The future of technology in Sci Fi

[hsdrop]

I would really like to hear from everyone about their favorite sci fi gadget or tech. That could or has become a real life gadget or tech. For example the star trek communicator was the base idea for the flip cell phone. Also if the gadget or tech had not been invented yet you can share any ideas of how you would make it work.

 

[jedishrfu]

I always liked the Star Trek tricorder and tried to build one when I was a kid and while in college. However, I had limited funds and the tech was at the TTL logic packaging phase.

Today though and smart phone could handle most of the features except for some the external sensor stuff like life form detection. I've seen apps that simulate the life form feature via smart phone detection but since animals don't typically carry phones it gets lost in translation.

I also liked the commmunicator on the TV show Earth: FInal Conflict:

https://www.macobserver.com/imgs/tmo_articles/EarthFinalConflictGlobal.jpg

For other tech, I always wanted a hitech lightweight survival backpack that doesn't slump on your shoulders. By hitech, I'd like it to have integrated electronics, self charging with beaconing and mobile hotspot capability in case cell tech fails that others can still communicate with people nearby. It can't weight more that 20 pounds but would carry many essential items including backups of certain ones like a pocket knife / utility tool.

I've seen people build bugout bags but its with regular survival gear but I was thinking more about hitech gear too that could help in an emergency. Backup power and weight are always the issues though.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

FTL drives.

 

[hsdrop]

FTL drives.

have any ideas on how to make one

 

[Ryan_m_b]

Universal translators seem set to jump from fiction to reality. I've played around with the google translate app and it's pretty cool how it can translate text in real-time through the camera (even trying to keep the same font) and spoken word through the mic. There are even earbuds that promise to do the same thing:
http://www.waverlylabs.com/

It's entirely possible that within the next few years, maybe decade, everyone will be multilingual. Just stick in your headphones, activate your phones translator and chat to anyone.

 

[jedishrfu]

One thing to be aware of here is that if someone does have a means to create some sci-fi future tech then they shouldn't discuss it on PF or anywhere else publicly because it has the potential of destroying patentable claims to some of its ideas.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

have any ideas on how to make one

Damn it, Jim! I'm a historian, not a physicist!

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

Universal translators seem set to jump from fiction to reality. I've played around with the google translate app and it's pretty cool how it can translate text in real-time through the camera (even trying to keep the same font) and spoken word through the mic. There are even earbuds that promise to do the same thing:
http://www.waverlylabs.com/

It's entirely possible that within the next few years, maybe decade, everyone will be multilingual. Just stick in your headphones, activate your phones translator and chat to anyone.

My wife was telling me about a man and woman who met at a ComiCon. She was from France and spoke no English. He was an American and spoke no English. Just American. But they did have language in common, Klingon. They used that to communicate until they learned each other's language, and got married.

/anecdote.

 

[jedishrfu]

Damn it, Jim! I'm a historian, not a physicist!

How'd you know his name was Jim?

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

How'd you know his name was Jim?

I work for No Such Agency.

 

[DHF]

My wife was telling me about a man and woman who met at a ComiCon. She was from France and spoke no English. He was an American and spoke no English. Just American. But they did have language in common, Klingon. They used that to communicate until they learned each other's language, and got married.

/anecdote.

I read about a very similar story in the 90s, An American Tourist and Japanese Tourist, I forgot which country they were visiting but they discovered that they both spoke Klingon and communicated that way without knowing each others' native tongue.

 

[DHF]

My favourite Tech would be perfect insulation. I forget what movie it was from but there is a scene where the character reaches into a cupboard and takes out a packet that is seemingly at room temperature, he opens it and pours steaming hot coffee into his cup.
I remember not being very impressed with the movie ( I think it was a zombie flick) but that scene left an impression.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

I read about a very similar story in the 90s, An American Tourist and Japanese Tourist, I forgot which country they were visiting but they discovered that they both spoke Klingon and communicated that way without knowing each others' native tongue.

It's the lingua spankya of nerds.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

My favourite Tech would be perfect isolation. I forget what movie it was from but there is a scene where the character reaches into a cupboard and takes out a packet that is seemingly at room temperature, he opens it and pours steaming hot coffee into his cup.
I remember not being very impressed with the movie ( I think it was a zombie flick) but that scene left an impression.

Perfect insulation?

 

[hsdrop]

My favourite Tech would be perfect isolation. I forget what movie it was from but there is a scene where the character reaches into a cupboard and takes out a packet that is seemingly at room temperature, he opens it and pours steaming hot coffee into his cup.
I remember not being very impressed with the movie ( I think it was a zombie flick) but that scene left an impression.

you know there are ways to pull that trick off now think of hand warmers and the self cook food rachens that the military uses

 

[BillTre]

Reminds me of the NegEntropy wells of Dune books.

 

[DHF]

Perfect insulation?

Yes, Insulation, Bloody Auto correct. Thanks for catching that. Editing now.
ok well tried to edit but I guess it has been too long. oh well.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

Yes, Insulation, Bloody Auto correct. Thanks for catching that. Editing now.
ok well tried to edit but I guess it has been too long. oh well.

Fixed

 

[DHF]

you know there are ways to pull that trick off now think of hand warmers and the self cook food rachens that the military uses

yeah there are ways to simulate the effect but what was shown in the scene was a thin foil like material that some how managed to trap 100% of the heat of the hot coffee and keep it perfectly contained for seemingly weeks or maybe months. Also it somehow managed not to expand from the steam coming off the coffee. Purely magicTech for sure but if possible it would be a real game changer and I think demonstrating something like that would be more ground breaking then Warp drive.

 

[DHF]

Fixed

Thanks Ryan.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

I would love to see fixes for the petty annoyances of life. The frictionless toilet the Moties built for the human ambassadors, for example. Or one kitchen cabinet that worked like Hermione's beaded bag in The Deathly Hallows.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

The magic food machine from fifth element would be pretty sweet. Pop in an empty plate, hit a button and take out a steaming plate of gourmet food.



That plus a robot butler would make domestic life bliss.

 

[jedishrfu]

The robot butler reminds me of the Cherry 2000 campy sci-fi movie:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_2000

where the protagonist has a robot wife who short-circuits in water and he goes on a harrowing journey to find replacement parts for her and instead finds a real woman.

 

[DHF]

The magic food machine from fifth element would be pretty sweet. Pop in an empty plate, hit a button and take out a steaming plate of gourmet food.



That plus a robot butler would make domestic life bliss.

reminds me of the hydrate-able food from Back to the Future II.

 

[rootone]

That plus a robot butler would make domestic life bliss.

]
Not if has it's own facebook page.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

Anybody else read "The Proud Robot"?

 

[jackwhirl]

That plus a robot butler would make domestic life bliss.

They're working on it. (1m1s)

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

Looks like Death's skeletal horse.

 

[DHF]

Thanks for the nightmare fuel.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

Thanks for the nightmare fuel.

"Just one more cervix we offer."

 

[Filip Larsen]

I'd say (almost) perfect insulation is here already ...

 

[DHF]

That is trippy. So now I need a few of these to build some heat sinks for my gaming rig.

 

[EnumaElish]

Some kind of deflector to protect spacecraft from microcollisions at very high speeds. Some kind of protection to deflect or detonate space rocks, space mountains and planetary bodies aiming for Earth. A global thermostat.

 

[jackwhirl]

That is trippy. So now I need a few of these to build some heat sinks for my gaming rig.

These are actually the opposite of what you want in a heat sink, sorry.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

How about something we could use to terraform Earth?