Introduction
The remark from Isaac Asimov, “Today’s science fiction is tomorrow’s science fact,” resonates with our modern sensibilities. Science fiction serves as a playground for theoretical and practical exploration, allowing scientific concepts to be creatively presented. Our world often seems to fulfill the visions of past science fiction: we converse with AI, see digital billboards reminiscent of Blade Runner, and use phone and watch technology recalling Star Trek. Technology once confined to fictional spaceships now appears in our homes, vehicles, and hands. While creativity and curiosity fuel such progress, intellectual property (IP) protections often bridge the gap between imagination and practicality.
Transcending Science Fiction to become Reality
Military tanks, computing tablets, submarines, bionic limbs, psychotropic medications—science fiction is replete with accurate predictions. Researchers find inspiration in books, TV shows, and movies, which influence tech research and provide pioneering ideas. Below are examples of IP that helped these concepts transcend science fiction.
Domestic Robots and Humanoids
The word “robot” was first used in 1920 by Czech author Karel Čapek in his science fiction play R.U.R (Rossum’s Universal Robots), derived from “robotnik,” Czech for “forced worker.” Early fictional robot servants appeared in stories like Lester del Rey’s “Helen O’Loy” (1938) and Philip K. Dick’s “Nanny” (1955). The Jetsons’ Rosie is among the most widely known, while I, Robot envisaged intelligent robots filling public service roles.
George C. Devol invented and patented the first reprogrammable manipulator called “Unimate” in the early 1950s. [1]1 Joseph Engleberger later acquired Devol’s robot patent, adapting it into an industrial robot at Unimation. In 1958, at Stanford Research Institute, Charles Rosen led a team developing “Shakey,” a more advanced robot that could move, observe its surroundings, and respond to its environment. [2]2
Disc-shaped floor-cleaning robots are now common, and artificially intelligent robots will soon serve households. Science fiction movies have also influenced our understanding of humanoid robots, such as Bicentennial Man (1999). Patents for humanoid robot technology include US8511964B2, US20120209433A1, and US8676381B2.
In 2016, David Hanson invented Sophia (US7113848B2)—the world’s first robot citizen—capable of fifty facial expressions and emotional interaction. Tesla plans to launch humanoid robots (teslOptimus) by 2025, filing patents like WO2024073135A1 and more. These robots may one day prove invaluable in hazardous environments. [3]3
Virtual Reality (VR)
Films such as The Lawnmower Man (1992) and Ready Player One envisioned people living in an alternate reality via VR gadgets.
The first VR machine, Sensorama, was patented in 1962 by Morton Heilig, who also patented the Telesphere Mask (US2955156A), the first head-mounted display (HMD) [4]4. Apple with its Vision Pro and other companies now produce VR gaming consoles. Facebook’s MetaVerse is a notable example where avatars are created and even sold, marking a new social and economic frontier.
Autonomous Cars and Self-Driving Cabs
Science fiction from the 1930s, like “Helen O’Loy,” imagined robots driving cars. Isaac Asimov, in 1964, predicted cars with “robot brains” at the 2014 World’s Fair. Films like Total Recall and Demolition Man also depicted futuristic societies with autonomous vehicles.
Reality began catching up in the early 2000s as Google, Tesla, and Uber worked on self-driving car projects. Google’s self-driving car (later Waymo – US8577392B1) logged millions of miles, while Tesla’s Autopilot system integrated semi-autonomous features. These efforts demonstrated AI’s potential to navigate complex roads.
Flying Cars
Flying cars appeared in Ian Fleming’s 1964 novel and 1968 film Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car. Though the real-life Chitty cars didn’t fly, they broke land-speed records. Blade Runner further popularized flying cars in a dystopian setting.
Early patents for flying cars include Henry J. Snook’s 1913 patent (US1069906A). Despite these, commercialization remains elusive. Now, pioneering companies aim to introduce eVTOLs (electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles) to tackle traffic congestion and pollution. Pal-V opened a showroom in Munich for its vehicle Liberty, certified for both road and air travel. Hyundai unveiled its S-A2 eVTOL concept at CES 2024, showcasing an innovative air taxi design. [5]5
Hoverboards and Self-Lacing Shoes
In Back to the Future (Part II), hoverboards and self-lacing shoes were staples of a futuristic 2015.
Nike filed a patent for self-lacing shoes (US8769844B2) in 2009, with a design that bears a resemblance to those worn by Marty in the 1989 film Back To The Future (Part II) and in 2016, Nike created a limited edition of these self-lacing shoes and introduced them in the market. Hoverboards also made their way from fantasy to reality when Shane Chen, a Chinese-American inventor and entrepreneur based in Camas, Washington, invented the self-balancing hoverboard in 2014 [6]6.
Smart Watches
In 1946, the comic strip Dick Tracy gave the detective a two-way wrist radio, upgraded in 1964 to a video watch. The Jetsons (1962) also showed a watch with video capabilities.
Modern smart watches—including those by Apple (US 8,787,006 B2 describing design elements of a wrist-worn device), Samsung [7]7, and Garmin—offer GPS, health tracking, and communication, fulfilling these long-envisioned features.
Face Recognition
The movie Enemy of the State (1998) showcased facial recognition via pervasive surveillance. Special forces and law enforcement now use similar software to identify suspects or threats in public areas, reflecting the accuracy of its fictional portrayal.
Online Streaming Platforms
The film The Cable Guy (1996) anticipated a generation glued to online streaming. Today, platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and YouTube offer uninterrupted streaming for movies, TV shows, and games, confirming the movie’s predictions about future media consumption.
Conclusion
Even if science fiction does not always aim to foretell the future, it frequently establishes the foundation for human advancement, and each new novel offers the chance to make a writer’s fantasy an inventor’s reality. Who can predict what the future may bring? It appears that science fiction authors do. The rest is up to science, made possible by technological advancements.
References
- [1] George C. Devol, “Programmed Article Transfer,” U.S. Patent 2,988,237, filed 1954, patented 1961. ↩︎
- [2] https://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/artificial-intelligence-robotics/13/289 ↩︎
- [3] https://www.tesla.com/en_eu/AI ↩︎
- [4] https://www.comsoc.org/node/19151 ↩︎
- [5] https://www.hyundai.com/worldwide/en/newsroom/detail/supernal-debuts-evtol-product-concept-at-ces-2024-0000000395 ↩︎
- [6] https://electrek.co/2023/10/17/meet-shane-two-wheeled-ev-from-hoverboard-inventor/ ↩︎
- [7] https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_patents_smartwatch_with_builtin_projector-news-57585.php ↩︎