This is only the beginning.
Riding the sidewalks, cars without drivers, the city is under the hood… Which of the writers ideas were implemented in reality and what has remained fantastic.
The same ideas come to mind for fiction writers and inventors — they are largely the same see the future. But not all, or managed to bring to life. Some considered unprofitable, and another sold locally, and the third waiting in the wings.
The moving sidewalk
Forecast
Science fiction writers did not imagine cities of the future without moving sidewalks. The device is present in the works of Asimov, Harrison, Clarke, Strugatsky. In 1899 H. G. wells in the book “When the sleeper awakes” wrote: “This street was about three hundred feet wide and moving itself… Under the balcony this extraordinary street quickly swept to the right with the speed of an Express train of the nineteenth century… it flashed Seating and small booths, but they flashed so quickly that it was not possible to consider them”. In 1974, academician Andrei Sakharov suggested that by 2024 “in public transport will be extended loading and unloading on the go with the use of special movable “in-between” devices”. The authors of the book “the World in 2000” (1973) Hagen, and Ernst Beinhauer Smacke believed that the cities of the future will be whole areas where no traffic is not, the car will replace the moving sidewalks. Almost a dream of modern urban planner — a solution to the problems of pollution and congestion in one bottle.
Implementation
In 1900, three-level moving walkways (from the English. travelator — a moving sidewalk) with one stationary track and the two tracks moving at different speeds, was demonstrated at the Paris world exhibition. Pedestrians choosing “difficulty level” and in the end I just jumped on the stationary part. Some like the attraction that they brought with them chairs and spent hours rolling on the three-kilometer route. To apply the device in Atlanta (Georgia), building under ground two plots of 600 m, in 1920 was about company Beeler Organization. But, according to estimates, the project would cost $7.5 million — the subway was much more profitable. So the “urban highways” and was replaced by the usual transportation, but are used locally, mostly in airports and large shopping centers.
Travelling home
Forecast
German postcard 1900 train without the strain of pulling on the rails five-story building. But even earlier, in 1885, the journey, the caravan was described by William Gordon Labelsom. Despite the fact that Stabels was known as a science fiction writer, this time it told was true. In 1880 the company Bristol Carriage Company built by his order the first ever house on wheels, which became the prototype of the modern trailer. But can travel the capital structure? As shown, the can.
Implementation
In the XV century Italian engineer Aristotle Fioravanti in Bologna concluded in a cage a stone Church tower rising from a nine-storey building and with the help of winches and rope pulling machine on the skids, pushed her to 13 m. In 1870 in new York appeared firm, specializing in the relocation of buildings in different ways.
In Russia, the most massive relocation of houses occurred during the implementation of the General plan of reconstruction of Moscow of 1935. Especially with this lucky Gorky street (Tverskaya), which Mayakovsky called “street snake”. She began to do the “straight as an arrow, and solemn, like a hymn”. The magazine “Crocodile” was full of pictures of the passing houses with protruding from the Windows joyful tenants. Thus, in the two hours of the night while residents were asleep, was transported on rails to the yards a unique four-story building Savvinskaya farmstead (Tverskaya, 6). Pushed together with officials of the Moscow Soviet (mayor’s office). Turned 90° and moved to Mamonovsky pereulok, building eye hospital. Only in the 1930-ies in Moscow, the 23 stone houses were relocated. Predictions about rails and high-rise buildings have come true, but traveling is still more convenient (and cheaper!) on the trailer.
The city under the roof
Forecast
Science fiction thought of the city covered by a dome (eng. domed city), safely protected from the vagaries of nature and willingly settled them as their heroes. One of the earliest mentions of such cities under the glass roof is published in 1881, the novel of William hay’s “three Hundred years later.”
Implementation
In the 80 years the development of these ideas was presented by the engineer Buckminster fuller, who proposed to cover the three-kilometer geodesic dome is not a city but a large area of new York — Midtown Manhattan (Midtown). This would, in the opinion of the inventor, handling the weather and solve the problem of air pollution.
The invention of the fuller caused a sensation for his “Golden dome” was shown in 1959 in Moscow, in 1967 on the world exhibition in Montreal. To use the know-how gathered in two cities in the United States. Also rightly considered that Weatherproofing would be useful to the Yakut city Mirny. But further plans did not get. Now the idea of science fiction and fuller are going to bring in Dubai (UAE) to 4.5 million m2. The tourist “town” with hotels, theatres, restaurants, shops and seven miles of streets will be covered with a glass dome and provide air conditioning.
Knowledge in the dream
Forecast
The problem, as without much effort to cram knowledge into the heads of students, has long excited mankind. Fiction for this purpose used the training in my sleep. Thus, the Aldous Huxley book “brave new world” (1932) with the help of it children instilled the basics of behavior in society XXVI century, reverence for the highest caste, and contempt for the lower. In the novel, Robert Heinlein’s “starship troopers” thus forged the officer corps in the cadet corps.
Implementation
Method repeatedly tried to implement. The booming interest in the topic peaked in the 60-ies of the twentieth century. In the USSR one of the prominent researchers in this field were Professor Abram Svyadosch, in 1940 with a thesis on “the Perception of speech during natural sleep.” In the ‘ 70s, the experiments took place in Moscow colleges and institutes. 22 hours students sleep in specially equipped rooms. During the initial phase of sleep, they read texts in a foreign language. The next morning they knew a few dozen new words.
Despite some successful studies, it was recognized that learning during sleep can bring long-term results only with the traditional way of learning. To equip all educational institutions “sleeping class” — an expensive and therefore unrealistic. And the invasion of the natural cycles of sleep and wakefulness, according to scientists, requires extreme care as it can have a negative impact on health.
The self-driving car
Forecast
While the people of the future with the help of various winged devices happily fluttered in the sky, everyday the work for them did machine: cleaned, made lunch, sewed, built, taxiing vehicles. The car needs no driver services, long wanders through fantastic works. “Stopped” self-driving car and in the cycle of works of Kir Bulychev about the “guest from the future” Alice Selezneva, which began publication in the mid 60-ies of the last century. But the inventors have thought of a drone before.
Implementation
50 years of the firm General Motors began testing the world’s first smart car, equipped with magnetic sensors. The model was intended for riding on roads with asphalt laid under the cable. A polygon with “roads of the future”, regularly feed auto signals was created in the next decade (for conventional tracks, the car was not good). Chrysler Plymouth went the other way: equipped with sensors which were supposed to convey information, the conventional vehicle bumper. But then the control system occupied half of the cabin. In the 80-ies of the German scientist Ernst Dickmanns made a smart car based on a van Mercedes-Benz. In patience easy is a computer system. Later Dickmanns collected two self-driving cars which have been successfully tested on a highway near Paris: car alone, driving up to 130 km/h rebuilt, overtaking. But still this implied the presence in charge of the man’s car.
More than ten years on the creation of truly self-driving car, which will take you anywhere, is just a click away, a Google. Already two years ago on the streets of a small California city mountain view 20 drones up and down the streets among ordinary machines. In the long term — replacing the usual gas stations with induction charging when microwave gas bar will be built in the Parking lot. The abolition of the bump stops, curbs, signs and markings gauges they are not needed. But the road to idyll far: while drones cut through by tracks together with the people, there may be literally clash with the “human factor”. Such accidents were more than 15. Work to improve the world continues.
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