Welcome to the future.
In case you haven’t noticed, much of yesterday’s science fiction is rapidly becoming today’s reality.
In a world already filled with cameras, touch screens, voice control, and Japanese robot mouths, new technologies now emerge daily, and shit is getting crazy, real quick.
We scoured the web for 10 things that will blow your mind, and that you too could have, if the price is right!
Kuratas- Giant Man Powered Robot
Who hasn’t always wanted a 13 foot tall, 30,000 pound mechanized robot suit? Remember the end of the movie Aliens, when Sigourney Weaver uses a giant robot suit to beat down the alien queen? Remember Gundam? Voltron? The Dexbot from Dexter’s lab? Seen Aliens or Avatar? Well, folks, It’s here!
Price: $1.2 Million
Info: http://suidobashijuko.jp/
Google Project glass Explorer Edition:
Anybody else getting bored with the old reality? Who wouldn’t like to digitally supplement the real world with a pair of glasses that connect you to the internet, to a camera, to a phone, all using natural hand and voice commands. We all saw the preview video several months ago, but it has now been offered for pre-order for attendees of the Google I/O Conference. Though orders are not expected to be filled until early 2013, conference attendees were able to try out the prototype. Though reviews were mixed, this is no longer just an idea anymore, and don’t be surprised if it turns you into the Predator.
Google Project Glass Explorer Edition – Augmented Reality Goggles
Price: $1500 Presale (not yet available to consumers)
SpeechGear Interact – Instant Voice Translation Device:
It’s not exactly Star Trek’s universal translator, but it will allow you to speak 38-different languages without having to learn anything! What could be better? The list of supported languages can be found on Speech Gear’s website.
Price: $800
speechgear.info
MakerBot Replicator:
Although we may not yet be able to print our food, as seen done in Star Trek by “The Replicator”, we may be much closer than the series 24th century prediction. Recent advancements in rapid prototyping and 3D printing suddenly has us making very real things from digital files. The MakerBot Replicator is an at home, affordable 3D printer that brings us all one step closer to the seemingly impossible… dinner at the click of a button.
Price: $1,750
Info: makerbot.com
Jetpack International’s H202 – Personal Jet Pack:
Ever wanter to fly like Rocket Man? How about a personal jet pack to get you going? Although these babies only fly for 33 seconds at a time, this is only a first glimpse into person flight!
Price: $155,000
Info: jetpackinternational.com
Private trip to Space from SpaceX:
If flying is your game, though you prefer not to be bound by planet earth, how about saving up for a bit and trying your hand at private space travel. SpaceX is now in the business of shuttling private adventurers, professional astronauts, and cargo alike into outer space. In May they launched a cargo mission and docked with the Internation Space Station. Their goal: make it to Mars. And for the right price, you might be able to meet a real life martian (we hope he looks like Marvin)!
Price: $50,000,000
Info: spacex.com
Coming Soon…
As far as we’ve come in such a short amount of time, the next few years are going to astonish all of us. The following items are not yet on the market, but are in the R&D phase, and we may see them on the shelves very soon:
Iphone 5 Feature Concepts:
Although the next video is only a concept design of some of the imagined capabilities of the Iphone 5, based on what we already have, it doesn’t seem too far off. With a projection keyboard and screen, one day soon we may no longer carry a computer at all– just a thin (very thin!) device that can assume the form of a full sized computer. Wild… and just around the corner!
Microsoft Research Interactive Transparent Display:
With the Microsoft Research Transparent Display, pretty soon you won’t need to touch your computer to use it, to manipulate digital objects, to type. Remember the holographic planetarium in Attack of the Clones? Real now.
Sensory Substitution Device – Allowing Blind People to See:
This baby, developed at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is essentially the visor that allowed Geordi La Forge to see in Star Trek: Enterprise. If you’re blind, very very rich, and can deal with the overwhelmingly complicated process of learning to take information through your eyes, well, soon you can see stuff.
Raytheon XOS 2 Exoskeleton:
Oh, and the Raytheon XOS 2 Exoskeleton will allow you to be Iron Man. This suit, in development for the U.S. military, gives artificial superstrength to its wearer, allowing them to lift heavy objects and punch the shit out of wooden boards. Or, as the case may be, to pick up missiles and punch the shit out of people.
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Gordon
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