Listicle: 10 fictional gadgets we hope get invented soon

Science has come so far, so fast. But we’re still waiting for these movie and TV gadgets. We’ll take them all, thanks

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  Pear phones

  From Victorious (2010 – 2013). Who wouldn’t want a phone with a pear-shaped screen? These iPhone-parody devices made tweeting seem cool. High school kids could access the hottest tea on campus on The Slap. Touchscreen phone technology was just becoming mainstream when the show aired, making the show’s tech – the transparent computer, the PearBook, and the PearPad – seem almost futuristic.
• 
  The point-of-view gun

  From A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005). Point it at someone and they’d be shot through with a dose of your reality. Imagine someone who can see things from your POV without a long-drawn-out argument. Imagine being able to see someone else’s POV too. The device was commissioned by the Intergalactic Consortium of Angry Housewives to get their spouses to understand them. We can think of a dozen more uses.
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  Outfit-matching software

  From Clueless (1995). We’ve been waiting almost 30 years for Cher’s digital match-and-judge program that determines if a top and skirt pair well with the shoes and accessories we’ve picked out for the day. Online stores are picking up on this, using AI to create a trending look. We need something for the stuff we already won.
• 
  Self-lacing sneakers

  From Back To The Future (1985). A simple promise – shoelaces that tighten and weave into a little bow as soon as we put our feet into the Nikes. Marty McFly did it in one smooth movement. Nike has been working on the tech since. They’ve released some versions in 2011, 2016, and 2019, but they were too expensive to really be practical.
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  X-ray glasses

  From The World is Not Enough (1999). Pierce Brosnan’s Bond had a pair of blue-tinted X-ray glasses that could spot concealed weapons. To create the effect, each scene was filmed twice – once with regular clothing and once with special costumes that simulated the look of an X-ray scan. We know exactly how people will misuse the real thing, should it ever be invented. But we still want one!
• 
  The Foodarackacycle

  From The Jetsons (1962-1963, 1985 - 1987).There are flying cars, robot maids, and a practically a whole smart home. But it’s the family’s Foodarackacycle that we want the most. It whips up delicious meals at the click of a button. Give us that, plus a four-day workweek and we’ll want nothing more.
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  The time-bending walkie-talkie

  From Signal (2016). How to make Boomer tech cool? Bewitch it. The ones in the K-drama help a detective in the 1990s and a criminal profiler in 2015 to communicate with each other and solve cases. We wouldn’t be so selfless – we’d connect with our old selves and tell them to get their life in order. And which stocks to invest in.
• 
  The memory eraser

  From Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). Oh for a way to wipe out parts of our own memories! The cringy moments, the faux pas, the time we ran into the ex’s current partner. The machine in the movie helps wipe out the memory of a whole relationship. Could forgetting be the therapy we need?
• 
  The Ballgown-inator

  From Phineas and Ferb (2007-2024). Dr Doof’s inventions were meant for nefarious causes, but many of them were legit devices. In the episode Gaming the System, he creates a gun-shaped device to dress everyone in the Tri-State area in elaborate ballgowns. Where can we get one? Fairy godmothers are so last season.
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  Holographic clothing

  From Psycho-Pass (2012-2019). In the dystopian anime, set in 2112, holograms are common tech used for communication, creating homes, and even crafting clothes on-demand. The Holo looks like a powder compact, but lets users shop virtually and transform their outfits in real time. No fittings, no waste, no labour violations. And it is faster than today’s fast fashion.