What are some things that don’t violate laws of physics or require great sci-fi like breakthroughs, but which haven’t been invented yet? (ie, I’m not talking about time travel or warp speed here…)
A few examples:
-a “microwave freezer”
-a robot that walks like a human (well)
-holographic display
There are also some things which seem like they would be great consumer-level products if they were many orders of magnitude cheaper, such as computer controlled sculpting machines which produce colored wax or plastic physical copies of 3D computer models, but which are all frightfully expensive. (Thousands of dollars per copy produced, I think.)
“The Bee Pistol” – fire live bees at your target. There should be a larger caliber for wasps and a “magnum” for yellowjackets.
“The Pet Cellphone” – lets you call and talk to your pet anytime. Deluxe version lets your pet call you by voice activated command. One version is built into a collar for cats and dogs. Another version is built into a cage feed tray, and is the dial-out version can be activated by pecking or stepping on a button – great for birds and lizards!
“The 2020 Style Death Ray” – really, it’s APPALLING that we’ve reached the new millennium without a decent ray gun to hang on our belts.
I’m sorry there was already a first victim. Malcolm’s father on Malcolm in the Middle took over Malcolms killer 'bot project and created one that shot bees at the operator of the other 'bot, rather than trying to defeat the robot opponent.
Oooo, oooo, you know what I want them to invent? A screen that’s comfortable to read lots of text from. It should look basically like a piece of paper, except that it can rewrite itself. Bonus points if you can fold it up and stick it in your back pocket.
a convertible motorcycle, it can switch from a 3-wheeled ATV to a street bike, to a snowmobile, simply by changing the wheel modules…
it can also shoot bees
Honda’s ASIMO doesn’t do it for you? I think it’s kinda creepy to watch this thing walk. So lifelike. If only the “thumbs” didn’t look like they’d been horribly mangled in a bar-fight.
There are “blast freezers” which blow -20F air through the (very small) compartment to bring down the temperature of an item very quickly. It’s not exactly a microwave freezer, but it’s close.
What we need:
A better aspirin substitute: all the good stuff about aspirin without the bad.
Consumer level teeth-cleaning devices more along the lines of what dentists use.
Standard, consumer level computer keyboards which are sealed so that crumbs, hair, etc. don’t get down into the works.
Ability to sustenance-farm hydroponically
No new vehicles introduced to the consumer market with less than 50 miles per gallon fuel efficiency
