10 technologies from the film "Back to the Future 2" that have found application in life

The legendary film of Robert Zemeckis, which predicted the appearance of various types of gadgets and technologies of our time, this year finally "merges" with reality. It was in October 2015 that the mad inventor Emmett Brown traveled with his friend Marty McFly to save the world and his own future. Today we are analyzing subtle technologies from the film, which are reflected in our world.

1. 3D movies

Stereokinematography, of course, appeared long before the fictitious journey of Marty and Doc into the future, and the filmmakers were well aware of this. The history of stereoscopic cinema dates back almost one and a half hundred years, but in the XX century stereophiles were still a curiosity for a popular audience - almost like hoverboards for us now. Zemeckis and screenwriters predicted that 3D technology would be ubiquitous in the 21st century.

2. Smart homes

The house where the McFly family lives in 2015 is a vibrant concept of a real “smart” home, stuffed with gadgets and robotic appliances. You can get inside, of course, by putting your finger on the biometric sensor. Most interestingly, in 2014-2015, systems such as the Home Kit and their accessories begin to spread more or less widely.

3. Video calling

Beaten more than once or twice in the film, the negotiations of the heroes through a TV with a built-in camera - the video communication system of the future (Skype, FaceTime, any video chat). Here the writers got to the point, although in the works of science fiction writers of the twentieth century, a similar method of conducting remote dialogue was described many times.

4. Drones

When Marty gets to his native area, he sees a strange picture for himself: the aircraft walks the dog, holding the leash of the pet. If I had watched Zemeckis’s film for the first time five years ago, I wouldn’t be amazed like the protagonist “Back to the Future”: you will not surprise a person from the 2010s with drones and drones. Although walking a dog with a drone is damn strange.

5. Google Glass

In the 1989 film, Marty and Doc appear several times in the frame with smart glasses. For example, with their help, the main character is talking on the phone. As we recall, the project of “smart” Google glasses, to put it mildly, failed, so we still have to go and go to such a future. Although Google Glass looks as awful and monstrous as McFly glasses.

6. Kinect for the Xbox 360


Finding himself in the future, the main character gets into a local eatery and shows the students a master class in shooting virtual men. The children of the future make Marty laugh - according to them, games where you have to play with your hands are made for young socks. A very transparent analogy with Kinect for the Xbox 360, and indeed, with gesture control technology.

7. Tablets

Various hints of phablets or tablets appear in the film several times. For example, an old man approaches McFly and asks to chip in to restore the legendary clock on the facade of the building, destroyed by a lightning strike. In his hand you can see an oblong device, similar to a tablet or communicator. Most likely, the scriptwriters simply computerized a paper tablet or bag to collect donations. But still, the prototype of the iPad in the old man’s hand looks spectacular.

8. Holograms

In the city of the future, Marty is “bitten” by a holographic shark from an advertisement for the 19th part of “Jaws”. An ironic allusion to the endless sequels of Hollywood blockbusters and the use of holograms in the future. For example, with the help of them in the 21st century show business they “resurrect” dead stars - at the Coachella 2012 festival, the famous hip-hop musician Tupak Shakur, who was killed in 1996, was “replaced” by his digital copy.

9. TV plasma

In the houses and on the store shelves of the future Zemeckis there are large television plasma, often with a split screen into several areas. Look at any Smart-TV TV or just a huge monitor - we have a lot in common with people from the Back to the Future universe!

10. Cloud Services

In the future model of Zemeckis, the hero speaks a beautiful prophetic remark “Nobody uses laser discs anymore”. Although absolutely not applicable by the end of the 80s - the heyday of CDs, especially in the music industry. Only after a decade or more, digital players will push CDs out of the market, but the movie quote still reflects the evolution of storage media: CDs -> digital drives -> cloud services.

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