Many strange happenings from science fiction have gradually stepped into our real lives. Writers of books, TV shows, and films once imagined scenarios that, with time, turned into genuine innovations. Without their creative visions, the world might never have seen marvels like cell phones, video chatting, drones, and robots.
Science fiction anticipated the arrival of credit cards, televisions, and even the 1969 moon landing. It also foresaw inventions like bionic limbs, antidepressants, military tanks, and submarines.
One outstanding example is the internet concept, which appeared in William Gibson’s book Neuromancer more than three decades ago. Gibson coined “cyberspace,” calling it a “consensual hallucination,” and predicted future marvels such as reality television and nanotechnology.
Mobile Phones (Photo: Getty Images)
At times, these predictions have shown darker sides, such as HAL 9000, the rogue computer from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Since its 1968 release, HAL remains a strong warning about the dangers of artificial intelligence.
On the brighter side, several of these imaginative ideas have highlighted how technology could improve human lives. George Lucas’s Star Wars hologram tables and The Jetsons’ flying cars and video chats are just a few inventions inspired by writers rather than scientists.
Looking ahead, the guesses of science fiction writers may still influence future technologies, but it will be scientists who turn dreams into reality.
Imagining the Future
Military tanks, bionic limbs, submarines, computing tablets, and mood-enhancing medicines all came from seeds planted by science fiction. Countless books have been dedicated to showing how imagination crossed into invention. Predicting digital technology before the existence of computers is something truly admirable.
The relationship between science fiction and technological advancements is no coincidence. Researchers draw motivation from futuristic portrayals in books, films, and television series. Findings suggest that sci-fi writers frequently work alongside scientists, offering ideas that shape and drive research in several important areas:
- Human body modifications and extensions
- Interactions between humans and computers
- Relations between humans and robots
- Progress in artificial intelligence
If you use any of these 11 amazing technologies today, you should acknowledge the creativity of science fiction writers.
1. Mobile Phones
Star Trek, which aired in 1966, introduced the world to the communicator, a device that strongly resembles the flip phone. When Motorola released the StarTAC about three decades later, it was a clear tribute.
Today’s Smartphones (Photo: Alamy)
The series also introduced the tricorder, a tool used by Captain Kirk’s crew to collect planetary data. If they had merged the two devices, perhaps smartphones would have been imagined earlier.
2. 3D Holograms
The memorable moment in Star Wars where R2D2 beams a hologram of Princess Leia inspired real-world researchers. Today, holography has found practical uses, and in 2019, rock legends Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison were brought back to stage performances through holograms, accompanied by live musicians.
3. 3D Food Printing
The Jetsons’ food machines and Star Trek’s replicators captured imaginations by producing meals instantly. Researchers at Columbia University have since developed 3D printing methods that can prepare cooked meals from ingredients, though creating meals from molecules remains a future goal. Excitingly, a chocolate-printing race is also underway.
4. Domestic Robots
Karel Čapek introduced the word “robot” in 1920 through his play R.U.R (Rossum’s Universal Robots), derived from the Czech word “robotnik” meaning “forced worker.” Later, Lester del Rey’s Helen O’Loy imagined men falling in love with a robot servant, while Philip K. Dick’s Nanny described a robotic caregiver so efficient that families resisted upgrading it.
Rosie, the Jetsons’ famous robotic maid, became a cultural icon. Presently, while robotic vacuum cleaners are common, multifunctional AI home assistants remain in the works, likely becoming available within the next ten years.
5. Autonomous Cars
In a 1964 New York Times article, Isaac Asimov predicted vehicles operated by “robot-brains,” moving without human drivers’ interference. James Bond movies also showcased similar ideas, like 007 controlling his BMW remotely in Tomorrow Never Dies. Presently, automakers and tech companies are heavily investing in self-driving cars, aiming for widespread availability by 2025.
5. Flying Cars
Science fiction naturally took to the skies, overcoming Earth’s difficult terrains. Ian Fleming’s 1964 novel and its 1968 film adaptation, Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang, presented a flying car based on real racing cars built by Count Louis Vorow Zborowski.
$300,000 Flying Car (Photo: Flying Car/Getty Images)
Although those real cars didn’t fly, Chitty 4 set a land speed record. Today, “autonomous urban aircraft” development is well underway in military, private, and NASA research, and flying vehicles may become common by 2040.
7. Drones
Frank Herbert’s Dune imagined the “hunter seeker” drone assassin in 1965, and autonomous flyers are widespread in Star Wars. Science fiction envisioned drones long before their military use.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration granted its first commercial drone permit in 2006, but real interest surged after Amazon’s announcement in 2013 about drone deliveries.
Today, drones assist in fields like aerial photography, emergency services, and farming, with future prospects like robotic pollinators already under research.
8. Virtual Reality
Stanley G. Weinbaum’s Pygmalion’s Spectacles from 1935 is credited with foreseeing VR technology, complete with wearable goggles. Steven Lisberger’s 1982 film Tron and Neal Stephenson’s 1992 novel Snow Crash later expanded these ideas.
Stephenson described a system where Hiro’s goggles project images in his field of vision, functioning similarly to how television screens operate, an idea very close to modern virtual reality experiences.
So Hiro does not just watch the Metaverse; he can move around inside it, and even engage in conversations with others as if they were together in the real world.
Today’s virtual reality headsets and immersive environments follow closely along this imagination. Big companies now invest heavily in virtual spaces for gaming, education, training, and even social interaction.
9. Credit cards
Back in 1888, Edward Bellamy described a card in his novel “Looking Backward” that citizens could use to spend their “credit” from a central bank. This idea bears a striking resemblance to how credit cards work today.
credit cards (Photo: Alamy)
It took about 60 years after Bellamy’s book before a similar system came to life. By the 1950s, Diners Club had launched the first widely accepted charge card, and it wasn’t long before American Express and banks jumped into the business, transforming how people made payments worldwide.
10. Antidepressants
Science fiction has also touched on mental health solutions. Aldous Huxley’s 1932 novel “Brave New World” introduced readers to “soma,” a drug that kept citizens content and free of stress.
Although Huxley’s portrayal carried a warning tone, the concept of chemical mood alteration eventually found place in medical science. By the 1950s and 60s, antidepressant medications started becoming available, and today, they are widely prescribed to help manage depression and anxiety.
11. Bionic limbs
Martin Caidin’s 1972 novel “Cyborg” introduced the world to the concept of a human rebuilt with mechanical parts after an accident, an idea that became even more popular with the TV show “The Six Million Dollar Man.”
Advances in prosthetic technology have moved steadily forward, with today’s bionic limbs offering amputees sophisticated movement, sensory feedback, and in some cases, even the ability to control prosthetics with thoughts.
From fiction to reality, the creative visions of science fiction writers have frequently acted as a blueprint for technological development. The journey from imaginative ideas to tangible inventions continues, often blurring the lines between what is dreamed and what is achievable.
As researchers and developers draw from these bold imaginings, who can really say where the boundary lies between fantasy and the future?
