Star Trek tech we use today (almost)

For the past four decades, Star Trek has been influencing and predicting new gadgets and technologies. How close are we to Trek-inspired phasers, tricorders, and invisibility cloaks?

Star Trek: Global Positioning via Transporter Console vs. Today: Global Positioning System



Never mind its groovy industrial color scheme, the Enterprise’s transporter console was remarkably adept at pinpointing the exact location of crewmembers under attack on a hostile planet or stranded aboard an enemy warship. (And rather than depending on some space-age antiglare coating, the console employed a highly advanced light shield for optimum screen visibility.) Today’s Global Positioning System (GPS), which relies on positioning data generated by an flotilla of 24 to 32 orbiting satellites, isn’t as flawlessly precise, but it’s a vast improvement over compasses, astrolabes, and paper maps.

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