A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, technology was way cooler than it is in our reality: Commercial spaceships bending space-time to cross galaxies in seconds; autonomous androids capable of translating any language on the fly, or leaving a battlefield in ruin; deadly swords of plasma that fit comfortably under your bathrobe.
These classic “Star Wars” technologies have captured imaginations for decades — and some of them are finally coming to fruition. Here are seven futuristic Star Wars technologies that could soon become a reality.
Battle Droids
Unmanned aerial vehicles (see: battle drones) have been a staple of warfare for several decades — but you’ll never hear two Predator drones bickering like an old married couple, a la R2D2 and C3PO. Artificial intelligence is still a work in progress, but humanoid robots (aka androids) have taken literal leaps in ability and design in recent years. U.S. tech firm Boston Dynamics demonstrates this with two now-infamous robots: Atlas — a terrifyingly agile bipedal droid that can sprint, backflip and do parkour — and the robo-dog Spot — an autonomous, four-legged robot that has already found work in hospital wards, on farms and with the NYPD. These bots aren’t designed specifically for combat, — but we’d hate to run into either of them in a dark alley at night.
“Writer Fuel” is a series of cool real-world stories that might inspire your little writer heart. Check out our Writer Fuel page on the LimFic blog for more inspiration.
