"'Out of order?' Fuck! Even in the future nothing works!"
— Dark Helmet, Spaceballs
An index of all those gadgets and inventions we are supposed to be getting in the future. Almost exclusive to the Speculative Fiction genre, though we are starting to creep up on some of this stuff here...
Related to Applied Phlebotinum and a myriad of Speculative Fiction Tropes.
Tropes:
Subcategories:
- Ace Custom
- Activation Sequence
- Agony Beam
- Air Containment Field
- The Alternet
- Amphibious Automobile: A vehicle that drives on land and in water.
- Anti-Radiation Drug
- Arcology
- Artificial Afterlife: The deceased's consciousnesses are uploaded into a digital world.
- Artificial Gill: A device that functions like gills to allow someone to breathe underwater.
- Artificial Gravity: Technology that creates gravity in a place where there is none.
- Augmented Reality
- Auto-Doc: Robot-powered medical care.
- Auto-Kitchen: Mechanical cooking.
- Automated Automobiles
- Beehive Barrier
- Bio-Armor
- Biodata: Data stored in organic matter.
- Biotech Is Better
- Brain–Computer Interface
- Brain Uploading: Uploading the memories and information from a brain into a digital form.
- Breathable Liquid: Liquid that is breathable for air-breathing beings.
- Chronoscope
- Cloning Body Parts
- Comm Links
- Computerized Judicial System: Justice via machine.
- Containment Field
- Credit Chip
- Cryo-Prison: Imprisonment via freezing.
- Cyberspace
- Data Crystal
- Data Drive MacGuffin
- Data Pad
- Death Ray
- Decontamination Chamber: A chamber that sterilizes those who enter.
- Deflector Shields
- Digital Avatar
- Disintegration Chamber
- Disintegrator Ray: A weapon that instantly disintegrates its target.
- Domed Hometown
- Doorway Between Planets
- Dowsing Device
- Dress-O-Matic: A machine that puts clothes on a person.
- Drill Tank
- Dyson Sphere: An enormous machine that harvests energy directly from a star.
- Earthquake Machine
- Electric Instant Gratification
- Energy Weapon: Weapons that use pure energy to cause harm.
- Enhance Button: A button that improves the quality of a zoomed-in photo. Oddly common in generally non-futuristic settings.
- Escape Pod
- Every Device Is a Swiss-Army Knife
- Everything Is 3D-Printed in the Future
- Everything Is an iPod in the Future: The sleek aesthetic of early Apple products seems to have inspired the majority of futuristic tech.
- Everything Sensor
- Extradimensional Power Source
- Facial Recognition Software
- Fantastic Radiation Shielding
- Fictional Social Network
- Flawed Prototype
- Flying Car: Consumer automobiles that can fly.
- Food Pills: All your necessary calories and nutrients in a pill-sized package.
- Freeze Ray
- Future Copter
- Future Spandex: Spandex clothing is the look of the future.
- Futuristic Jet Injector
- Futuristic Superhighway
- Gadget Watches: Watches with extra features.
- Grand Theft Prototype
- Grey Goo
- Hard Light: Light that acts as solid matter.
- Helicopter Pack
- Higher-Tech Species
- High-Tech Hexagons: Hexagons are the most futuristic shape.
- Holodeck Malfunction
- Hologram: A three-dimensional light projection.
- Holographic Terminal
- Homing Lasers: Lasers that seek out their targets.
- Hoverboard
- Human Popsicle: Cryogenically freezing people.
- Hypno Ray
- Immortality Field
- Inertial Dampening
- Infinite Supplies
- Interdimensional Travel Device
- Invisibility Cloak: A device that makes one invisible.
- Jet Pack
- Jump Jet Pack
- Kill Sat
- Laser Blade
- Laser Sight
- Latex Perfection: A mask that looks indistinguishable from a real face.
- Lightning Gun
- Literal Surveillance Bug: A surveillance bug resembling an actual bug.
- Longevity Treatment
- Lotus-Eater Machine: A device that traps people by simulating a paradise.
- Magic from Technology
- Magic Tool
- Magnetic Weapons
- Matter Replicator
- Mechanical Evolution
- Mechanical Horse
- Mechanical Insects: Bug-bots.
- Mechanical Monster
- Mechanical Muscles: Robots who appear to have muscles.
- Mental Picture Projector
- Mental Space Travel
- Mercurial Base
- Merging Machine
- Microbot Swarm
- Military Mashup Machine
- Minovsky Physics
- Mirror Chemistry: Mirrored versions of Earth's chiral molecules fuel sci-fi weirdness.
- Mobile Factory
- Morality Chip:
- Moving Roadways
- Nanomachines: Extremely tiny robots.
- Neural Implanting: An object or ability is implanted into a person's brain.
- Neuro-Vault: Burying sensitive information within someone's mind.
- Neutron Bomb
- New Tech Is Not Cheap
- No-Paper Future: In the future, paper is obsolete.
- No Seat Belts
- No Tech but High Tech
- Nuclear Nullifier
- Obfuscated Interface: Interface displays are unclear/confusing to the viewer, the characters, or both.
- Omniscient Database
- Organic Technology
- Orgasmatron: Sexual gratification machines.
- Orion Drive
- Our Doors Are Different
- Our Wormholes Are Different
- Personality Chip
- Photoprotoneutron Torpedo
- Plasma Cannon
- Plot Technology
- Plug 'n' Play Technology
- Portal Network
- Powered Armor: Technological armor.
- Powered by a Black Hole
- Power Harness
- Psycho Serum: An injection that increases strength, but causes extreme aggression.
- Ramscoop
- Rapid DNA Test: DNA testing at a speed impossible with today’s technology.
- Ray Gun
- Reactionless Drive
- Reflecting Laser
- Reinforce Field
- Retro Upgrade
- Script-Reading Doors
- Sharpened to a Single Atom
- Shaving Is Science: Shaving implements are advertised as being ridiculously high-tech.
- Shrink Ray: A device that can reduce the size of its target.
- Slow Laser
- Smart Gun
- Smart House: Homes equipped with high-tech AI.
- Solar Sail
- Some Kind of Force Field
- Sonic Stunner
- Space Base
- Space Clothes
- Space Elevator: An elevator that goes beyond the atmosphere.
- Space Plane
- Space Station
- Static Stun Gun
- Stat-O-Vision
- Stellar Station
- Subspace Ansible
- Subspace or Hyperspace
- Sufficiently Advanced Bamboo Technology
- Super Multi-Purpose Room
- Super Prototype
- Super-Soldier: Biologically enhanced soldiers with superhuman fighting ability.
- Superweapon
- Super Wheelchair: Tricked-out, high-tech wheelchairs.
- Super Wrist-Gadget
- Swiss-Army Appendage
- Synthetic Plague
- Techno Dystopia
- Teleportation: Instant travel from one location to another.
- Terraform
- Theotech
- Time Machine: A device that allows one to travel forwards or backwards in time.
- Tomorrowland
- Tractor Beam: An energy beam that can pick up and move objects.
- Transformation Ray
- Translator Collar
- Translator Microbes
- Transparent Tech
- Twinmaker
- Universal Remote Control
- Unusual User Interface
- Uterine Replicator: An artificial womb for a developing fetus.
- Utility Belt
- Vibroweapon
- Video Phone
- * Virtual Materialization
- Virtual-Reality Warper
- Wave-Motion Gun
- Wave-Motion Tuning Fork
- Weaponized Car
- Weather-Control Machine
- Wetware CPU
- We Will Use Lasers in the Future
