Top 10 technologies of Virtual Reality from science fiction movies

Every day we are trying to predict the future, and those who really did it are producers of some science fiction movies, where we could see Virtual Reality technologies in future. Some filmmakers went far ahead of their time, creating unbelievable Virtual Reality 3d technologies within the plot. Not intended to predict the future lots of movies have already succeeded in this task. History of Virtual Reality has always attracted producers of sci-fi films, who were ready to implement their ideas into movies, and some of their predictions became truthful.

So here are the top 10 Virtual Reality technologies from science fiction movies which really exist nowadays.

1. Reality TV from ‘The Truman Show’

Reality TV seemed like a crazy idea in the past. Lots of us have watched ‘The Truman show’ starring Jim Carrey, in which an imaginary world was created for the greatest reality show all over the world. Every place where the main actor appeared was equipped with thousands of surveillance cameras. This movie, shot in 1998, predicted the world we live in nowadays. The only difference is that lots of people, unlike Truman, would like to be a part of such reality shows.

2. Wearable tech like a smart eyewear in ‘Back to the Future’ and ‘Terminator II’

Watching the trilogy ‘Back to the Future’ we could be acquainted with a wide range of Virtual Reality devices. The movie, which idea is to show time traveling, is an excellent example of predictions about the future. One of the most exciting devices is a smart eyewear which was shown in the second part when Marty traveled to the future and saw his children living in 2015. That device really reminds us such items as Google Glass or Oculus Rift.

We also could see a technological device similar to Google Glass in ‘Terminator II’. In one way we can tell that it is a really incredible opportunity to be able to scan people like Terminator did at the beginning of the movie when he wanted to find some clothes for himself. Isn’t it amazing to have an opportunity to find people’s profile in social networks, just looking at them through such devices as Google Glass!

3. Android operating system in ‘Metropolis’

Movie makers of ‘Metropolis’, shot in 1927, created a vision of current Android. Of course, they didn’t predict Google’s operating system, but this film is one of the first in which you can see the robot that looks like a real person. Nowadays, androids don’t look the same as creatures in the movie, but they provide quite the same functions.

4. Video Phone Calls in ‘2001: A Space Odyssey and Back to the Future II’

Skype is not a novelty for each of us, but for people who lived in the past video conferencing it was a really amazing thing. Who could imagine that, within a century, we all will be able to use it in every part of the world connecting family, friends, business partners, etc? Surprisingly, the vision of such video conferencing was quite accurate in the movie ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ which was shot in 1968’.

5. Gesture-based UI in ‘Minority Report’ and ‘A Space Odyssey’

Watching such science fiction films as ‘Minority Report’ (made in 2002) and ‘A Space Odyssey’ (made in 2001) people were able to see one of the most important computer technology which had a purpose of interpreting human gestures through the mathematical algorithms. Tom Cruise starring the main character manipulates pictures with his own gestures on the computer in ‘Minority Report’. There are not lots of devices which exist to track human’s movements such as wired gloves, radars, cameras, stereo cameras, gesture-based controllers, depth-aware cameras, etc. People saw facial recognition software and even devices to predict future crimes in the film. The last one is still a prediction and can be an inspiration for scientists.

6. iPad in ‘A Space Odyssey’

One of the most popular gadgets nowadays was presented in 2010. However, in ‘A Space Odyssey’, which was shot in 1968, we can notice a device that looks like a popular tablet computer.

7. Smartphones in ‘Star Trek: The Original Series’

Made in 1966 the film shows us the Tricorder – a device which looks like our smartphones. We can say that device in the film is a little bit different, but the functions of recording and analyzing data, sensor scanning are available in modern smartphones too. With the variety of different apps, our device could have such predecessor as a Tricorder.

8. Universal Translators in ‘Star Trek’, ‘Star Wars’, ‘Futurama’

In sci-fi films, such universal translators as C-3PO in ‘Star Wars’ was used to translate different languages. In movies, this device usually helps to understand aliens, and it is aimed to make the life more convenient, bringing peace and harmony. Nowadays, we use such universal translator as Google Translate to understand any foreign language destroying borders between nations.

9. Digital Billboards in ‘Blade Runner’

Having a purpose to show digital images which change every few seconds with the help of a computer, digital billboards are quite popular now. We don’t use them as it was shown in ‘Blade Runner’ movie made in 1982, but we are really close to it. They could be used both in advertising and public service goals.

10. Hands-Free Gaming Consoles in ‘Back to the Future II’

Virtual Reality games are quite popular now, and they are definitely a must-have thing in future. This fact can be proved, looking at the steady growth of demand for such games in virtual reality application developer. And when lots of video games still require using your own hands, some companies provide devices like the XboxKinect by Microsoft, which allows controlling your movements with the help of your voice. Such opportunity was shown in the second part of Back to the Future trilogy, when Marty talked with boys in Cafe ’80s, who were amazed that they need to use their hands to play, being familiar with hands-free gaming consoles.