Welcome Back to Sci-Friday: Sci-Fi ideas that became reality
From Science Fiction to Science Fact
Welcome back to another grand edition of Sci-Friday! This week we are going to take a detour off of the Sci-Fi highway and head on over to Science Fact Avenue.
What I mean by this is we are going to be looking at some of the ideas from Science Fiction that have become, Science Fact.
Before we get into what amazing Sci-Fi ideas have become Science Fact we must take the time to give a huge shoutout to a few of the other authors that have participated, are participating, or will again participate in Sci-Friday.
If you haven’t checked any of these wordsmith’s out I suggest you do so! Let’s dig into a few concepts that were conceived in the world of Sci-Fi and birthed to life here in the real world.
3D Printers/Replicator
In Star Trek, instead of carrying food on The Enterprise, a device known as a replicator is employed to rearrange the tiniest of particles to create a variety of foods and common objects. The idea of on-demand replication has come to fruition in our reality in the form of the 3D printer.
We are currently able to 3D print many common items such as tools, toys, 3D models, etc. Although we don’t have a food replicator as they did on the Starship Enterprise, some 3D printers have the capability of creating some pretty good-looking food.
The world of food 3D printers assures me that the human being as the chef may not always be needed as it is today.
Video Phones
Video calling or Zoom meetings are something that most of us more than likely became familiar with during the pandemic. Zoom meetings made video calling extra personal, so personal in fact that you didn’t even need to wear pants. Although this practice was frowned upon most of us went pantless for at least one meeting, I know I did. How about you?
Video calling has been featured in various forms of Sci-Fi over the years but one of the first shows to use video calling exclusively was a little show called The Jetsons. Video phones are just one of the Sci-Fi technologies that have come to life in the here and now, take a look.
The Hover Bike
In Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi the hover bike was a favored mode of transportation. Today here, on planet Earth in the year 2023 (just writing 2023 felt kind of Sci-Fi) the hoverbike has become a reality.
If you have an extra $150,000 to throw around you can order yourself one of these bad boys right here on the internet. If hoverbikes aren’t being directly marketed to fans of Sci-Fi, they should be.
This would be a badass mode of transportation until it rained or a small gust of wind blew you off course, but under ideal weather conditions, it would be a real kick in the pants. I would just hope that the battery didn’t die and drop me and the bike right out of the sky.
Self Driving Cars
This is another concept that is all over Sci-Fi and has now begun to rear its autonomous head in our world, from Tesla to Waymo the race for a fully automated car is on!
KITT, the self-driving car from the classic 1980s show Knight Rider, Starring David Hasselhoff is a prime example of what we thought the future would be like. KITT is a completely sentient AI that has been placed at the helm of a sweet 1982 Pontiac Trans AM. It doesn’t get more 1980s Sci-Fi than this. KITT is in full control while The Hoff is just along for the ride.
This is not the last time that we saw the idea of a self-driving car, Transformers for example take the fully automated car to a whole new level. If you count Stephen King’s Maximum Overdrive as Sci-Fi, we see what happens when self-driving cars get a little possessed and try to destroy humanity, fun times.
The Mobile Phone
The Communicator or Mobile Phone as we know it today, was yet another idea that Star Trek The Original Series implanted into the brains of young Sci-Fi fans and burgeoning scientists, and guess what? We did it, we now have what was once known as “The Communicator”.
Everyone has Star Trek to thank for this, most of the entire world uses a mobile phone daily, and some of us never put it down, what would Captain Kirk have to say about that?
Remember the "Johnny Cab" from Total Recall? That was another amazing example of a self-driving car!
I'll tell you one thing, though: if the transporter becomes a real-life thing, I am *not* volunteering to test it first.