Source: Universal Studios.
It's the day that Back to the Future fans have been waiting for, the point in time when Michael J. Fox's Marty McFly character arrives 30 years into the future in the classic time-travel movie trilogy.
Some of the suggested technology is laughable now. We don't have hover board skateboards, flying cars, or shoes that tie themselves. However, it's hard to call 2015 shabby by any means.
Specs cheat
McFly donned wraparound glasses that would allow him to communicate. Wearable technology has made that possible, even if it usually means that we need to keep a smartphone in our pocket and Bluetooth connectivity to make that happen.
However, wearable technology has gone above and beyond what was depicted in the movies. We may not have sneakers that automatically wrap into a snug fit, but we have fitness bracelets and health-monitoring apps that help track and promote our active lifestyles. I would trade that for creepy footwear.
Back to the past
We don't have clothes that dry off in an instant after getting doused, but we do have sweat-wicking athletic apparel that helps keep us cool. Segways aren't as cool as hover boards, but Tesla Motors (TSLA +2.96%) just rolled out its AutoPilot feature that offers hands-free driving for some parts of the driving experience. We already have driverless vehicles snapping Street View snapshots of the landscape, and major carmakers say that we're now just a couple of years away from truly autonomous driving. Self-driving cars may not be as fun as hover cars, but I'll take safety and something that saves time over the mere joys of playing George Jetson.
Speaking of Tesla, in Back to the Future, they had cars running on rubbish instead of fossil fuels. We're not there yet, despite isolated cases of retrofit cars running on used vegetable oil. However, Tesla has made plug-in electric vehicles cool. Larger automakers are making them more financially accessible. As cool as DeLoreans were, I think most of us would take a Tesla Model S given the choice. Pipe down, Consumer Reports.
There are also many things that Back to the Future 2 got right, but we're just doing it better. We have flat-screen TVs, but the resolution is now incredible. We can make video calls, but not just to one person at the same time.
So, yes, today is a neat day to reflect back on what we thought the future would look like decades later. We still have a long way to go, but the present's a pretty cool place in terms of accessible tech. One can only imagine where we will be in another 30 years.
