13 technologies from the universe of "Star Trek" that became reality

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

This year marks exactly 50 years since the start of the broadcast of the original Star Trek television series, and the franchise's thirteenth feature film has already been released. In this regard, representatives of the Department of Strategic Technologies Microsoft told how 13 technologies of the Star Trek universe have become reality.

GPS navigation

Star Trek

One of the most important technologies, which the characters of the film could hardly do without, were transporters - material and energy converters with the help of which one can move in space over long distances. They worked simply: the object was transformed into a pattern of energy and in the form of a beam was directed towards the target, after which it was transformed back into matter. The transporters had technology built into the transporters that made it possible to determine the location of any member of the USS Enterprise crew.

Reality

It will not be difficult for us to determine our or someone else's location using any device that has a built-in satellite navigation system. Familiar GPS is the result of thirty years of work by the world's best specialists: in 1973, the DNSS program was initiated, which later became known as GPS. In 1983, work began on the creation of a satellite navigation system, and only in 1993 the last satellite was launched into orbit to fully cover the earth's surface.

Clamshell phone

Star Trek

Captain James Kirk walked around with a communicator, which was used for voice communication between members of the starship's crew, as well as for signaling an emergency signal in an emergency. With the help of a communicator, it was possible to communicate instantly, being anywhere in the universe, while the signal could bypass electromagnetic interference.

Reality

Meanwhile, the communicator from Star Trek is very similar to a clamshell phone. It is also known that Martin Cooper, the inventor of the mobile phone, got the idea from this particular series. Modern devices, of course, cannot violate the laws of physics, but they accurately perform the key function of communication and location determination.

Smartwatch and less

Star Trek

For voice communication, the USS Enterprise team used not only a portable communicator, which is described above, but also a wrist communicator that was located on the wrist. The heroes also used badges for communication.

Reality

It's hard not to admit that the design of modern smartwatches is extremely reminiscent of communicators that the heroes of Star Trek wore on their wrists 50 years ago. Today this device also serves as a convenient replacement for mobile phones. Looking ahead a bit, we cannot fail to mention the secret device that Google unveiled in 2015. According to Amit Singhal, who served as head of the search department, his prototype was the badges of the heroes of Star Trek.

Bionic eye

Star Trek

The chief engineer of the USS Enterprise, Jordi La Forge, was blind from birth and wore a special VISOR device (a visual instrument that replaces the organ of vision). This device replaced his eyes and allowed him to see everything in the electromagnetic spectrum. It looked like sunglasses that were connected to the brain via the optic nerve. There is also a downside: the device caused Jordi constant headaches.

Reality

At first glance, it may seem that VISOR resembles HoloLens, Google Glass or virtual reality glasses. In fact, the device is very similar to a bionic eye. This is an experimental device with the help of which it became possible to restore the vision of people with partial or complete blindness. For the first time, a bionic eye was successfully implanted in a human in 2015. The lucky one was 80-year-old Briton Ray Flynn, who at that time was completely deprived of central vision.

Tablet

Star Trek

One of the most frequently mentioned devices used by many races of the galaxy is the Personal Access Display Device (PADD). It is a portable terminal for accessing a computer system, with a touch screen, built-in memory and processing power. It was used to compile reports and other documents, for various kinds of calculations, as well as for accessing the library's computer system.

Reality

There is a story from the biography of Steve Jobs about how one of the Microsoft employees was so obsessed with the idea of creating a tablet with a stylus that he motivated Steve to show "how to make tablets", and in 2010 Apple presented the first iPad. However, the first attempts to create tablets were made during the release of the Star Trek series in the 60s. Years later, Doug Drexler, a visual effects artist who worked on films and TV series for the media franchise, said it was amazing for him to hold a working PADD in his hands.

Video calls

Star Trek

Many characters called Captain Kirk to discuss important issues: friends, enemies, even Abraham Lincoln. Communication took place using a large screen on the captain's bridge.

Reality

To discuss important issues, we choose a computer with a monitor of any size, tablet or phone, and we call via Skype. The very concept of video communication appeared in the 70s of the XIX century, but it became a really convenient way to communicate only with the advent of high-speed Internet and cloud technologies.

3D printer

Star Trek

The heroes used a replicator to create and dispose of various objects. It was designed to synthesize food, water and air, making life much easier on board the USS Enterprise. Further, this technology was used to synthesize ship spare parts, household items and even souvenirs.

Reality

Today we are familiar with many devices that can recreate objects. The history of 3D printing goes back to the 1980s, when Chuck Hull invented a rapid prototyping technology called stereolithography. 30 years have passed, and we print food, transport, toys - everything that has enough imagination. For example, you can use Kinect Fusion to scan a person and 3D print a miniature copy.

Bluetooth headset

Star Trek

USS Enterprise Senior Liaison Officer Nyota Uhura often used a wireless earpiece, which allowed her to respond quickly to threats to the ship and stay connected.

Reality

The term Bluetooth is an English translation of the Danish word for "Bluetooth", and the technology itself is named after the Viking king Harald Bluetooth, who united the warring Danish tribes into one state. The implication is that Bluetooth does the same with communication protocols, combining them into one universal standard.

Tricorder

Star Trek

The crew members of the USS Enterprise used a handheld computer with which they could conduct an initial analysis of the environment. He scanned landscapes and aliens, allowing the starship's crew to quickly find the necessary fossils and biological materials.

Reality

The ISS uses a small device called LOCAD, which can detect dangerous microorganisms. With the help of various medical devices, we can scan the human body and establish an accurate diagnosis in 15 minutes (for example, using the Handheld DNA Lab, developed by QuantuMDx).

Universal translator

Star Trek

When you travel in space and meet representatives of many different races, a device with which you can communicate is vital. The starship Enterprise crew had a universal UT translator that allowed them to decipher and interpret foreign languages.

Reality

The first two machine translation systems appeared in the mid-60s, and at that time it was not a working solution due to the poor quality of the translation. 50 years have passed, and we have been using online translators without even thinking that they work according to different algorithms. For example, rule-based translation is traditional; it is used by the Russian service PROMT. The second translation algorithm is based on statistics and is used by services such as Yandex. Translate and Google Translate. There is also the Skype Translator technology, which allows you to translate voice video calls into 7 languages.

Phaser

Star Trek

Phaser is the most common energy weapon in the Galaxy, which allows you to paralyze, stun, or split an enemy into atoms. Thanks to him, the crew of the USS Enterprise was reliably protected.

Reality

In fact, the electric stun gun was patented in 1852 and was supposed to be used to control livestock, but was forgotten for 100 years. After the release of Star Trek, the stun gun appeared in the world.

Smart assistants

Star Trek

The USS Enterprise on-board computer could answer any question and had a pleasant female voice (which, by the way, belongs to the wife of the creator of the series, Gene Roddenberry). Many ships of the Galaxy were equipped with a similar system.

Reality

Just 10 years ago, it seemed to us that the creation of such a system was impossible. And today we can easily communicate with personal assistants Siri or Cortana. By the way, in 2014 it became known that these systems are capable of passing the Turing test, the purpose of which is to get an answer to the question: "Can a machine think?"

Transparent aluminum

Star Trek

The ship's engineer Scotty invented a completely new material that is stronger and much lighter than plexiglass, and called it "transparent aluminum".

Reality

In the 21st century, ALON aluminum oxynitride was patented, which is a transparent ceramic solid mass and is 4 times stronger than tempered glass. Perhaps this is one of the most unexpected fantasies that came true.

What can I say here? The future is here!