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 So two days ago was
October 21, 2015 - the monumental day when Marty McFly time traveled into the
future in the movie Back To The Future Part II. Besides being a
great sequel in an epic trilogy, the movie was memorable and unique in its
creative vision on technologies of the future. In a belated celebration of
"Back to the Future Day", I wanted to give a shout out to some of the
gadgets shown in the film, and see how the real world measures up.
1. Hoverboards
The Movie - Perhaps the
most memorable moment in the movie is the chase scene with Marty riding on a
hoverboard, a skateboard esq. device that hovers in air above the ground,
similar to the landspeeder in Star Wars.
Real Life - If you read
the last post on this blog you'll know that hoverboards do exist today in
various forms. Some get their lift from air via rotors (like helicopters),
others from electromagnets (like hi-speed trains). See this link for details. Unfortunately,
all of them have severe limitations to
their functionality, so we definitely aren't close to having a free-floating
board that feels and acts like a skateboard.
Winner = Movie
2. Flat Screen TVs and
Video Chat
The Movie - At his
house, Marty's son projects a bunch of TV channels up on the wall
simultaneously, and later Marty takes a video call from his friend Needles on
the same screen.
Real Life - We have innumerable sizes of flat
screen TVs, and projectors that can act as TVs to throw images up on the wall.
With the right setup (split screen processor and multiple cable boxes, or similar), one can
certainly project multiple channels on one TV display. And Skype, Google Video,
and other services have given us video chat capabilities for many years now.
Winner = Real Life
 3. Hydrators
The Movie - At the
house, Marty's Mom Loraine puts in a tiny pizza shaped food into a device known
as a hydrator, and in three seconds pulls out a fully sized and cooked pizza -
YUM! Presumably, the hydrator works by hydrating and heating dehydrated foods
for quick meal preparation.
Real Life - The closest
conventional tech we have for fast cooking/heating today is the microwave, and
the only realistic way to "hydrate" food is to boil it in water. But wouldn't
it be nice...
Winner = Movie
 4. Holographic Images
The Movie - When Marty
first begins walking around the city of the future, a giant holographic image
of a shark pretends to eat him alive, projecting from the "HoloMax"
theater. This is similar to the projections
seen in the Star Wars films.
Real Life - Holographic
images may be a staple of science fiction, but they are moving towards reality.
One approach using graphene materials and complex photophysics has brought about small
holographic displays about one centimeter in length. But researchers say
there is no limit to the size as the technology improves. Considering the amount of money spent on entertainment, I fully expect to see some form of movie-like holographic images in my lifetime.
Winner = Movie
 5. Auto-fit & Auto-dry
clothing
The Movie - When Marty
puts on the jacket and shoes of the Future given to him by Doc Brown, the shoes
and jacket both "autofit" to his size. In addition, after the chase scene when
Marty gets out of the water, the jacket dries itself.
Real Life - NIKE, whose
name was on the "power lace" shoe that Marty wore, has actually made an
auto-lace shoe called the MAG
based on the design from the movie. And while we don't have self-drying
or auto-fitting jackets, there are advances being made in fabrics that repel water (and thus
stay dry), and in smart clothing
that can charge your phone or monitor your heart rate.
Winner = Tie
Some honorable mentions (for the sake of brevity):
The Pac Fax (street fax
machine). Winner = Real Life (cell phones > fax)
News TV drone. Winner =
Tie (Hobby drones anyone?)
Fingerprint scanner for
house lock and ID. Winner = Tie
So it looks like in some ways we haven't
quite lived up to movie-makers expectations of what the future would look like,
though I think we made a fair showing. Considering some things in the movie however (like the
inside-out clothing trend), I would say I'm quite happy we with where we are. Here's
to science fiction movies, and the innovation they inspire!
Links:
CNET
- Back to the Future Tech Reviewed
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Re: Back to the Future Tech - How Do We Compare?
