What would the world be without science fiction? If science fiction did not exist, not only would the science fiction nerds be extremely bored but some of the best technologies we have today would not exist. Cyberpunk, space operas, dystopias, and utopias are just a few of the genres in science fiction that have helped inspire some of the technologies that we cannot live without today.
Don’t believe it? Not so long ago in 1945, revered science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke was circulating his ‘out there’ super ambitious manuscript known as The Space Station: Its Radio Applications. In this paper, Clarke suggested that space stations could be utilized for purposes of broadcasting TV signals.
During this period, TVs were not exactly easily accessible as a commercial entity so his statements were regarded as highly inappropriate by naysayers. It wasn’t until 1962; 17 years after Clarke’s manuscript, that the 1st transatlantic TV show was aired by the Telestar 1 communications satellite. Fast forward today and we can live stream almost anything, from any part of the world without making a lot of effort.
Believe it or not, sci-fi books and authors like Clarke have been making uncanny technological predictions such as these since time immemorial. Numerous works of science fiction feature technology speculation that ends up becoming part and parcel of our modern existence. Science fiction has played and will continue to play the very important role of driving modern technology by hypothesizing future advancements and inspiring innovation among its readers and fans.
Fictional works ahead of their time spark immense creativity from innovators. So to demonstrate just how powerful science fiction works have been in our society, here are 5 technologies stolen straight from sci-fi books:
Smartwatches
Almost everyone these days owns a smartwatch. Initially, most smartwatches only had basic features such as a pedometer that could calculate one’s steps. However, today smartwatches boast all sorts of amazing features including the ability to measure one’s heart rate, water intake, and even the hours one sleeps.
Most children were first introduced to smartwatches through comic-book hero Dick Tracy. Fashioned by Chester Gould, Dick Tracy was a fictional police detective that would frequently communicate through ‘2-Way Wrist Radio. Even though human beings haven’t invented a technology that can allow communication to happen through a smartphone yet, such a possibility is not too distant.
There are already rumors in the works that Apple has been working on a smartphone that can allow people to sync their iPhone contacts so that they can make and receive calls through their smartwatches. It’s unclear how founded these rumors are, so fans can only hope and speculate at this point.
Voice control
Today, you can get Siri or Alexa to order you anything online; all you have to do is ask. Long before apple unleashed Siri into the world, people had only ever interacted with the concept in science fiction movies and books. Specifically, the most memorable depiction of voice control was through robots such as Star Wars’ R2-D2.
Although this technology has been in progress since it was unveiled in the 50s, it wasn’t until a 1968 film by Stanley Kubrick depicted the first talking responsive computer known simply as HAL. This film, 2001: A Space Odyssey is now a cult classic that inspired companies such as Bell Laboratories and IBM to create their individual real-life versions of a talking computer.
By the time the internet was becoming accessible to the masses, electronic companies had already begun integrating voice control and voice command technology into their gadgets and devices. One of the most recognized voice command products today, Siri by Apple, was launched in 2011, and today, just about every smartphone is enabled with a voice assistant.
Automatic doors
Automatic doors may seem commonplace now, but there was a time they only existed in the pages of sci-fi books. The first mention of automatic doors appeared in HG Wells’ 1899 When the Sleeper Wakes. In this novel, the automatic doors would slide upwards into the ceiling in a bizarre scene.
The first automatic doors were created in 1954 through a collaboration between Dee Horton and Lew Hewitt, co-owners of Horton Automatics. The first commercial automatic door wasn’t installed until 6 years later in 1960, thus creating a whole new industry from nothing. Apart from predicting the invention of automatic doors, Wells is also credited with inspiring the invention of atomic weapons, lasers, and World War II.
Intelligent computer systems
The idea of creating a machine capable of overtaking humankind has been around for as long as many can remember. However, it wasn’t until HAL’s 2001: A Space Odyssey that people started to understand the possibilities of intelligent computer systems. In this work of science fiction, HAL was designed to be so intelligent that the computer could even play chess against a human-computer.
This is what inspired thousands of scientists all over the world to dig into AI systems. Several companies tried to recreate a computer system like Hal unsuccessfully. However, in 1997 a breakthrough came in the form of IBM’s Deep Blue supercomputer, which managed to beat the first human opponent at chess, world-renowned chess player, and champion Garry Kasparov.
Tablets
Although most people acknowledge Apple founder Steve Jobs as the inventor of the tablet. In actual fact, tablets were an extremely common feature in science fiction worlds. Case in point, 2001: A Space Odyssey portrayed astronauts using rectangular screens that look very similar to the iPads available today to watch the footage.
In another classic, Arthur C Clarke created touchscreen computers that he called new pads. Star Trek, on the other hand, featured the PADD or the Personal Access Display Device which was highlighted through the numerous movie franchises. In Star Trek PADDS were always available to the crew of a 24th-century starship. All of these portrayals of the tablet remain very similar to the e-readers and tablets that we love and enjoy today.
Final Thoughts
Many of the inventions that we love and appreciate today would not have been possible without stories created by the likes of science fiction authors such as Mark Twain and Arthur C. Clarke. Imagining the impossible is what has inspired and will continue to inspire inventors to come up with astounding technologies that will change our futures. So read a science fiction book and see what happens- you just might invent the next big thing.
