scanners from Total Recall. The precautionary machines in this Ah-nuld classic were so powerful they could show a person's skeleton. And they worked on dogs, too!
Real-world counterpart: Full-body scanners at airports. You're used to emptying your pockets and getting the occasional how-do-you-do between your legs from that metal detector wand when you're on your way to the gate, but the newest security measure takes things to a new level. Full-body scanners can see right through your clothes with unprecedented detail, letting the TSA see things that you may not want them to. Hell, if they're fighting amongst themselves, who's going to save us from the Martian mining colony's freaky-ass mutants?
The function we're still waiting for: Skeletal viewing. Hey, we're all for increased security in these dangerous times but let's go for the technology that skips right past Mr. Johnson. Bones, not boners -- amirite, guys?
