Fifty years ago, some of us would have predicted flying cars by now. In our science fiction we good fantasize about the future, often making predictions that filled us with envy for the nonexistent. Although today we are closer to the day of flying cars, there are far more inventions appearing in the real world inspired by classic science fiction works. Here are some examples.

The Back To The Future trilogy was full of eye-grabbing gadgets. Today, Google Glass reflects the smart glasses Marty McFly’s kids wore, letting them watch television while answering phone calls. The Apple Watch and Dark Sky are the closest we have come to Doc’s smartwatch, which allowed him to predict weather down to the second.

Surely some of you remember The Jetsons and their many silly gadgets. Not so silly after all with phone calls accompanied by images appearing on television, and Rosie the robot, a maid that cooked and cleaned. Not so far fetched when you consider the following three gadgets:

• The Facebook Portal is a smart home device built for video calling. It uses AI to pan and zoom, ensuring the user is always on-screen.
• The iRobot Roomba self-navigates through a house in a random pattern, vacuuming up dust and dirt along the way.
• The Moley Robotic Kitchen prepares meals from scratch and then cleans up after itself. It comes with downloadable, and pre-programmed recipes. And you can customize recipes to have it make your favorite meals.

From Star Trek and The Terminator to Smart House and Person of Interest, the impact of science fiction inventions being turned into modern realities cannot be underestimated. With artificial intelligence (AI) it will be interesting to see just how much of what we read in the genre, and see on screen, will become a reality in the decades to come.