Star Trek is just Around the Corner

STAR TREK IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER Star Trek has inspired people all around the world with a vision of a high tech future. So how far away are we from this future? SPEBIFICATION 1) Communicator The original Star Trek communicator has inspired cell phone design foryears; the original flip phone designers had to be Trekkies 5 Stars SciFiction Reality Where we are: There are 4.6 billion mobile phones subscribers out there; that's a lot of communicators Things are only impossible until they're not. - Captain Jean-Luc Picard SPEBIFICATION 2) Trícorder A handheld device that scans; it can be used to scan the environment, a patient or any number of things and then analyze that data. 3 Stars Sci Fiction Reality Where we are: Several universities claim to have created their own "tricorders" creating handheld devices for different types of research that have replaced devices larger than a car Real Life Tricorder Xн The X-Prize Foundation is launching a $10million prize next year to develop a mobile device that can diagnose patients and give the doctor treatment options PRIZE Department of Homeland Security wants to put a sensor in every phone to detect deadly chemicals What we are missing Miniaturizing and combining these devices into one hand- held device SPEBIFICATION 3) Replicators A machine that can create food and other objects 4 Stars Sci-Fiction Reality Where we are: 3D printers are starting to become commonplace in industry, they can create anything out of composite materials and some can create objects but of metal 3D Scientists are experimenting with 3D food printers What we are missing Printing with non-component materials Combining multiple materials together SPESIFICATION Phasers Energy weapon that can be adjusted from stunto kill intensity 2 Stars Sci Fiction Reality Where we are: US Military has tested non-lethal laser rifles, which anre designed to incapacitate an enemy without killing them, either by temporarily blinding them or stunning them What we are missing So far they are just prototype stun weapons we are a long way from the phasers in Star Trek The best diplomat that I know is a fully-loaded phaser bank. - Lt. Cdr. Montgomery Scott SPEBIFICATION Hypospray Injects medicine into the body without the use of a needle 5 Stars Sci Fiction Reality Where we are: Jet Injectors use high-pressure compressed air to inject medicine into the body Primarily used for mass vaccinations I'm a doctor, not a physicist! - Leonard McCoy SPEBIFICATION Cloaking Device Stealth technology that would make a person or ship invisible 2 Stars Sci Fiction Reality Where we are: Researchers have developed a film that can reflect the visible light The current material only hides objects from one wavelength of microwave light What we are missing Ability to hide objects from more than one Ability to make larger objects invisible wavelength SPEBIFICATION 7) There about 42 million legally blind people world- wide VISOR A device that allows blind people to see 4 Stars SciFiction Reality Where we are: Doctors have been able to implant electrodes into the brain, that are connected to a computer and a camera, subjects regain partial eyesight What we are missing Reduce the size of the computer so that the device is portable SPEBIFICATION Warp Drive A faster-than-light propulsion system O Stars Sci Fiction Reality Where we are: There is a debate if it is even theoretically possible to travel faster than light Physicists theorize that the fabric of space could be expanded behind a ship into a bubble, and the space-time in front of the ship could be shrunk. The ship would rest in between the expanding and shrinking spacetime without moving, space would move argund it What we are missing The list is longer than this infographic; so far Warp Drive is just a theory Space. the Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before. SPEBIFICATION PADO A Handheld, touch screen computer ilLI 5 Stars SciFiction Reality Where we are: iPads, Playbooks, and Galaxy Tab there are a variety of tablets on the market BlackBerry. SPESIFICATION 10 Big Screen The captain always has the best seat in the house, although you never saw Kirk or Picard watching a movie on the view screen 5 Stars Sci-Fiction Reality BEST BUY Where we are: You can pick up a 90"+ screen at Best Buy. We can now all be a captain SPEBIFICATION 11 Universal Translator UOEIRPIG AYYTAATS Sorry to burst your bubble but not everyone in the galaxy speaks English, so you need some way to translate what they are saying so you don't have any deadly misunderstandings &YTOTETY 3 Stars Sci-Fiction Reality Where we are: The US army uses a one way translator called a Phraselator, which allows you to speak English. It plays pre-recorded phrases back in various languages U.S.ARHY An iPhone app called World Lens translates foreign text into English in real time ABCDE What we are missing it is hard to have a conversation when only one side understands, so 2 way translators need to be developed In Star Trek, the Universal Translator had the ability to learn a new language after just a few phrases: we have no progress in that sense ュエマアム ATS E sortable .com