There are loads of gadgets in movies that seem to have a plausible degree of believability to them, but in reality, they are just works of fiction. Many of the gadgets in movies have inspired inventors and engineers across the world to try and make those movie props become a reality.
Self-tying shoes
One of the most iconic movie gadgets from the ‘80s was the self-tying shoelaces that Marty McFly sported in sci-fi adventure Back to the Future II. For years and years, fans of both sneakers and the movie wanted to put on a pair of the iconic Nikes and have them lace themselves up. It wasn’t until 2016 that Nike finally pleased its customers and allowed them to get their hands on the special edition sneakers and live out their dreams for real.
Jetpack
James Bond movies are famous for using gadgets that don’t seem possible in the real world and in the movie Thunderball, secret agent Bond flies around using a jetpack. Although a regular feature in science fiction movies the technology has not been seen much in reality. There are jetpacks available that use a powerful stream of water to propel the user up into the sky but it must be used while in the water.
Richard Browning has developed a jetpack that actually works, without using water jets, and recorded a flight across a lake reaching a speed of 30mph. These gravity-defying suits are expected to set customers back $250,000 when they go on sale in the near future.
Driverless car
Fans of the 1990 action sci-fi Total Recall will remember the driverless cars that serve as taxis for people in the future. Humans had colonized the planet Mars, and there was a host of amazing fictional technology. The main character gets fed up with the incessant chatting his autonomous ‘driver’ keeps directing his way and rips its head off.
Thankfully driverless cars have become a thing of reality and they don’t have annoying robots talking to you either. Although there are still a few safety features to iron out, once driverless cars pass the testing phase they are all set to become a legitimate travel option.
Bionic limbs
Spoiler alert, Luke Skywalker gets his hand cut off by Darth Vader in a lightsaber battle in The Empire Strikes Back. He is fitted with a mechanical hand to replace the one he lost that is meant to function as well as a real one does.
Now thanks to advancements in biomechanical engineering people who have lost their hands and arms are able to have prosthetics that can do the job of their lost limb. These hands are now giving people a new sense of freedom. They work by reading electric pulses in your arm which moves the fingers and wrist in the direction and movement required. Amazing!
It can be a long road to get a concept from idea to reality, and many of the movie writers who created these movie gadgets can’t have expected them to become a reality. Thanks to some incredibly talented and clever people movie gadgets of the past have become the technology of today.
