Gallery: The Craziest Sci-Fi Fantasies That Got Closer to Reality This Year
University of Geneva (UNIGE)01fromlightint
Ursula K. Le Guin's first novel, *[Rocannon's World](http://www.amazon.com/Rocannons-World-Ursula-K-Guin/dp/1433210835)*, introduces the ansible, a device that allows people to communicate instantaneously across astronomical distances. This September, scientists made an important step in this realizing this technology by showing they could [remotely obliterate a photon](http://www.businessinsider.com/physicists-make-huge-leap-in-quantum-teleportation-2014-9) that was 15 miles away by messing with its quantum entangled partner.
Alejandro Posada/Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems02micro-scallop-1415079090210
From *[Blood Music](http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Music-Greg-Bear/dp/0759241740)* by Greg Bear, to *[The Diamond Age](http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Age-Illustrated-Primer-Spectra/dp/0553380966/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1419363401&sr=1-1&keywords=the+diamond+age)* by Neal Stephenson, blood borne health care bots are a beloved science fiction concept. This year, scientists created [self-powered, swimming micro-robots](http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/medical-robots/robotic-microscallops-can-swim-through-your-eyeballs) that could one day be used to play doctor on your body from the inside.
Johns Hopkins University03amputee
Back in May, the [FDA approved a robot hand](http://www.livescience.com/45533-darpa-prosthetic-arm-approved-by-fda.html) inspired by [Luke Skywalker’s prosthetic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9wwFbD-tQQ) from *The Empire Strikes Back*. This month, doctors at Johns Hopkins upped the ante by [outfitting this double amputee](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2014/12/19/watch-a-shoulder-level-amputee-control-his-new-robot-arms/) with two brain-controlled robot arms.
Bill Branson/National Institutes of Health04Microarray
In Arthur C. Clarke's classic novel, *[The City and the Stars](http://www.amazon.com/The-City-Stars-Arthur-Clarke/dp/1567231608)*, a computer stores the DNA of Earth's immortal residents, allowing only a few at a time to inhabit living bodies. In related news, this year Google announced that it [wants to store your genome in the cloud](http://www.technologyreview.com/news/532266/google-wants-to-store-your-genome/).
Skype05translatory-ui
Since 2003, Skype has made it possible to video chat with anyone on the planet--granted you spoke the same language. However, this year the company released a [real-time translation tool](http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30539198) that is so good it invites comparisons to the amazing [Universal Translator](http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Universal_translator) used by *Star Trek: Enterprise*'s Ensign Sato.
US Navy06Navy-laser-shoots-drone.
Speaking of *Star Trek*, anyone for photon cannons? This year the US Navy approved the first [combat-ready laser cannon](http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/11/tech/innovation/navy-laser-weapon/index.html). After performing brilliantly in trials, the skipper of the amphibious dock transport vessel USS Ponce is authorized to use the weapon—called LaWS—to defend his ship.
Natural Machines07foodini
This is the last *Star Trek* reference, I promise. A company called Natural Machines this year released the [Foodini](http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/06/tech/innovation/foodini-machine-print-food/). The contraption can be programmed to print a plethora of recipes, from macron cookies to veggie burgers.
Sooam Biotech08dog-16-r
In the Schwarzenegger classic *[The 6th Day](http://www.amazon.com/The-6th-Day-Arnold-Schwarzenegger/dp/B000056PMU” target=)*, Arnie visits a cloning shop called RePet and mulls making a copy of the recently run over family mutt. Dog cloning debuted in 2004, but there haven't been many commercial options until [Sooam Biotech](http://en.sooam.com/dogcn/sub01.html) opened in South Korea this year.
Dextra Robotics09exo-hand
Thanks to the Oculus Rift, [virtual reality is finally here](https://www.wired.com/2014/05/oculus-rift-4/). But full immersion---like in Ernest Cline's *[Ready Player One](http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-A-Novel/dp/0307887448)*---is going to require devices that simulate what the digital world would feel like on our physical bodies. These [exoskeleton controllers](http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2014/10/02/dexmo-f2/1) from Dexta Robotics are a clunky but important first step to realistic haptic feedback.
MIT10MIT-Cheetah-05
Some technology can't help but freak us out. Like this [cheetah robot](http://www.kurzweilai.net/new-algorithm-enables-mit-cheetah-robot-to-run-and-jump-untethered-across-grass) from MIT that can run up to 30 mph, and even clear obstacles, all without wires. Cool stuff, but it's a little too much like the mutations that ate Cato in *[The Hunger Games](http://thehungergames.wikia.com/wiki/Muttation)* for our liking.
University of Otago, New Zealand11nz-dna
Central to the plot of *[Gattaca](http://www.amazon.com/Gattaca-Ethan-Hawke/dp/0767805712)* was a DNA sequencer that the genetically-inferior hero, played by Ethan Hawke, has to game in order to become a spacecraft pilot. This year, New Zealand researchers built the [first handheld DNA sequencer](http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/med-tech/first-handheld-reusable-dna-sequencer-17137715) which they swear is for health care diagnostics and not to keep me from my dream of one day rocketing to Saturn.
Hendo Hoverboards12hendo-hoverboards-world-s-first-real-hoverboard-by-hendo-hover-kickstarter
Modern technology is amazing, but everybody knows that the future won't officially arrive until we get to shred on hoverboards like [Marty McFly](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1ZdMOMUgXE). That's why, even with its notable limitations, [the Hendo](http://news.discovery.com/tech/gear-and-gadgets/worlds-first-hoverboard-for-realsies-141021.htm) has us digging up our Huey Lewis tapes in anticipation.
