5 familiar things that didn’t exist 15 years ago

Each of us can remember a few sci-fi movie scenes that used to baffle us as kids. Take the self-lacing sneakers from Back to the Future – today several brands already have them in their arsenal.

Technology is evolving at a rapid pace, and we are quickly becoming accustomed to its presence in our lives. We’ve gathered five technologies that seemed fantastic 10 years ago. At least as they exist now.

Wireless headphones

Contrary to popular belief, the first fully wireless headphones were not made by Apple at all. In 2015, this gadget was released by the Japanese company Onkyo. However, the headphones left much to be desired: charging was enough for a very short period of time, and the sound disappeared altogether. The real popularity came to wireless headphones only in 2016, when two major competitors released their models: Apple (AirPods) and Samsung (IconX).

Today, wireless headphones have become very compact, have moisture-proof features and noise-canceling mode. It would seem, what else can we expect? But developers do not stand still and announce the release of new generations.

Voice assistants in everyday life

“Alice, tell me a fairy tale” – such a request into the void is already a surprise to few people. Voice assistants have appeared in our smartphones, TVs and even interiors. But have they been commonplace for so long?

In fact, the history of speech recognition technology dates back to the 1960s. IBM in 1962 presented Shoebox technology, which could recognize 16 words and 10 digits (from 0 to 9).

Already in 2011 the world learned about Apple’s Siri, in 2012 – about Google Assistant, but the use of technology in the home to create a “smart home” began in 2014. Then Amazon introduced the Alexa smart speaker. Two years later, in November 2016, a similar technology was released in Google with Google Home, and in February 2018, Apple also entered this market by introducing Apple HomPod. The official launch of Alice from Yandex was announced on October 10, 2017.

Unmanned cars

When we speak of this technology as having emerged in the 2010s, we are referring to affordable mass-produced cars. The very history of unmanned “robocars” begins back in the 1960s.

In 2010, the world saw the first autopilot from Google. The car was equipped with radars, video cameras, could navigate in space, recognize road signs and interact with other road users. In 2012, Audi tested its drone. The car developed a speed of up to 193 km/h, perfectly fit into corners and accelerated on the highway.

In 2015, the first serial drones of Tesla appeared, which move on the roads 100% independently. They are considered the benchmark of unmanned technologies along with Google cars.

About why many men like speed and cars so much, read in our material.

VAR system

The official date of birth of the video referee system is considered 2016. Then the International Council of Football Associations at the annual meeting approved the use of the system of video assistance to referees. However, the video refereeing system was officially introduced into the Rules of Football only in 2018 after a series of test matches.

Video assistant referee system is a technology in soccer that allows the head referee to make decisions using video replays.

Similar systems exist in field hockey, volleyball, tennis and rugby.

Bionic prosthetics and implants

Prosthetic technology is a very complex complex development, which applies knowledge from several fields at once – biology, engineering, medicine and even psychology.

A bionic prosthesis is a prosthesis that partially or completely replaces a lost organ and fulfills its functions. For example, a hand that does not move, but just hangs – this is a cosmetic prosthesis. And if it can bend and move fingers – bionic. This happens thanks to sensors installed in the residual tissue of the person. The implants read the signals that the brain sends through the nervous system and automatically control the prosthesis. The process takes place without any conscious effort – as if the person were simply moving their arm.

Modern prosthetics are deeply integrated with their wearer – they mimic a person’s natural movements and monitor the body’s muscle or nerve activity, and some can be controlled through the power of thought. Today, prosthetics are being used to create not only artificial limbs, but also organs, such as eyes.

In 2007, the Canadian company Touch Bionics presented the first widely available bionic prosthesis. In 2010, BeBionic produced the first mass-produced prosthesis, and the first widely available one – Symbionic Leg – was released in 2011 by Icelandic Össur.