What do Videophone Voice recognition, 3d printers, apps, and Smart Homes all have in common? Well, they all were predicted in old Sci Fi movies and books.
In many occasions throughout history, unusual concepts that once seemed wildly fanciful have become everyday occurrences, common sights in the average home. We all have read a Sci Fi book or watched a movie thinking that these futuristic images or devices are impossible to create or see.
For example, in 1968, Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey, showed for the first time a videophone call from a payphone booth. Who would have thought back then, that this could be the way everyone communicates these days? Following the invention of services like Skype in 2003 and Facetime in 2010, now we all carry versions of Bowman’s videophone in our pockets.
In 1948, George Orwell conceived computerised voice recognition, did he have a vision of ‘Siri’ or ‘Alexa’? Today, we are witnessing the dawn of the voice search age but voice recognition started in 1952, when Bell Laboratories produced the ‘Audrey’ system, which could understand spoken digits. Ten years later, IBM demonstrated the ‘Shoebox’ machine, which could handle 16 words.
Vacuum machines, 3D printing and wearables are some of technological developments that have simplify our routines and domestic lives and were once predictions featured in fiction works. Today, these devices are becoming increasingly popular and you can buy a vacuuming robot with wi-fi connectivity, app controls and intelligent visual navigation or you can get the ultimate apple watch that allows users to communicate via text and voice, keep track of their health, control their smart home, pay for goods and services and of course, tells the time!
Technology has changed people’s lives and especially at home, it has changed the way we cook, clean, relax and even communicate to others.
These illustrations will show you nine technologies that are today scientific realities yet trace their origins back to and the minds of sci-fi visionaries.
Suggestions were sourced from sci-fi super fans on reddit and the predictions range from 3D printers in The Diamond Age (1995) to wearables in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1962).
Infographic via CTM
