Futuristic Tech that is here already

Whenever I speak at an event about the state of tech and the future possibilities of technology, I always get the same two questions: “When will it get here?” and “Is this even possible or only in Hollywood?”

The truth is that not only is a lot of this kind of tech possible but much of it is being used right now. At this stage, I normally look across the room and see those faces who are looking at me in disbelief.

So here are some of the amazing “futuristic” technologies that we have seen in movies but are actually in use today:

Holograms

Remember that scene in Back To The Future where there is a Holographic shark that burst out of the screen? With the advancement in tech, lasers, and projectors, we’ve seen a remarkable progress in holograms.

For example, this was seen at CES 2018 from a company called Hypervsn:

Smartphone Glass

The cell phone screen is a piece of tech that we enjoy but almost never think about. Gorilla Glass is now common on virtually every phone making smartphone sturdier, more attractive, and easier to use with its touch sensitivity. It might not be the most glamorous sci-fi tech in the world for those who were born into an era where cell phones are mainstream. However, for those of us who remember our first greyscale “feature phone”, today’s phones are like living in the future.

Flying cars

One of the clearest and most visible signs of living in a sci-fi world is the presence of the hover car. Now we’re not quite at the stage of having the streets filled with flying vehicles (just yet). But plenty of companies have announced plans for prototypes. Volkswagen has shown off a concept video for their over hover car, based on several proven technologies.

We might not have flying cars in our driveways anytime soon, we can almost hear the drone blades spinning!

Food technology

What could be more simple than the food we eat and yet that too has futuristic tech all around it.

Whether it’s through the genetic modification of food to create bigger, more resistant crops or the use of precise information in order to make agriculture as efficient as possible, technology is changing the way our food is produced in almost every single way possible.

From farming to storage, to meal preparation, there are gadgets and gizmos everywhere to automate and enhance our eating experience.

Medicine

If there’s one industry that has always been focused on innovation and pushing forward, it’s medicine. Medical researchers and professionals dedicate their entire lives to finding new ways to protect and treat their patients.

With recent technological advances, everything from diagnosis to therapies is becoming faster, cheaper and more accessible. The more mass market medicine becomes, the more affordable to everyone across the globe it can be.

DNA testing was once a time-consuming, expensive process but today it can be achieved with a single device in less than twenty minutes.

Doctors in the USA can treat patients in Africa thanks to video conferencing and telemedicine innovation.

Highly invasive surgeries of the past have been replaced by laser-surgeries which are less invasive and have a shorter recovery time.

Translation Earphones

Traveling to a country where the local language is not a language you understand, is something that has intimidated travelers for years. However, this is no longer the case with today’s on the spot translation ability.

Earbuds headphones are designed to allow people to easily communicate, even if they don’t speak the same language. They do this by translating what is being said in real time and if both participants in the conversation wear these at once, they can hold entire conversations in two different languages!

AI

AI and Machine Learning have a huge impact on us today. Smart Cities who use adaptive AI technologies are able to save millions in electricity fees, keep traffic flowing, offer better services to their residents, by gathering data and predicting behavior.

Voice assistants such as Siri, Alexa, Google Home, use AI to understand the context of the commands and instruction they are given in order to provide more accurate assistance and information.

So in summary:

The next time you drive your car and just “happen” to have all green-lights, or the next time you ask Siri to place your Starbucks order and it is magically waiting just as you pull up, or the next time you sprinkler system doesn’t water your lawn because it’s going to rain tomorrow – take a moment and realise that the future is here!