My Top 5 Movie Gadgets To Become Reality

Chester Gould forever changed the Dick Tracy comic strip in 1946 when he introduced the two-way wrist radio, which has become the icon and a centerpiece of the comic strip ever since. In the 1990 movie, as in the comic, TV series, and earlier feature films, Tracy relies on his wristwatch communicator to catch the bad guys.
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Watch phones and walkie-talkies have been available for a few years, and there has been a boom in designs in the last year.

James Bond’s tenth cinematic adventure, released in 1977, purported to star Roger Moore and Barbara Bach.
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Inspired directly by the movie, Rinspeed completed the prototype of the world’s first car that can drive both on land and underwater in 2008. The car is completely electric and uses a Lotus Elise as the base. It can go to a depth of 33 feet and is powered by twin electric-powered propellers supplemented by two Seabob water jets, effectively allowing it to “fly” underwater (as opposed to driving along the bottom). It features an open cockpit as a safety precaution, so you’ll get wet, but it has scuba-style oxygen tanks and a water- and salt-resistant interior. The crowning piece is the laser sensor system that allows the car to be driven automatically—as in, with no one inside. Intended to be a “toy for rich people,” the sQuba prototype cost $1.5 million to build and may eventually get down to a bargain-basement $400,000.

Blade Runner was not the first to suggest a flying car (generically referred to as a “spinner”), but flying, hovering and levitating cars have been a standard futuristic assumption for decades. The Jetsons, Harry Potter, and the Fantastic Four all rode around in flying cars (though some were admittedly propelled by magic, not science).
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At the 2008 New York Auto Show, Milner Motors showed off the AirCar, a four-door about the size of a Honda Civic with a wingspan of 28 feet (7 feet when folded) and two 40-horsepower rotary engines. Though the AirCar can’t fly yet, Milner claims it will eventually fly at up to 200 mph with a range of 1,000 miles. The car is expected to cost about $450,000 and is about 3 years away from hitting the market.

One of the handiest gadgets ever showcased on Star Trek is the universal language translator. The Languatron from Battlestar Galactica and the babel fish from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy have continued our love affair with the idea of a universal, automatic language translator. But no matter how advanced the translator, it won’t protect you from Vogon poetry.

Amid a number of ho-hum translators there is the superior Voxtec Phraselator P2, which has an output library of over 40 languages. Originally designed for the U.S. military, the Phraselator spits out your phrase in just a few seconds. It also has a LCD touch screen, noise-canceling microphone, and an SD card slot. Voxtec plans to sell the Phraselator in the next three to four years for a few hundred dollars.

In Aliens, Sigourney Weaver’s character uses a power loader to even up the odds in her face-off against the Queen. She proceeds to kick some serious alien butt with the help of the futuristic technology at her fingertips.

This mechanized exoskeleton from Cyberdyne Systems uses electromygram (EMG) sensors on the shoulders, hips, knees and elbows to tap into signals sent from the brain to muscles throughout the body. Using these signals, the machine can aid a human in walking, climbing stairs, and heavy lifting, and is designed to help the disabled and the elderly regain strength and use of their limbs. The suit garnered media attention in 2006 when it helped a paralyzed man get within 500 yards of the summit of Breithorn Mountain in Switzerland. It’s currently only available in Japan, but when it becomes available in the U.S. this puppy will set you back $1,000 a month to rent, or about $50,000 to $60,000 to buy.