The Future is Here! We Saw it First in Sci-Fi

Although at times the script and storyline in science fiction movies can be a little lax, it is extremely difficult not to be enamoured by the futuristic technology on display.

The utopian element of science fiction is something that completely draws you in. You are seeing a world that cannot exist in reality, but is nonetheless captivating thanks to some computer-generated trickery. That is what we thought, and we were wrong; technology is finally reaching a stage where it is starting to create some of the products and ideas that we thought would forever stay inside the silver screen.

Below are some cool products that have managed to escape the film world and enter our everyday lives.

Self-Lacing Nike Trainers

First Seen: Back To The Future II (1989)

The second Back To The Future was a technology orgy, as well as one fine film. Set in the year 2015, the film made some bold predictions, some of which were way off the mark: flying cars, time travel, and the dominance of fax machines… not so much. However, some of the predictions were far closer than they appear. The film showcased video calling – Skype to you and I – as well as microwave meals and 3D movies. The two coolest pieces of tech they predicted the year 2015 would have were the hoverboard and the self-lacing Nike trainers.

Now the hoverboard, which is being tested by Tony Hawk no less, is currently in its proto-phase, so it is a few years off. However, Nike hope to have a pair of self-lacing trainers available to the mass market by the end of the year, which are going to be fantastic, and probably insanely expensive. Worth it? Maybe.

Female Fighting Machines

First seen: The Terminator (1984)

James Cameron’s The Terminator has a special place in sci-fi culture. It was the vehicle that made Arnold Schwarzenegger a household name, as well as Linda Hamilton. Hamilton played the female lead, Sarah Connor, who is arguably one of the most badass ladies in the sci-fi world, keeping such company as Sigourney Weaver. Hollywood had hardly been blessed by ass-kicking female leads before Connor, who tore everything up.

Fast-forward 30 years and you have the real life version of the iconic character: Ronda Rousey. The female UFC champion and permanent MMA betting favourite is a machine; she has a punch befitting a T-800! She may not be an actual ‘female fighting machine’ in the technological sense, but she is badass just like Sarah Connor.

Colonization of Mars

First seen: Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (2011)

In the hugely successful 2011 film, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, we briefly hear about the spacecraft Icarus going missing while en route to planet Mars.

It isn’t just Rupert Wyatt, the film’s director, who has envisioned colonizing Mars but Elon Musk, an inventor, invester and entrepreneur is infinitely fascinated with the colonization of Mars (and is concerned about a robot uprising like SkyNet in Terminator). The past few years have seen SpaceX garner mainstream attention as they strive towards doing what the Icarus failed to do: colonize Mars.

Although they are still a few years away from their goal, SpaceX hopes to one day reach Mars. Would you be willing to leave Earth to set up shop 225,300,000 km away?

[Images via Doug Kline / Pedro Gaytan / Matthew Simantov]