3. You might be tempted to think that theyYou might be tempted to think that they
consist of lasers, spaceships or otherconsist of lasers, spaceships or other
geeky stuff. But then you would be right,geeky stuff. But then you would be right,
only it is a bit more boring.only it is a bit more boring.
Many SF authors are known for the hard science behind their novels andMany SF authors are known for the hard science behind their novels and
had serious academic training.had serious academic training.
-Arthur C. Clark had a degree in mathematics and physics and-Arthur C. Clark had a degree in mathematics and physics and
-I robot author, Isaac Asimov had a PHD in Chemistry.-I robot author, Isaac Asimov had a PHD in Chemistry.
(Boring text) This writers and countless(Boring text) This writers and countless
others were inspired by the existing theoriesothers were inspired by the existing theories
and technologies as much as they in turnand technologies as much as they in turn
inspired new ideas in science by expandinginspired new ideas in science by expanding
the imagination of the reader many ofthe imagination of the reader many of
whom pursued the carriers of science, inwhom pursued the carriers of science, in
fact there are countless inventions of todayfact there are countless inventions of today
tat are inspired and even made possible bytat are inspired and even made possible by
SF.SF.
Lil’ bit of context…
4. The Mobile PhoneThe Mobile Phone
The first concept of a mobile communication device occurred
on a television series called Star Trek. In fact,
-Martin Cooper, the inventor of the mobile phone, has stated
that his inspiration came from watching Captain Kirk speak
into his handheld communicator on the series. Martin Cooper,
the director of research and development at Motorola,
credited the “Star Trek” communicator as his inspiration for
the design of the
-first mobile phone in the early 1970s. “That was not fantasy
to us,” Cooper said, “that was an objective.”
Mobile phones haven’t always been thin,
sleek and convenient
-in 1996, Motorola produced the
StarTAC flip phone, a small, stylish
alternative to other mobile devices. It
bore a strong resemblance to the
clamshell communicators on Star Trek
and was also the lightest phone on the
market at the time.
5. Debit cardsDebit cards
-First described by novelist
Edward Bellamy in his 1887
utopian book “Looking
Backward”, the credit card
has become yet another
integral part of people’s
lives.
-Bellamy used the term
‘credit card’ as a means of
paying for a citizen’s
dividend from the
government.
//Our credit cards are pretty
close to Bellamy’s
description of “a credit card
issued to him with which he
procures at public
storehouses, found in every
community, whatever he
desires, whenever he
desires it.
6. GeostationaryGeostationary SatellitesSatellites
In 1945, author Arthur C. Clarke published an article in Wireless World magazine that
proposed a satellite that would remain motionless in the air, rather than passing by
overhead. Such a fixed position for a satellite could be useful for relaying television
and radio signals, as well as to help ships navigate, among other things. Clarke
surmised that in order to do this, a satellite could be put into orbit both in the same
direction as the planet rotates and at the same speed.
-The article was not considered serious at the time, but became a reality nearly 20
years later with the launch of the first commercial geostationary communication
satellite. The geostationary orbit is now sometimes referred to as the Clarke Orbit or
the Clarke belt. These days, geostationary satellites allow people in very
remote areas access broadband internet.
7. TabletsTablets
-Clarke also, in Space
Odyssey (1968), came up with
a gadget called a newspad – a
flat-panel screen that allowed
its users to read Earth’s
newspapers.
-After 19 years Star Trek: The
Next Generation featured
touch-based tablets called
PADDS, short for “personal
access display devices.” which
resemble the tablets we use
today.
8. LasersLasers
//lasers are used in DVDs, eye
surgery, forensic fingerprinting,
printers, hair removal, industrial
processes and weapons.
Einstein wrote about in
1917, but way back in
-1898, science-fiction
author HG Wells described
a familiar-sounding ‘heat-
ray’ in War Of The Worlds.
What’s more, in
-1925, Russian writer
Mikhail Bulgakov wrote, in
Fatal Eggs, about an
intense red light that
stimulated growth – long
before the first experiments
into laser bio-stimulation
took place in the late
1960s.
9. Video callsVideo calls
//For decades, the kind of quality
video calls we saw in movies like
Blade Runner and 2001: A
Space Odyssey seemed
impossible.
- Though the technology existed,
practically no one had the
bandwidth for them on regular
home landlines.
-Now, thanks to technology like
Skype, Google Talk and Apple
FaceTime, video calls aren’t just
practical, but enjoyable.
-In Jules Verne’s "In the Year
2889" describes the
"phonotelephote"—a forerunner
to today's videoconferencing
technologies, such as the setup
above, used to connect distant
family members in North and
South Korea in 2005.
10. The RocketThe Rocket
(Space rocket, not missile)(Space rocket, not missile)
American scientist Robert H.
Goddard, who built the first liquid-
fueled rocket, became fascinated
with spaceflight after reading a
serialization of H.G. Wells' War of
the Worlds. Goddard's rocket was
successfully launched on March 16,
1926. He was later quoted as saying
that the concept of interplanetary
flight "gripped my imagination
tremendously." Goddard's
developments eventually made
space flight a reality. Interestingly
enough, at the time, he was often
ridiculed in the press. Now he is
considered a founder of modern
rocket science.
11. TheThe
SubmarineSubmarine
In the year of 1870, Jules Verne
published the science fiction classic
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under
the Sea, which revolved around the
adventures of an inventor who
traveled around in Nautilus, a
submarine more advanced than
anything that existed at the time.
Today, most submarines are electric,
just like the Nautilus.
--Known as the father of the modern
submarine, American inventor Simon
Lake had been captivated by the
idea of undersea travel and
exploration ever since he read Jules
Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues
Under the Sea in 1870. Lake’s
innovations included ballast tanks,
divers’ compartments and the
periscope. His company built the
Argonaut—the first submarine to
operate successfully in the open
ocean, in 1898—earning him a
congratulatory note from Verne.
12. Waldo was initially a short story published by Robert A. Heinlein in Astounding
Magazine in 1942. The story is about a mechanical genius, Waldo, and his
journey from a self-imposed exile to a more normal existence. Waldo was born
as a wealthy weakling, unable to lift up his head or use his hands to drink or
eat. Waldo created a mechanical hand that he used with a glove and harness.
Today, these mechanical arms, called Waldos in recognition of Heinlein’s
innovative idea, are used by the nuclear industry as wel as in most automated
factoryes.
The WaldoThe Waldo
13. The TaserThe Taser
Edward Stratemeyer began publishing a
series of books about a teen boy named
Tom Swift who had a passion for science
and inventing. The first book was written
in 1910 and was meant to teach young
adults about science. This boy invented a
number of things, but it was the electric
rifle that
--Jack Cover, a NASA researcher, was
inspired by. Cover began developing the
actual Taser (an acronym for "Thomas A.
Swift's Electric Rifle") in 1969. The device
was completed 5 years later.
-Jules Verne's favorite topic of
speculation was the vehicle, but he also
wrote about weapons that didn't yet exist.
For example, in Twenty Thousand
Leagues Under the Sea, he also
described a gun that delivers a strong
electric jolt, much like our Teaser, which
was used to protect themselves against
the sharks.
14. The World WideThe World Wide
WebWeb
In a 1997 interview with Time
magazine, Tim Berners-Lee, the man
most often credited for the creation of
the worldwide web, spoke of a
fascination in his youth of a story by
Arthur C. Clarke. This short story,
Dial F For Frankenstein, which was
written in 1964, featured a setting
where computers were networked
together and eventually began to
learn to think autonomously. Although
Berners-Lee was clear that he didn't
want to entirely fulfill this vision, he
did see the web as something that
could transform society. 15 years
later would prove that he was right.
15. The Computer VirusThe Computer Virus
This is probably not something we
want to celebrate as an invention that
owes its existence thanks to science
fiction, but it is inspired by sci-fi all the
same. In 1975, a novel by British
author John Brunner, The Shockwave
Rider, described a self-replicating
program that could spread across a
network. In 1982, John F. Shoch and
John A. Hupp, Xerox researchers,
created the first computer worm, a
small program that was designed to
identify idle CPU cycles but ended up
growing beyond their intentions. Fast
forward to today, when many hackers
still refer to The Shockwave Rider as
an influential book.
16. HelicopterHelicopter
While Jules Verne is
perhaps most famous for
his fictional submarine, the
Nautilus, the French author
also envisioned the future
of flight. Igor Sikorsky,
inventor of the modern
helicopter, was inspired by
a Verne book, Clipper of
the Clouds, which he had
read as a young boy.
Sikorsky invented the
Helicopter. Also such a
machine was introduced in
two books of his: Robur the
conquerer and Master of
the sky
17. Atomic PowerAtomic Power
In 1914, H.G. Wells published
a novel, The World Set Free,
imagining the emergence of
“artificial” atomic energy by
1933, followed by a
devastating world war and the
eventual emergence of a
peaceful global government.
Physicist Leo Szilard read the
book in 1932, which inspired
him to solve the problem of
creating a nuclear chain
reaction—in 1933. The same
book would inspire Szilard to
campaign for arms control and
the peaceful, international use
of nuclear power after World
War II.We haven’t even reached
the half of it >:D
18. Combat Information CenterCombat Information Center
(this is a boring one)(this is a boring one)
In the 1930s and ’40s, E.E.
“Doc” Smith delighted readers
with his “Lensmen” novels,
chronicling the adventures of a
futuristic Galactic Patrol. In a
1947 letter, sci-fi editor James
W. Campbell informed Smith
that the Directrix—a command
ship featured in his series—
had inspired a U.S. naval
officer to introduce the concept
of combat information centers
aboard warships.
19. QuickTimeQuickTime
Apple scientist Steve
Perlman says that he
got the idea for the
groundbreaking
multimedia program
QuickTime after
watching an episode
of “Star Trek: The
Next Generation,”
wherein Spock is
listening to multiple
music tracks on his
computer.
20. Neal Stephenson’s 1992
novel Snow Crash
describes a fully
immersive online
“Metaverse” where
people interact with one
another through
representations called
“avatars.” Philip
Rosedale, the inventor of
the once popular online
community Second Life,
had been toying with the
idea of virtual worlds
since college, but credits
Snow Crash for painting
“a compelling picture of
what such a virtual world
could look like in the near
future, and I found that
inspiring.”
SecondSecond
Life-Life- VirtualVirtual
realityreality
21. UnivarsalUnivarsal
translatorstranslators
Today, anyone can whip out a smartphone, select the right app, and have a
passable conversation with a stranger in just about any foreign country. However,
universal translators have permeated science fiction for a lot longer than they’ve
actually existed in the real world. In 1945, Murray Leinster’s novella First Contact
was one of the first stories to boast instant universal translators. Later, Star Trek
included its own device. Even Douglas Adams included a universal translator, the
babel fish, in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Fortunately, real-life researchers have been working at making these fictional
devices possibilities. At 2014’s Code Conference, Microsoft announced the Skype
Translator, a new feature that aims to bring diverse people together.
22. HologramsHolograms
While the Star Wars series
inspired the research of
life-changing technology
ranging from lightsabers to
warp drives, it also inspired
the creation of more
practical, everyday gadgets
like holographic
communicators. Ostendo
Technologies Inc. has
developed a projector that
can be placed in devices
like TVs, laptops, and even
tablets. Ostendo’s
projector allows people to
see 3D images without 3D
glasses — eventually, this
technology could be used
to send holographic
communications just like in
Star Wars.
23. HouseHouse
CleaningCleaning
RobotsRobots
-House cleaning robots are no longer
exclusive to The Jetsons.
-Massachusetts-based company iRobot
delivered its line of automated vacuum
cleaners to curious consumers in 2002.
And as far as products like the Roomba
go, very little maintenance is involved.
Typically, consumers only need to empty
the vacuum’s dustbin when it’s full.
iRobot has also released robotic gutter
cleaners, mops, and pool cleaners.
24. Floppy DisksFloppy Disks
Hardly anyone uses floppy disks
anymore, but Star Trek played a role in
inspiring digital portable storage. The
characters inserted small, square disks
into computer consoles in order to save
information. Although not as small or
convenient as modern or fictional
storage devices, the 3.5-inch floppy
disks popular in the 1980s and ’90s
were very much similar to the
technology used on the show.
25. GPSGPS
On Star Trek, the Enterprise crew was
located on the ground and beamed up by
using GPS but only in 1995 the US deemed
a Global Positioning System a functional
concept. America launched 27 Earth-orbiting
satellites in order to test it. From then on,
GPS technology has continued to evolve.
Today, GPS systems are incorporated in our
lives.
-Although Star Trek influenced the invention
of many vital devices, author Arthur C.
Clarke did some inspiring of his own in
1956. His writing about satellites
encouraged the development of high-speed
communication systems.
26. Diagnostic BedDiagnostic Bed At one British hospital, you can
get a non-invasive and non-
unpleasant diagnostic. The
hospital’s sickbay detects
illnesses ranging from stomach
viruses to cancer.
The machine itself contains an
astounding variety of equipment,
including parts of probes
designed for Mars missions.
-The technology is compared to
the scanners that Star Trek’s Dr.
McCoy swept in front of bodies
to diagnose illnesses. The real-
world technology relies on state-
of-the-art imaging systems and
diagnoses disease by homing in
on sights, sounds and smells.
27. EarbudsEarbuds
Ray Bradbury’s classic Fahrenheit
451 predicted that society would be
addicted to media and
entertainment, how ironic. The book
proposed that along with television,
“thimble radios” and “seashells,”
which are essentially earbuds, would
be how people sought out their
information. These devices would
occupy people with sounds, music,
and talk shows. Even though the
story was published in 1953, it
predicted numerous forms of
technology, many of which are
common today. A glance around any
college campus will prove that
people are hooked to their earbuds.This presentation never
ends…
28. Organ transplantOrgan transplant
Frankenstein is cited by some as the first science
fiction novel. In Mary Shelley’s 1818 book,
scientist Victor Frankenstein uses dead body
parts to build a man, bringing him to life with a
powerful electric current. While such an extreme
feat has yet to be achieved, transplanting body
parts from one human to another has been
possible for some time.
-Transplants have been attempted for centuries,
but the ability to make host bodies accept donor
organs has only come about in the last 100 years.
-Dr Richard H Lawler of Chicago achieved the
first successful kidney transplant in 1950,
-and in 1967 Christian Barnard performed the first
heart transplant, in South Africa.
-Her idea of using electricity to animate a body
could be seen as a foreshadowing of the
defibrillator. Such innovations have proved vital in
saving lives the world over.
29. SmartwatcheSmartwatche
ss
For many decades, children –
and possibly some adults – have
imagined themselves being able
to discreetly speak into their
watches as though they were
mobile phones, much in the same
way comic-book hero Dick Tracy
could. Created by Chester Gould,
Tracy was a police detective able
to communicate with his
colleagues via a ‘2-Way Wrist
Radio’. Smartwatches have been
around for some time, but usually
in quite basic forms. More
recently, Nike’s Fuelband has
given joggers the ability to track
their performance snd now we
have Samsung and Apple
Smartwatches.
30. Automatic doorsAutomatic doors
Hardly the most glamorous of
inventions, the automatic sliding
door was still once the stuff of
science fiction. More than half a
century before its invention, the
automatic door appeared in HG
Wells’ 1899 serialised story When
the Sleeper Wakes.
Wells’ door was invented by Horton
Automatics in 1954 and has been
widely used ever since. Now you
can go to work through an automatic
sliding door that would circumvent
the problem of high winds and their
damaging effect.
31. VoiceVoice
controlcontrol
Voice-controlled robots such as R2-D2 from Star Wars
were a mainstay of science fiction long before Apple
unveiled its Siri software. While the technology had
been in development as far back as the 1950s, it
wasn’t until Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: A Space
Odyssey showed a talking and responsive computer,
HAL, that people began to imagine its true
possibilities. -Voice control systems first emerged
during the 1950s and 1960s, when Bell Laboratories
designed its ‘Audrey’ system, which could recognise
digits spoken by a single voice.
-IBM took things a step further a decade later with its
‘Shoebox’ machine that could understand 16 English
words.
-By the 1970s, the US Department of Defence had set
up its DARPA Speech Understanding programme.
-By the turn of the century, consumer electronics firms
were starting to integrate such technology into their
products.
-Apple worked with speech recognition specialist
Nuance to produce Siri, while Google launched its own
Voice Search product in 2011.
32. NewscastsNewscasts In an 1889 article, "In the
Year 2889," Jules Verne
described an alternative to
newspapers: "Instead of
being printed, the Earth
Chronicle is every morning
spoken to subscribers,
who, from interesting
conversations with
reporters, statesmen and
scientists, learn the news
of the day."
The first newscast didn't
happen until 1920,
according to the
Associated Press—nearly
30 years after Verne
imagined it.
33. There is no reason whatsoever forThere is no reason whatsoever for
this slide to be here.this slide to be here.
34. Solar SailsSolar Sails
In his 1865 science fiction classic, From the Earth to the Moon,
Jules Verne speculated about light-propelled spacecraft. Today,
the technology has a name: solar sails, one of which is pictured
here in an artist's concept for NASA's orbiting NanoSail-D.
35. Lunar ModulesLunar Modules
Jules Verne also wrote about what are today called lunar modules, such as
the cone-shaped crew capsule atop this NASA rocket. In From the Earth to
the Moon, he described "projectiles" that could be used to carry passengers
to the Moon.
Not long now, the end is near.
36. SkywritingSkywriting
Jules Verne was a keen observer of
the world around him, and one of the
fields he paid attention to was
advertising. In "In the Year 2889," he
described "atmospheric
advertisements"—similar to skywriting.
"Everyone has noticed those
enormous advertisements reflected
from the clouds," Verne wrote, "so
large they may be seen by the
populations of whole cities or even
entire countries."
