Look around your room, office, or wherever you’re reading this. Just take a moment to have a look at all the amazing technology surrounding us. Our lives are filled with so much awesome tech, and we can take things for granted. It’s made life easier, and a lot more fun too.
Now and then, it’s good to stop and reflect on modern technology. We don’t appreciate just how advanced the tech of today truly is. We’re using things we used to see in films. Now, they’re in our hands every day! This article will take a look at some of the best modern technology that we used to only think was possible in films:
Touchscreens
There are many of you who read this heading and made a puzzled face. Why are touchscreens on this list, there’s nothing crazy about them?! Right, because we’ve become so used to seeing and using them in everyday life. Everyone you meet will have a smartphone that’s equipped with a touchscreen. They may well have a tablet and laptop with touch screens too. This technology has become part and parcel of our lives. We don’t even stop and think about how crazy and futuristic a touch screen once was.
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Before companies starting making things with touchscreens, they appeared in movies. You’ve probably all watched a few spy movies in your time, right? The spies would always have crazy tech gadgets that normal people couldn’t get. Nine times out of ten they’d have a touchscreen device of sorts. We’d see these things and think wow, that’s crazy! Imagine a screen that you can touch instead of using boring buttons. It took time to develop this technology, and now it’s flawless. I remember in the early years, the first few phones that tried this out were hit & miss. Screens were sometimes not very receptive, and we wondered if this technology would ever take off. Now, they’re everywhere and work perfectly.
The next time you use a touchscreen device, stop and appreciate the technology behind it. Especially in some devices that have taken touchscreens to the next level. In some Apple devices, they have something called force touch that can tell how hard you’re pressing the screen. As you press harder, that press then turns into a different function. For me, touchscreens will never not be cool. They’ll always be that crazy spy tech I saw in movies.
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3D Printing
If someone came up to you fifteen years ago and said listen, I have an idea. We create something that takes designs, and then prints them out as 3D models. You’d have looked them dead in the eye and told them they were living in a fantasy land. That’s the type of technology you see in movies, where they create something out of nothing. Well, fast forward fifteen years, and here we are, sitting with that tech in our hands.
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3D printing has really taken off in the last year or so. Many people are starting to realize just what this technology can do. When most people heard about printing things in 3D, I think their minds were a bit closed off. They imagined printing drawings in three dimensions and things like that. The reality is, you can make entire sculptures with a high-quality printer that uses this tech. It’s very different to conventional printing. There are also many things to consider if you want to buy a 3d printer. Typically, professional printers have better specs and can do more than ones for the home. Then, you have to think about what materials your printer can use, and a load of other technical stuff too.
If you do go for a professional, top of the range printer, then your world is open. Many people start businesses and manufacture items using their 3D printer. There are endless things you can make, the only thing in your way is your creativity. It’s awesome technology, and we certainly didn’t think it was possible a decade ago.
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Biometric Security
Biometric security is a proper piece of movie tech that became real. In countless films, we were taken to top security FBI buildings. The agents would place their eyes close to a scanner and it would scan their retinas and let them in. Then, they’d place their palms on the next door, and it would scan them and open. We saw this type of thing all the time, in films throughout the ages. When we watching them, we marveled at how cool it would be if that were real. Why does the FBI get all the cool stuff? Our younger selves would always ask.
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Well, now we have all the cool stuff too. Biometric security has been around the general public for a few years now. In truth, top secret security organizations have been using this tech for years. But, now it’s affordable enough for us to use too. And, it’s the smartphones that started the trend once again. Smartphone security has become an essential part of life. You don’t want anyone to pick up your phone and have access to your sensitive information. So, companies decided the best way to lock everyone out was with biometrics. Step forward the fingerprint sensor. This sensor scans your fingerprint and saves it on your phone. Then, only you can unlock your phone with that fingerprint. It’s so high tech, and never fails to amaze me.
There is also facial recognition in some laptops to keep them more secure as well. And, some places have palm or fingerprint recognition to unlock doors and let members in. You see this a lot in health clubs and gyms nowadays. It still feels a bit surreal that this technology is here and works so well. The crazy thing is, it doesn’t affect the price of devices too much. A lot of people were aware this technology existed but didn’t think it could be made affordable. Now, if a phone doesn’t have a fingerprint sensor, it’s seen as a crazy thing!
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Hopefully, you’ll agree with all three things on this list. They’re incredible pieces of technology, and the type of things we use to only think was possible in movies!
