Gadgets of the Not-So-Distant Future

How cool would it be if you could scale the sides of buildings, Spiderman-style? Smell Mario Batali’s sauces simmering on the TV screen? Ride to work on a jet pack? Or zip off into space at a moment’s notice?

A group of New Scientist writers seems to think these are not just pipe dreams. They put together a list of ten sci-fi devices that could revolutionize our lives in the next thirty years.

Topping the list for me is a device that could eventually become a universal language interpreter. Soldiers in Iraq already use IraqComm, software that recognizes Arabic speech, converts it into text, translates it into English, and then "speaks" the translation into earphones. The list’s authors admit that a device capable of translating free-flowing speech into any language could be a ways off: IraqComm works because it only knows 50,000 words, far from Douglas Adams' imaginary Babel fish.

Visit the New Scientist website to see the full list

(Photo by Dan Klimke)