4 Futuristic Toys and Gadgets (That Already Exist)

 

1. No Man’s Sky

Of all, video games aren’t a new toy, but there has never been another game exactly like No Man’s Sky. The game features a world that is so big that it practically equals our own.

The main aim of this game is actually to travel throughout the huge cosmos and study galaxies, solar systems and its 18 quintillion planets. Yes, you read it correctly, but to be accurate, there will be 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 distinct planets in the game. The cosmos is so enormous that there is a strong possibility you will never run across another player since there are 2.6 million planets for every person on Earth. According to Wired magazine, if you wanted to visit every planet in No Man’s Sky, it would take someone a mind-boggling five billion years to do so. If all that wasn’t mind blowing enough, on many planets there exist sets of plants and creatures who have developed on their own. The creators don’t even know what the vegetation and animals look like on a significant proportion of the worlds.

So now that we can purchase a simulated world for approximately $60, does it make you think about the nature of our own reality?

Robert Grimminck is a Canadian freelance writer. You may friend him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter, follow him on Pinterest or visit his website.

2. Google’s Tilt Brush

For millennia, painters have been able to convey depth in their paintings that creates the sense of three dimensions on a flat surface. In the previous century, 3D movies started to make it appear like visuals were exploding off the flat surface of the movie screen. Then in 2016, 3D art received a drastic upgrade, due to Google. Google’s $29.99 Tilt Brush software enables anyone to paint in three dimensions using the HTC Vive virtual reality headset and controllers. It offers a variety of exceptional characteristics that you would never find in the art world, such as painting with fire, snow, and starlight. Once your work is done, you may share it as a full size VR experience, or simply a little animated GIF.

Of course, the Tilt Brush has more uses beyond simply being a toy. One area that might be substantially transformed is any field of design. For example, fashion designers may develop an entire clothing line of 3D outfits and paint with various materials like denim, silk, cotton, and so on, without cutting a piece of fabric. Or an interior designer may offer a customer a virtual tour of a space without painting a wall or changing a single piece of furniture.

3. Meccano Meccanoid G15 Personal Robot 

A futuristic gadget that Martin Prince from The Simpsons would appreciate is the Meccano Meccanoid G15 Personal Robot, which is a programmable robot you can construct yourself. The robot is made out of 600-plus components and has six motors that operate the head, the arms, and the wheels on its feet. Meccanoid also features speech recognition technology so you can give it orders that it will obey, like shake hands, give high fives, and walk hand-in-hand with you.

Another function of the robot that is featured on the Meccanoid’s app is the Motion Capture. Simply enable the function on your smart smartphone and insert the device in the robot’s chest. Once fitted, the Meccanoid will imitate your motions.

Also, the robot is more than your slave-friend who is there to give you high fives anytime you’re lonely (although honestly that’s like 90% of the reason we want one). It also features hundreds of programmed words, jokes, quips, and smart comebacks. It’s also preloaded with many games it’ll play with you.

Meccanoids come in two distinct sizes: there’s the conventional G15, which is over four feet tall, and then there is the G15 KS (Kid Size), which is approximately two feet tall. Finally, although the core concept is a humanoid robot, the components may be combined to make totally various things and structures.

4. Hoverboard

Thanks to Back to the Future II, many people were hopeful by 2015 that hoverboards will be widespread. Of course, they aren’t, but that doesn’t mean numerous firms aren’t trying. Lexus created one, but it only works in specialist skate parks. Another business named Hendo Hoverboard has a levitating board, however they are just at the Kickstarter phase and have no mass manufacturing plans at the time of this writing.

Instead, arguably the closest thing we have to a hoverboard comes from Hoverboard Technologies, but we have some bad news. The board doesn’t levitate. Instead, it has one wheel in the centre of a skateboard-like deck, and employs gyroscope technology (like Segways) to preserve its balance.

The board travels 20 MPH and can go 15 miles each charge; it requires roughly an hour to charge, or 12 minutes with a supercharger.

While the Hoverboard looks nice and appears like a wonderful method to move about, it does have big disadvantages. It is supposedly challenging to ride even for seasoned skaters and snowboarders. It is also quite hefty, weighing 20 to 25 pounds. Finally, it surely isn’t inexpensive. It costs $3,000 for the light version of these bad boys, and for the complete model, which includes sonar and blue tooth speaker, it will set you back $4,000.