The Future is Now: 10 Futuristic Tech Predictions that Came True (INFOGRAPHIC)

THE FUTURE IS NOW 10 Futuristic Tech Predictions that Came True (and What's to Come) The brilliant minds of scientists, researchers, and great thinkers lead to innovative technology that propels us into the future. AV Concepts investigates some futurist depictions of technology from 10 classic films and finds that they are closer to reality than fiction, and takes a look at what technology has in store for the future. 10 CLASSIC FILMS THAT PREDICTED THE FUTURE 1 Wearable Computing - Back to the Future II (1989) The Back to the Future franchise got some things wrong - no hoverboards or time machines yet - but one of the things it got right is wearable computing. The glasses you see the McFly family donning at the dinner table are quite similar to Google Glass and even the Oculus Rift, both of which are currently in their infancy. Naked Body Scanners - Airplane II: The Sequel (1982) Among all the mishaps and far-fetched scenarios presented in Airplane II, intrusive full body scanners revealing passengers’ bare bits seemed so silly at the time, you couldn't help but laugh. Almost three decades later, nobody found it funny when the TSA actually implemented nude image scanners at airports. They've since been removed. 3 Self-Driving Cars - Total Recall (1990) SODIHL L LIVE MUSIC The film is a sci-fi exploration of virtual reality, but one scene that sticks out involves self-driving taxis known as Johnny Cabs. Today, Google is one of the biggest advocates of autonomous cars, and there are now three states where self-driven cars are legal for testing purposes. 4 Skype - 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Stanley Kubrick's vision of our modern world and its telecommunication capabilities are eerily accurate. The video phone looks rudimentary by today's standards, but the underlying concept is undeniably Skype-like. 5 Touch Interface - Minority Report (2002) The film accurately predicted gestures (like swiping) and touchscreen computing as the norm, not the exception. Military Robots - Short Circuit (1986) It's easy to fall in love with Johnny 5, the wise-cracking robot from Short Circuit. However, he was built with a more serious matter in mind - as a prototype military robot. Now we have unmanned ground vehicles (UGVS) that can operate autonomously, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), known more commonly as drones - both are a little less charismatic than Johnny 5. 7 Space Travel - Woman in the Moon (1929) Man didn't land on the moon until 1969, but 40 years prior, the silent film Woman in the Moon showed what it might be like. There was a multi-stage rocket, a media frenzy at the launch, and a countdown leading up to the anticipated event. 8. Robot Assisted Surgery - Sleeper (1973) Woody Allen is a lot of things, but he's not a doctor. He did, however, masquerade as one in Sleeper, a wild comedy that attempts to take a nostalgic look at what we thought the future would be. In one scene, a talking computer offers analysis and suggestions during surgery. Many years later, it's not uncommon for surgeons to use remote-controlled robotics to assist with surgery. 6. Smartphones/PDAS - Star Trek: The Original Series (1966) Every Star Trek fan is familiar with the Tricorder, a handheld device used for sensor scanning and recording and analyzing data. Given all the things today's smartphones can do and the wide selection of apps available, the Tricorder is, in some respects, a forerunner of today's mobile gadgets. 10 Robot Vacuum - The Jetsons (1962) No, we're not commuting to work in flying cars or eating entire meals in pill form, but several technologies in The Jetsons were ahead of their time, introducing video chatting, tanning beds, a TeleViewer (similar to an iPad), and, of course, automated vacuum machines, a cartoony predecessor to the iRobot Roomba. WHAT'S NEXT FOR TECH ADVANCEMENT? AVATARS, SURROGATES, AND ROBOTICS NEUROHACKING It seems that machines are getting just as smart as humans, especially with the prediction that machines will soon be capable of decoding brainwaves and relaying private thoughts into comprehensible human speech. Futurists foresee avatars and surrogates to leave the game realm and enter more active roles as replacements for living, breathing humans. QUANTUM CONTROL NANOTECHNOLOGY Quantum control uses technology derived from physics to give computers the ability to move circuitry via sound-activated vibrations. Taking nanotechology from idea to reality means being able to make some incredibly fine, small-scaled tools. Nanotools have to be This technology could be integrated into a tiny computer chip, stepping into the future of powering our everyday assembled at the molecular level to be tiny enough to perform work at the nano level. In generations to come, communication devices. those skilled in molecular nanotechology will be in high demand in the workforce. Holographic Projection Thanks to AV Concepts' holographic projection technology, the future is now and fiction is fact. By combining some old light manipulation tricks with 21st century technology, it is possible to create a three-dimensional, life-size illusion that moves and interacts within a live stage setting. That means a whole new way of giving presentations and engaging audiences. AV CONCEPTS HEE TECNOLOGYA CREATIVITY CONVERGE SOURCES http://gizmodo.com/16-classic-films-that-got-future-tech-right-1184346443 http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/future-tech/10-futurist-predictions-in-the-world-of-technology.htm#page=11 BRIM A GEN CY