Back to the Future today

The hoverboard from the film

In my last post I wrote about using predictions of future technology in lessons. But this week, my students reminded me of "predictions" made in the 1989 film, Back to the Future II, in which time traveler Marty McFly travels from 1985 into the future, arriving on October 21, 2015.

Throughout the film he encounters changes of the 21st century - some, for example, were fairly accurate:

• self-tying shoelaces
• wearable technology
• video calls
• hands-free gaming
• tablet computers
• robot car fuelling
• fingerprint recognition

But some were not quite right:

• flying cars
• power clothing
• fax machines everywhere

See descriptions of these in an article from The Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/11699199/From-hoverboards-to-self-tying-shoes-6-predictions-that-Back-to-the-Future-II-got-right.html

But the innovation my students found most interesting was the hoverboard - a 21st century flying version of the skateboard.

My students discussed the feasability of such an innovation, and then we looked at various sources to see if such a device will be possible - and how soon.

It seems that Lexus has created a hoverboard  that uses magnetic levitation with liquid nitrogen-cooled superconductors and permanent magnets to give the hoverboard "frictionless movement."

The Lexus hoverboard

See an article at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/11695267/Lexus-has-created-a-real-rideable-hoverboard.html




Then there is the Hendover Hoverboard, funded on Kickstarter, which has a disc-shaped hover engine. "These engines induce an opposing magnetic field in the surface substrate below that provides lift, levitating the board off the ground."

The Hendo hoverboard

Link: http://hendohover.com/

Then there is the "One-Wheeled Gyro Skate" which doesn't fly, but "uses gyroscopes like a Segway to help you balance with your feet on either side of one giant rollerblade-style wheel in the center."

The One-Wheeled Gyro Skate

Link: http://techcrunch.com/2015/09/01/hoverboard-technologies/





For further news on "how close we are to riding real hoverboards," also see the following article from USA Today:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/personal/2015/10/21/hoverboards-back-to-future/74318804/

My students discussed the pros and cons of each of these designs, and indicated which one they would most like to try out. Even more interesting, they gave their input on how they would design a hoverboard or change any of the designs we discussed.

There are many articles now on the internet about the innovations of this film, and how close the predictions made in the film are to the present day October 21, 2015.

Past predictions of the future

Page from the original Popular Science article

Making predictions about the future - what cities will look like, what technology will be available, how life will be different from now - seems to be a popular pastime among techies. I have often used articles with my students in which innovators predict which gadgets will be invented or which current innovations will change our lives.

For example, in my post of September 8, 2013 - The City of 2050 - I wrote about a BBC article that speculates what life might be like by that year.

I recently found an article from the fastcoexist website that referred to a 1925 article from Popular Science magazine in which then-president of the Architectural League of New York, Harvey W. Corbett, made some predictions about what future cities will be like, and even included some drawings of his ideas.

Link to article:
http://www.fastcoexist.com/3049647/what-the-city-of-the-future-looked-like-in-1925

Link to original article in Popular Science archives:
http://www.popsci.com/archive-viewer?id=YScDAAAAMBAJ&pg=40

The fastcoexist article is impressed that so many of Corbett's predictions of which changes will have to be made relate so well to life in cities today. For example:

• cities would become increasingly crowded;
• something would have to be done to make transportation more efficient;
• new ways of transporting parcels and goods would become necessary;
• roads would have to be redesigned to handle increased traffic;
• city centers would have to become more people-friendly.

Students could read his ideas for dealing with the above changes, and view his drawings of what his ideas look like, and compare their effectiveness to solutions that have been developed. Or to discuss their viability in cases where solutions have not yet been developed.

As a follow-up activity, students could read about other predictions from the past, and see which ones were accurate - and which ones seem rather funny now.

Some websites for this:

http://www.tested.com/tech/concepts/460223-futurists-were-right-10-predictions-made-sci-fi-writers-came-true/
This article focuses on predictions made by science fiction writers in the past.

http://www.businessinsider.com/predictions-from-the-past-that-came-true-2013-9?op=1&IR=T
This is a wider range of predictions, not only from science fiction writers, but also some as old as 1600 from different sources.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16444966
This BBC article focuses on predictions made by the American engineer John Elfreth Watkins in 1900 in an article he wrote for Ladie's Home Journal, What May Happen in the Next 100 Years.

Another interesting activity is for students to read predictions for the future being made today. For example these 5 predictions from Mark Zuckerberg:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/5-mind-blowing-predictions-about-the-future-from-mark-zuckerberg-2015-07-01 

Students can discuss whether they agree with these predictions, or believe something else will happen. This in turn could be used as a basis for persuasive speeches.

Popular Science Invention Awards

It seemed a bit early, but in May of this year Popular Science magazine published its top 10 choices for the 2015 Invention Awards - a "celebration of independent inventors."

The winners are:

• A plane that folds into a car
• Needle-free vaccination
• A Braille printer born from LEGO
• Personal pollution monitor
• Hands-on virtual reality
• A self-balancing vehicle
• An artificial reef for any seafloor
• Medical lab in a music box
• A printer for circuit boards
• A frying pan that teaches you to cook

Each invention has a link to a page with a short article about the inventor(s), what the invention does and how it works.

Link to the awards: http://www.popsci.com/2015-invention-awards

The information for 4 of the inventions includes a bullet-point list of "How it Works," with a diagram of the invention. The 4 inventions are the plane that folds into a car, the self-balancing vehicle, the artificial reef for any seafloor, and the medical lab in a music box.

I thought the frying pan that teaches you to cook sounded pretty interesting, but my mechanical engineering students chose to read about the plane-car. The invention, which is called AeroMobil Car, was invented by Štefan Klein and Juraj Vaculik of the AeroMobil Company.

The AeroMobil Car from the company's website

The information under "How it Works" is a very useful example of a short, clear technical description. From the website:

1. The adjustable wing can optimize its angle of attack for taking off or cruising. This allows for reduced speed and distance during takeoff.
2. Light materials, including a carbon-composite body over a steel airframe and six-pound carbon wheels, keep weight low.
3. The prototype's 100-horsepower four-cylinder Rotax 912 engine runs on conventional gasoline, so drivers can fuel up at existing gas stations. (Production models may have a different engine.) 
4. A robust suspension will enhance on-road performance and enable takeoff and landing on relatively rough terrain.
5. Avionics from Garmin will include a two-axis autopilot to control pitch and roll. In case of emergency, the vehicle will have a ballistic parachute safety system.

There's more information about the AeroMobil Car on the company's website:
http://www.aeromobil.com/

Students could get more information from the website to report to the class. On the website there is also a video (3:52) showing how the car opens to a plane and then flies. There's no narration, just background music. It's actually quite lovely to watch.