Emulating Sci-Fi: When Will We Get Future Technology From Films
By Guest Blogger James Sanders
We’ve all watched Star Wars and longed for the chance to wield a lightsaber or converse with our very own R2-D2 – silently knowing deep down there was no chance it could ever happen. Or couldn’t it?
As every day passes we make greater technological advancements than we could have ever imagined would be possible in our lifetimes. Just how close are we to manufacturing some of the technology we’ve seen in our favourite science fiction features?
Droids
C-3PO and R2-D2 act as the old married couple, tagging along behind Luke, Han and Leia, but ultimately also providing a myriad of useful services.
Able to translate into a staggering 6 million different languages, C-3PO acts as the go-between for our heroes and a bevy of alien races – including the infamous Jabba the Hutt.
R2-D2 serves as an astromech droid – fixing spaceships and making it considerably easier for pilots to traverse the baron wastelands of space.
What we have currently:
ASIMO, a robot created in Japan in 1986, is the closest thing we have to either of these little guys. This fella can:
Walk up stairs
Dance
Run
Climb
However, despite being a significant step in the right direction, he’s still considerably technologically inferior to the droids.
When it’ll be here:
Scientists estimate it’ll take just 25 to 50 years for artificial intelligence to progress to such an extent robots are able to think and react in a more ‘human’ way. The estimation is they’ll be able to work as aids for us in the coming years.
Spaceships:
Let’s face it; if it weren’t for this handy feature the action in the franchise would be considerably duller and slower-paced.
What we currently have:
We’re already a huge part of the way to achieving this aim, with spaceflight currently being pioneered by Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic.
This sees people carted off into space and experience weightless conditions for just a few minutes. Currently prices for these tickets are as high as £250,000 per person.
When it’ll be here:
Not long, unsurprisingly. With the Virgin product so close to being completed it is believed it’ll only be 10 years before we see regular sustainable travel in space as a ‘common’ factor.
Lightsabers:
The lightsaber is arguably the coolest weapon known to man – with a concentrated beam of pure energy channelled out of a handle into the form of a sword.
The twang of the weapon has helped to make it one of the most iconic objects in cinema in general, with vibrant red, blue and green lights implanting them in our memories forever.
What we currently have:
Nothing, sadly. Our understanding of the laws of matter and light are not yet advanced enough to create these beams of energy and somehow halt them in mid-air. The closest thing we have is quite literally models fitted with LEDs.
When we’ll have it:
Lightsabers are not expected to be created for quite some time. Physics and light will have to be understood much deeper for this to become a reality.
Interested further in how tech from sci fi movies are having an impact on our contemporary technology? Check out this handy infographic for info on:
Self-driving cars (Minority Report)
Automated operating systems (Her)
Learning from Downloads (The Matrix)
Lightspeed Travel (Most spaceship moves)
About the author: James Sanders is a freelance graphic designer originally from Edinburgh, now living in London. He left the comfortable surroundings of his hometown for the South three years ago and is now a fully fledged participant in the rat race. When he is not designing infographics he enjoys playing football on the weekends, as well as catching up with friends and drinking mainly in the Dulwich area. With London being such an expensive place to live, he is always hunting for ways to save money, which is one of the reasons why he enjoys working with companies like Vouchercloud.
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