Aside from the crazy idea of ‘pre-cogs’ who could ‘see’ crimes before they were committed, we’re actually much closer to the technology featured in Minority Report than you’d think. Minority Report came out in 2002, ten years ago, and blew our minds with this ‘vision’ of the future. Nevermind the plot holes of why pre-cogs could only see crimes in a single city, or how they saw crimes at all (why not see something else?). We had gesture-controlled computer interfaces, billboards that scanned your eye and personalized themselves to you, spider-bots that could search an entire building in minutes, and personal jetpacks. What’s not to love?
Wired magazine put together a great recap of the top technology featured in Minority Report, including a look at how close we are to having that in reality, today.
The one that excites me the most is the gesture-driven computer interface. Since I’ve gotten a Microsoft Xbox 360 with Kinect, I’ve seen how powerful and fun this type of interaction can be, and I want more of it. Since Microsoft has now released Kinect for Windows, it’s only a matter of time before you can connect this to your livingroom TV and stand there flinging your arms like you just don’t care.
Oh, and those slick self-driving cars that fly around on vertical roads on the sides of buildings? I’ll take one of those, too. Gridlock, be gone!
What’s your favorite future-tech that you can’t wait to have?
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