In the post World War II era the future seemed like a wonderful place full of atomic-powered wonders. A Future World unspoiled by pollution, radiation or flower children.  Lets examine the promises and realities of that vision of the Past’s Future.

1) Flying Cars

It seems that every vision of the future had  one of these ,a trend that even trancended the fifties all the way to modern sci-fi Films.  An there was reason to hope.  Even Ford got into the flying car designing bussiness.  

The Promise:

The Reality:

Although we still have no flying cars in every garage, many pioneers and design firms are hard at work trying to make
this particular conceit of Science Fiction a reality. One of the most advanced endeavour comes from Moller International and it is called the Volantor.  It is about to undergo extensive flight testing.  Who knows in a few years, were we are going, we wont need “Roads.”

2) Death Rays

No futuristic vista would be complete without early vision of the Death Ray. Diorama, movies or science fiction literature the terrifying device was ubiquitous.  Wielded by the good guy, or more likely, the evil alien invader.   The future was going to be dominated burly men in tights toting these around.

The Promise:

The Reality:

Today lasers are in every conceivable human device. There are lasers in Blu Ray players and CD players. They are used to heal skin and even in communications.  Chances are that you are watching this though an internet connection that relies on lasers as the main driver for fiber optics.  And although you can take an industrial cutting laser and aim it at a person, it is far better to use it to precision cut glass or steel.

3) Killer Robots

The 40s and 50s image of The Future would not be complete without the helpful robot about to turn evil. The future would be a place where machines in the shape of men would run amok throught the coming centuries.  From the epic RUR by Capek : “The product of the human brain has escaped the control of  human hands.”

The Promise:

The Reality:

Robotics are one of modern societies greatest assets.  Again, like the death ray (AKA laser) we have found ways to shape and use robots in all kinds of capacities from the lowly inkjet printer to the giant A380  passenger plane. They are all around us. Computer controlled mechanical devices perform all kinds of tasks mostly for the benefit of mankind.  The build our cars and do our laundry and yes they even aid in the exploration of Space.  Although one could argue that smartbombs and cruise missiles are indeed killer Robots,  most perform quietly and wait for the right moment to strike.  We’re on to you Roomba!

4) Space Travel

Perhaps the Personification of the future in the Atomic Age,  space travel was everywhere. It was a promise that almost delivered.  Take a look at my hero, Walt Disney, telling us what the future held back in 1952.

The Promise:

The Reality:

Although we now face an uncertain future in Space travel the past 50 years have been amazing and in many ways up to the standards of earlier generation’s expectations. Here is a reminder:

And there we have it. It seems that the world of tomorrow is indeed here. The problem is that it happened gradually. There are, of course, all manner of wonders that were never thought of by the visionaries of the Atomic Age. I only hope that we manage to escape the fears and we accomplish the aspirations of those who believed in The World of Tomorrow.  Oh well,  let me take my vacuum tube elevator to my garage on the roof. I have a Pan Am flight to catch to The Moon. Mustn’t Keep the Clavius Monolith waiting.

Q: What qualifications do I need to fly?

A: You must be a good swimmer, and should not feel uncomfortable having your face in the water from time to time. You should not have a fear of heights. You should be in good health and physical condition. You should have no history of any heart conditions and flying is not advised for women who are pregnant. You must also have good vision and be able to understand the instructor.

Anybody got a spare $136,000?

[Jetlev Flyer via CNN]

You know, if we have a machine that can destroy legendary trivia heads at Jeopardy it’s high time we had a piece of software that could spot some creep trying to pull out their 4 Wood on sites like Chatroulette. But how?

A new research paper out of Cornell explains the symphony of algorithms behind identifying some random Johnson while adjusting for varying light, skin tone and image composition. For example, in a video demonstrating the program a picture of a couple lying together topless on a screen without exposing any naughty bits did not trigger as low of a rating a weirdo lifting their shirt to grip their tallywhacker for the cam. It also recognized low light and static images.

Pretty amazing stuff and a clever solution to a har… err… difficult problem.

[SafeVchat: Detecting Obscene Content and Misbehaving Users in Online Video Chat Services]

via [Improbable Research]

Meet Hatsune Miku, the world’s first all-virtual pop sensation. Even here voice is a digital creation. What started as a digital voice generator from Yahama known as a vocaloid has gained such popularity that the company has created a 3D Hologram version that has performed to packed stadiums. But the real question is when did we get 3D holograms?!

Please introduce yourself to Skynet Suzette, the latest winner of the Loebner Prize. The Loebner Prize is a version of the Turing Test where a judge talks to both a computer and a human at the same time for a set interval and then chooses which one they think is human. Suzette was able to fool the judge into thinking it was human after a complete 25 minutes of conversation. No word yet on the human who failed to convince a judge they weren’t a machine.

New Scientist: Are you surprised that you fooled a human judge?
Suzette: No, I am not surprised.

Artificially intelligent AND cocky? I’m sure everything will turn out fine.

[New Scientest]

Worried about abduction? Worried about Spot getting sick? Like to race on your Segway? Don’t want an to be on the hook for your ransom payment? Check out this handy infographic to find out exactly what you can expect to pay for your weirdest insurance needs:

(Source: www.thirdshift.nu)

Researchers at Stanford University have developed a flexible semiconductor which may yield new breakthroughs in robotics and artificial limbs. These semiconductors are covered in rubber and infused with air pockets that push back against pressure, allowing it to detect the presence of an object as light as a butterfly. While this will allow a robot to hug you without crushing you they still lack the power to love (for now).

Looks like the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department has finally got an internet connection, and what they’ve found has creeped them out. According to the police, the Internet darling known as ‘Pedobear’ is a secret symbol used by those who would prey on underage children. While they’ve got the basic gist of the meme they have completely missed the point of the character, which is trotted out in Internet discussions to point out when a story or post is unintentionally creepy.

Unfortunately this means if you are among the with it and hip who have a Pedobear t-shirt or sticker odds are if you make your way to California you might just draw the attention of the authorities.

It’s official… we can now move objects with simple lasers.

Developed at the Australian National University, the new discovery can move small objects 100X larger than a bacterium up to a meter in water.

The device works by shining a hollow laser beam around tiny glass particles. The air surrounding the particle heats up, while the dark center of the beam stays cool. When the particle starts to drift out of the middle and into the bright laser beam, the force of heated air molecules bouncing around and hitting the particle’s surface is enough to nudge it back to the center.

A small amount of light also seeps into the darker middle part of the beam, heating the air on one side of the particle and pushing it along the length of the laser beam. If another such laser is lined up on the opposite side of the beam, the speed and direction the particle moves can be easily manipulated by changing the brightness of the beams.

Researchers are confident that with enough testing they should be able to move larger objects longer distances, eventually allowing you to become even lazier!

[Physorg.com]

Check out this great video showing the most realistic endgame for augmented reality I’ve seen. Prepare to be eye-banged!

Here’s more information from the producer of the video himself:

The latter half of the 20th century saw the built environment merged with media space, and architecture taking on new roles related to branding, image and consumerism. Augmented reality may recontextualise the functions of consumerism and architecture, and change in the way in which we operate within it.

Scientists at the University of Calgary have used a specific type of microchip called a neurochip to allow doctors to monitor the brain waves of victims of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

While the chips aren’t quite ready to replace your Gravis Gamepad, researchers hope they will eventually let patients control symptoms and doctors to monitor the brain’s reaction to new treatments.

[CBC News]

Check out this awesome custom lock that detects a special knock to open the door. It’s programmable, which is good because “Shave and a haircut, two bits” is the knocking equivalent of having ‘password’ as your password.

Japanese scientists have created the world’s first touchable holograms. Using 2 Wiimotes and a wave emitter to create pressure on the user’s hands Researchers at Tokyo University have developed the technology to be used from everything from basic computing to light switches and doorknobs. Who would have thought the world of Minority Report would be brought to you be Nintendo. I’m pretty sure Google will be the first with pre-cogs though.

We get pretty cocky here in the 21st Century with our internets and World Wide Web Highway pages, but did you know that the idea for the Internet is four years older than Superman?

In the video above you can check out Belgium inventor Paul Otlet’s idea for a windowed display system that hooked up to other systems “over the telephone.” He also called word processing, a file system, and the multimedia CD-Rom craze all the way back in 1934.

How would the Internet be different today if we had made it then? Let us know your alternative Internet history in the comments!

Check out Paul Otlet’s Wikipedia page

Tinkerers from the Site3 coLabratory have discovered how to make fire… with your mind!

The PK4A Project uses a headset to read brain patterns and a small homemade computer to increase or decrease the flame based on the user’s cerebral input.

The headset is called the NeuroSky MindSet and uses four sensors to detect two of the eight energy bands the brain produces. The computer interprets the brainwaves using a custom algorithm and reflects the level of activity with a massive propane flame.

Safety is obviously a concern so the inventors use a ‘dead-man switch,’ which constantly has to be pressed for the device to function.

While there are no plans to put the item up for sale basic specs are available on the project site.

If you can’t wait to see this thing in action, here’s a video of them using it at Firefly 2010.

A couple of week ago we told you about Wicked Laser’s Spyder III Pro laser, a ‘real-life light saber’ that can also potentially blind you and give you cancer.

Well, it turns out George Lucas noticed the resemblance to the powerful Jedi weapon and issued a cease & desist to Wicked Lasers. It comes in the form of a press release posted on Business Wire:

“It has come to our attention that a company called Wicked Lasers is selling a highly dangerous product out of Hong Kong that is designed to look like a lightsaber from Star Wars. This product is not licensed or approved by Lucasfilm in any way. We have demanded that Wicked Lasers immediately cease and desist their infringing activities. As Wicked Lasers itself admits, this product can cause serious injury to the user and other people. We strongly discourage consumers from purchasing it.”

The Spyder III is still available for about $200, but with the legal department of LucasFilm involved it’s likely to go the way of the Death Star at any time.