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Technologies once thought to be confined to the world of science fiction are rapidly becoming part of our everyday lives. In some cases, the seemingly impossible is now possible thanks to the ingenuity of Earth's scientists, though there are still challenges to overcome. In other instances, these technologies are already a reality.
10. Soft, Flexible Robots
If you’ve seen the movie Terminator 2, you’re familiar with the T-1000 robot that could morph into a liquid form, squeezing through tight spaces and even repairing itself in the process. Now, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have brought a real-life version of the shape-shifting T-1000 to existence.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) envisioned robots that could change shape, like an octopus. These flexible 'squishy' robots would be able to slip into narrow spaces, then expand to maneuver through larger areas. In medical surgeries, they could navigate inside the human body without damaging vessels or organs, performing delicate tasks. For search-and-rescue missions, these robots could navigate through rubble to locate survivors.
To bring this idea to life, scientists needed a material capable of switching between hard and soft states. The robot would need to be rigid when manipulating tools or completing tasks, but soft enough to squeeze through tight spots. MIT professor Anette Hosoi explained, “You can’t just create a bowl of Jell-O, because if the Jell-O has to manipulate an object, it would simply deform without applying significant pressure to the thing it was trying to move.”
After much research, the scientists opted for a low-cost, polyurethane foam that could shrink down to a very small size and later return to its original shape. They coated this material with wax, readily available from craft stores. By applying heat to wires along the foam’s struts, the wax would change from a solid shell to a softer texture. The robot could repair itself automatically when the heat was applied, and the flow of electricity could be controlled as needed.
9. Mind-Controlled Inanimate Objects
In the episode “Spock’s Brain” from the original Star Trek series, an Eymorg woman removes Mr. Spock’s brain and uses it to control functions like air circulation in the underground facility where her people live. While the idea of using a brain to manage a building might seem implausible, controlling inanimate objects with your thoughts has become a real possibility.
The aim of a project called “Brainflight,” funded by the European Union, is to control an airplane using only the signals from a human brain. The researchers hope to make flying more accessible, cost-effective in terms of training, and safer by lightening the load on current pilots.
The early test results have been exceptionally precise. With a cap equipped with electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes, a pilot’s brainwaves are translated into commands for the plane. The pilot doesn’t touch any controls—everything seems to move on its own. However, it’s not mind reading, but signal processing driven by an algorithm created by the researchers. The aircraft's position continuously adjusts until it lands smoothly, all through the power of thought.
Seven individuals, with varying levels of flying experience, took part in flight simulator tests. One participant had no actual cockpit training, but everyone was accurate enough in their mental commands to pass the flight portion of a pilot’s license exam. Several participants even succeeded in landing smoothly under conditions of poor visibility.
8. Weather Control
In shows like *Star Trek: The Next Generation*, characters occasionally referenced 'scientific' methods to halt tornadoes or alter the weather. While these were fictional creations, weather modification was once relegated to the realm of imagination. However, the time for wild conspiracy theories is over, as reality is catching up.
Researchers from the University of Central Florida and the University of Arizona are advancing a technique that involves firing a high-energy laser into the clouds, enabling them to produce rain or lightning on demand. Other scientists have successfully induced electrical events in clouds, although triggering a full lightning strike remains elusive.
The researchers from Florida and Arizona encountered a few challenges. First, they had to ensure the high-energy laser beam didn’t lose power before reaching the target. Additionally, they needed to fire the beam from a safe distance to avoid being struck by lightning. To overcome these obstacles, they introduced a secondary laser beam to support and maintain the strength of the primary beam. With the secondary laser serving as an energy reservoir, the primary beam could travel much further, similar to using a laser extension cord to reach the clouds.
Thanks to this method, they’ve managed to extend the laser's range from just 25 centimeters (10 inches) to at least two meters (7 feet). However, they believe the range could extend up to 50 meters (165 feet) or more, offering the potential to control rain and lightning over a vast area.
7. Tractor Beams
Tractor beams, which use energy to pull objects toward a ship or another object, are often seen in science fiction, particularly in Star Wars and Star Trek. For many years, these seemed impossible in the real world, violating the laws of physics. But recently, scientists at Australian National University developed a water-based tractor beam. According to Dr. Horst Punzmann, the project leader, they “figured out a way of creating waves that can force a floating object to move against the direction of the wave.” In essence, this wave-driven tractor beam pulls objects toward it.
Using a wave tank, the researchers discovered how to move a ping pong ball in the desired direction by adjusting the frequency and size of the waves they generated. They found that these three-dimensional waves create surface currents in different patterns, one of which acts as a tractor beam. This discovery could be useful for tasks like containing oil spills or maneuvering floating debris in the water.
Physicists at the University of Dundee have also created an acoustic tractor beam capable of moving an object as small as 1 centimeter (0.4 inches) in size. Previously, this type of beam could only move microscopic objects. By using ultrasound energy, the scientists were able to generate force behind the object, pushing it toward the ultrasound device. They believe this innovation will significantly advance the use of ultrasound in the healthcare field.
6. Tricorders
Another iconic device from *Star Trek* is the tricorder, a portable scanner often used by Dr. McCoy to diagnose patients. Other characters used it to detect life forms or analyze the surfaces of planets. In the real world, the technology now exists to make certain types of tricorders a practical reality in the near future.
At the University of Southampton, researchers are developing a portable medical scanner that utilizes electronic components as chemical sensors. This would enable same-day diagnosis of protein samples right from a patient’s bedside, cutting down on the time and cost associated with sending samples to a laboratory for analysis.
Other researchers at the University of Missouri are developing a different kind of tricorder that uses a radiation source as small as a stick of gum. Their version would be a portable X-ray scanner that could be utilized for medical X-rays, counterterrorism efforts, or even for exploring other planets.
The scanner would be about the size of a mobile phone. Not only would it reduce medical costs, but this tricorder could also bring essential X-ray diagnostic services to underserved or remote populations. Additionally, it could be used for dental X-rays that minimize the patient’s exposure to radiation.
For counterterrorism, this tricorder could scan cargo for weapons and other illicit materials at border checkpoints. Furthermore, the scanners could be equipped with sensors for planetary exploration, whether on Earth or other celestial bodies, if deployed on interplanetary missions.
5. Biometric Payments With Vein Scanning
In science fiction, it’s common to see retina scans or other biometric techniques used to unlock top-secret information, such as in *Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan* with Project Genesis. Fredrik Leifland, an engineering student at Lund University in Sweden, has taken that concept and applied it to biometric payments, allowing secure bank account access through vein scanning. As of April 2014, 15 restaurants and stores in Sweden were using Leifland’s vein-scanning technology to process payments, with around 1,600 customers using it as an alternative to cash or credit cards.
This vein-scanning payment system is designed to be fast, simple, and secure. As Leifland mentioned in a Lund University article, “Every individual’s vein pattern is completely unique, so there really is no way of committing fraud with this system. You always need your hand scanned for a payment to go through.”
Getting started with hand-based payments seems straightforward. You visit a store with a vein-scanning terminal, provide some personal details, and scan your hand three times. You’ll then receive a text message with an activation link. After filling out a registration form with your banking information, you’re all set to use the system.
4. Robonauts With Space Legs
Human-like robots have long been a popular theme in science fiction, appearing in films, TV shows, books, and comic books, ranging from Astro Boy to C-3PO and beyond. In reality, we have Robonaut, a robot developed by General Motors and NASA, which we mentioned previously.
However, the human-like Robonaut 2 (R2) is advancing to the next level. Initially, R2 aboard the International Space Station (ISS) only had a head, torso, two arms, and hands, meaning astronauts had to bring tasks to the robot.
That’s changing now—R2 has been equipped with climbing legs, allowing it to take on more tasks from astronauts. This is the first mobile robonaut in space. R2 will start working inside the space station, with the eventual aim of being able to operate outside the station. NASA plans to send more advanced robonauts wherever humans venture in space. Whether astronauts travel to a moon or another planet, robonauts will play a role. They might go ahead to prepare things, accompany astronauts to assist with daily tasks and exploration, or remain behind to maintain equipment in space.
3. Rosie The Robot Maid
Even cartoons can spark technological advancements. Rosie the Robot, a maid featured on the space-age Jetsons show, was designed to handle household chores. When the show aired in the early 1960s, this seemed like a far-off fantasy. But today, we’re much closer to the reality of purchasing or renting an affordable robot to sweep or even detect gas leaks. All you need to do is contact a robotic helper service, explain your needs, and in about an hour, a basic robot will arrive to tackle your task.
This is the vision of scientists who have created robots that can assemble themselves and move on their own to complete tasks without human assistance. These engineers developed a self-assembling robot that can assemble itself in just four minutes, using little more than paper and a children’s toy called Shrinky Dinks, which are flexible plastic sheets that shrink when heated into small, sturdy plates. The method mirrors how amino acids naturally self-organize into proteins with distinct functions. While these robots are not yet ready for wide use, they could serve purposes both on Earth and in space. Scientists are exploring stronger materials that require less heat to operate.
2. Cloaking Devices
Cloaking devices have appeared in many fictional works, ranging from the Romulan cloaking device in Star Trek that could conceal a spaceship, to Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak, to the Predator, which seamlessly blends with its jungle surroundings.
While we aren’t capable of hiding entire spaceships just yet, real-world cloaking technologies are advancing for light, sound, touch, and heat. Many of these rely on artificial metamaterials that bend light in ways that make objects disappear. Since our last discussion about metamaterials, scientists have discovered a method to use unfocused laser light like needles to help create metamaterials at the nanoscale. These metamaterials are also being engineered to cloak sound and touch.
Despite the progress, there are still significant challenges before metamaterials can be used in our daily lives. One major hurdle is the cost. Another is the issue of scaling. However, researchers are making strides by developing a technique called nanotransfer printing, which will allow them to produce larger areas of metamaterials.
There is already a type of cloaking that has been achieved. Engineers from the National University of Singapore have created a device that provides a form of camouflage, much like the Predator. This device can render someone “invisible” by blocking their thermal signature, meaning they can no longer be tracked by the heat their body emits.
This type of cloaking, used for military purposes, is cost-effective since it relies on natural, self-heating materials instead of more complex metamaterials. The thermal cloak is ready for deployment and can be scaled as needed. Researchers are also developing a camouflage system that can perceive colors and adjust to match the environment, much like how an octopus blends in with its surroundings.
1. Deflector Shields
Students from the University of Leicester have explored the possibility of creating deflector shields, similar to those seen in Star Wars, to protect spaceships from enemy laser blasts in the modern world. Their concept involves using a powerful magnetic field to enclose a dense, superheated plasma around the spacecraft. To deflect stronger laser radiation, the plasma would need to be denser.
While this idea may sound far-fetched, we already use a similar technique with radio waves and radar. The ionosphere, which surrounds Earth, is a plasma field that reflects radio signals and radar back to Earth, much like how a deflector shield would protect a spaceship from laser attacks.
Even though the magnetic strength required for such a deflector shield is achievable today, there are still some significant challenges. One issue is the immense size of the necessary power source, which would take up much of the spacecraft's space. Current technology hasn’t produced a power source small enough for practical use. Another problem is that any shield that blocks laser radiation would also prevent light from reaching the pilot, effectively blinding them. To solve this, pilots would need an alternative light source outside of the light spectrum, such as an ultraviolet camera.
Although we may not be equipped to face off against the Imperial Fleet just yet, the technology explored by the Leicester students has practical applications here on Earth. Rather than deflecting radiation, they propose capturing it for use in powering a fusion reactor.
