Artificial intelligence, androids, and holograms are just a few of the amazing futuristic technology that have been a part of anime series for a long time. Thanks to the genius of humankind, new discoveries and inventions are created every day, which includes real developments of this amazing technology!
Bionic Limbs
Fullmetal Alchemist is a very well-known series and the most important technology for the protagonist, Edward Elric, is that of the Automail which is right arm and left leg. Automail can be used for simple everyday tasks, but also for combat situations as shown within the series when Edward transmutes his Automail to use in fights.
Amazingly enough, humans have achieved success in creating prosthetic limbs such as with the ‘Terminator’ arm that are precise enough as to allow a person using a bionic hand to type on a keyboard. Another miraculous example of real life bionics is Hugh Herr's bionic limbs, which let the user run and even dance.
Androids
Androids are robots with human-like appearances. This may include having a human face, or simply having a humanlike body shape. A well-known android from the animated world is that of Android 18 from the Dragon Ball series. Android 18 was once human, and is the twin sister of Android 17.
For a long time now humans have been working on human-like robots. There are many videos and articles online about these amazing creations. Above is a video created last year, about the 5 most advanced humanoid robots from USA and Japan. Another amazing humanoid robot is "Pepper the Robot", created by Aldebaran Robotics and SoftBank Mobile. Pepper is able to analyze the expressions and the vocal tones a person is using to read their emotions.
Virtual Reality
Many of you would have at least heard of the popular series Sword Art Online and about how it is based mainly within virtual reality games. The protagonist Kirito and many other players decide to play a new virtual reality game named Sword Art Online which then they all realize they’re now trapped in a virtual world where death threatens them constantly. NerveGear is the technology within this series which allow the player to dive into the virtual world of Sword Art Online.
The Oculus Rift is technology which has existed for some time now, and it is a virtual reality headset which enables it’s wearer to play virtual reality games. Of course, it is nowhere near as advanced as the NerveGear shown within Sword Art Online, but it’s constantly evolving and becoming more advanced. There are many amazing virtual reality games in development around the world, including several Sword Art Online games. One of the more popular SAO games that has a lot of news going around the internet currently is Sword Art Online - The Beginning.
Synthetic Food
In the world of Loups=Garous, in order to avoid contracting the deadly virus that has spread throughout the world, people have to eat synthetic food made from sunflower seeds. Synthetic food is essential to surviving in this world.
There has been a lot of discussion lately of in-vitro meat, also called cultured meat or synthetic meat. Unlike the traditional way humans have always obtained meat from killing animals, this synthetic meat has never been part of any living animal and has been created in laboratories.
Giant robots
Many anime series contain large robots which humans are able to control, but one of the most known animated series containing large pilot-able combat robots is that of Mobile Suit Gundam.
Last year a Japanese company named Suidobashi Heavy Industry unveiled a large Gundam-like robot which is able to be piloted by a human inside of it, but can also be controlled outside by a mobile phone.
Holograms
Throughout Psycho-Pass, holograms are used as an extremely important part of every day life. Customizing the visual appearance of a living room, advertisements, informational signs and vehicle appearance are just a few of the many ways holographic projections are used throughout this series. Another interesting way holographic technology is used is to change the appearance of the clothing, when an image is placed over that of the clothes being currently worn.
Gatebox is the amazing Japanese startup of holographic technology by Vinclu Inc. Have you ever wanted to have a holographic character you can communicate with and who you can ask to switch on your TV for you? Then Gatebox is something you'd be very interested in. The current holographic robot that's part of the Gatebox is Azuma Hikari, and she can connect to any device in your home that is connected to your internet. Here's a video to show you how amazing this startup is!
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
The thought of giving machines or software the ability to learn and think for themselves has always been a tricky subject. Several movies have existed where the AIs have tried to enslave or slaughter the humans to take over the world, such as the famous Matrix movie series.
Did you know that Digimon (Digital Monsters) are actually AI? They are digital monsters that exist in the Digital world and are capable of learning, thinking, feeling emotions, and many more parts of intelligent behavior.
Pepper, the humanoid robot discussed briefly in the Android section, is an amazing invention, as something such as understanding emotions and how to communicate with humans is viewed as a very important challenge for AI. When it comes to real life, there are many kinds of AIs currently in existence or development, although they aren't conscious or able to develop "common sense" that we humans have. Siri, a software that is constantly learning, is the intelligent personal assistant that is part of the OS (Operating System) in many of Apple's devices, such as iPhones or iPads. Now, Siri may not be anything like Digimon or the technology in the Matrix, but the more information Siri is given, the better she is able to figure out problems or answers to questions. The same goes for the Google Search engine. They both may not be the all-mighty AI systems we are excited and terrified about one day existing, but they are still a type of AI.
Medical treatment
In many games, anime, manga, movies, TV series, and other work of fiction there have always existed different forms of healing technology, such as the simple healing potions from Overlord and Pokemon.
An example of amazing medical treatment technology that currently exists right now is that of spray on skin. Spray on skin was developed by the scientist Marie Stoner and plastic surgeon Dr Fiona Wood as a way to decrease the time it takes for skin to build over burn wounds.
Here is a video of Dr Fiona Wood talking about spray on skin.
It's very interesting to learn about new technology, whether from anime or from real life. I'm really excited to see what technology the future holds for us in both of these worlds!