Top 10 sci-fi tech we didn't get

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Modern research has given us a lot of cool technology, but through science fiction we have imagined things a bit differently. Here are 10 technologies that you might have wanted, but we still haven't seen yet.

1 - Video watches
Seen in: Metropolis, DangerMouse, Austin Powers

This might be controversial, because the technology is already available on mobile devices – the question is whether we want it, especially on something like a watch.

It’s already possible for people to call each other and see each other on video if the right networking connections are fixed, and one company has even come out with a mobile phone on a watch. Webcams are hugely popular and video conferencing is gaining mainstream acceptance.

On mobile devices, the technology isn’t really seen used on a regular basis, and even with the new generation of smartphones there isn’t much call for video communication.

And currently, video watches that you can buy are usually based around watching videos rather than communicating with anybody else.

So why is this the case? Video mobile phone calls can still be very expensive - although Skype has recently released a videophone with free calls - and often you need devices with matching technology.

It’s also possible that it’s because people don’t actually like talking face to face on mobile devices – especially with strangers.

2 - Jet packs

Seen in: The Rocketeer, Iron Man, Astro Boy, Thunderball, Minority Report

Science fiction, especially in the movies, loves the idea of jetpacks. And this is also true in real-life, with rumours that the Nazis created a working device.

The years have gone by and the technology has surely advanced, but we are still no closer to seeing its use in the military or as a form of personal transport.

Even with today’s technology, jetpacks have little practical value when it comes to everyday transport, and is instead left to James Bond and enthusiasts to show us the possibilities.

3 - Teleporters

Seen in: Star Trek, The Fly

Teleporters are a science fiction staple – think of Star Trek and you'll think of Captain Kirk telling Scotty to beam him somewhere for another galactic adventure.

According to Sci-Fi Science, the only way that you can teleport somebody is by transporting atoms from one place to another. According to basic physics, this is immensely difficult because there is a huge amount of atoms, which would take a huge amount of data storage to track from one place to another.

Even if this was possible, there’s the question of what you would do with the original copy, even if you did create another copy of yourself complete with all your thoughts and memories.

You would have to destroy the original copy, or have multiple copies – both of which aren’t good solutions. And don’t forget the mess of the Brundlefly.

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