Top 10 Unbelievable Tech Predictions That Came True

While we are surrounded by technology and gadgets, it was next to impossible to even imagine things like these a few decades back. The world as we know it has been transforming very rapidly and this trend will continue in the future.

However, if we look into history, we find that there have been many instances where technologies of the future have been predicted in the past. Something that was science fiction in the past has become a reality. For better understanding, here’s a look at some crazy technology predictions that actually became a reality.

Autonomous self-driving cars – It was in 1964 that American scientist Isaac Asimov wrote about self-driving cars. He had theorized about cars equipped with robot brains that can reach their destination without human involvement. That prediction has now come true with cars like Tesla and various other brands.

Smartwatch – In the American animated sitcom named The Jetsons that started airing in 1962, the characters can be seen wearing wrist watches. The wrist watches were capable of supporting 2-way video communications and various other functions. Seems quite similar to smartwatches that we have now.

Earbuds – A device similar to present-day earbuds has been described in the book ‘Fahrenheit 451’, published in 1953. The author Ray Bradbury had made various other tech predictions, but only the earbuds concept seems to have become a reality as of now.

Drones – The concept of drones is mentioned in the sci-fi novel ‘Dune’, published in 1965. The author Frank Herbert has described a remote-operated flying device that was used for assassination. In the present era, drones are being widely used for civilian as well as military purposes.

Submarines – Concepts about submarines have been in existence since the 16th century. However, a modern-day interpretation is best described in Jules Verne’s novel – Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas – published in 1870. It is probably the best prediction of modern-day submarines that run on electric power.

Smartphones – Many people have described devices similar to smartphones. One of the relevant examples can be seen in a French documentary film aired in 1940. Characters in the documentary were seen using portable television screens while walking on the streets. They were even shown being glued to their screens, which is quite common nowadays with people using smartphones.

Wi-Fi – Nikola Tesla has many inventions to his credit. He also had some remarkable ideas, one of which was similar to present-day Wi-Fi or wireless devices. He was working on these during the late 1800s to early 1900s. His experiments with wireless transmission had provided early clues to what the future would look like.

Atomic Bomb – In his book ‘The World Set Free’ published in 1914, author H. G. Wells talks about a bomb that never stops exploding. It seems to match nuclear explosions that are based on chain reaction. Wells also talks about cities completely destroyed by such bombs, which again is true in case of nuclear bombs.

AI, tablets, video calls, etc. – The movie ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ released in 1968 had predicted a wide range of tech advancements such as AI, small computing devices, video conversations, etc. It is possible that the writers of the movie may have been inspired by technologies that were in their early stages at that time.

Personal computers – Star Trek science fiction media franchise that comprises TV series, movies, novels and comics has made a wide variety of tech predictions that have now become true. Some examples include all-language translators, 3D printing and personal computers. Hopefully, teleportation too will someday become possible, as shown in Star Trek.