Movie Innvovations -- From Connected Cars to Bioports

From Touchpad Car to Bio-ports --> Journey of Fiction to Reality

          Who does not have a fascination of James Bond Gadgets growing up? I too for fascinated with all the top gadgets and cars that were used. My craze for the Austin Martins grew after Aston Martin DB5 which was used in “Tomorrow Never Dies”, way back in 1997.

          I think that car chase in “Tomorrow Never Dies” is the best car chase ever in the world. In 1997, where even a mobile phone was a rarity in more than half of the world, James Bond had a Touchpad Car taking commands from the mobile phone. Driving, Firing and even Drifting was at the touch of a button was amazing. So now in 2015, are we any closer to the reality?

          I would say a ”Yes”, and proudly being a part of it is us at Amdocs along with AT&T offering the connected cars to the world. Our small step in the right direction, will revolutionize the way we see cars driven in the future. Android Auto already provides a way for Android smartphones to connect to car infotainment systems. Connected Cars are now taking advantage of the rise of smartphones, apps are available to interact with the car from any distance.

Users can now unlock their cars, check the status of batteries on electric cars, find the location of the car, or remotely activate the climate control system with their smart phones. A step further and I’m sure we’ll see Bond like Touch-pad ready to Drive the Aston Martin away from the bad guys, or Call it to the gate of the Mall, so that you need not walk two aisles with shopping bags or Bring up the car to the reception from 2^nd floor of the car park in office, or sneak out quietly for your guys night out ;-)

          Another idea which I am fully fascinated with is Bio-ports, Bio-Ports are computer port installed on the back of the head as shown in The Matrix series of films. It allows you to do cool things like instantly download expert kung fu skills, learn how to drive a helicopter, and so on. Initially in The Matrix the bio-ports were installed by intelligent machines which used them to keep humans enslaved in a simulated reality, later they were used as a weapon to free the mind.

We have a step in this direction for Bio-ports, with Samsung doing Demo for a Tablet Controlled by Your Brain in April 2013. But it’s controlled by a big audacious helmet and not a port. Nevertheless a step in the right direction. The technology still has a way to go before everyone is plugging computers into their spines to download skills they want or even play a hyper-realistic video game as in eXistenZ.

          So when asked, If I had seen something awesome in a movie that you’d like to bring to life, it’s the Touchpad Car and Bio-ports. Touchpad Car maybe a reality in the next decade. Elegant Bio-ports however seems like a long way to go. But who knows, nobody knew cars could be mobile controlled in 1997, I’m sure future as always never cease to surprise us!!!

                                                ~~Sanjay Ishwarlal Upadhyay