Forget lining up for a smart phone. Instead, we're really interested in getting a hold of this Star Trek communicator. That's right, the iconic device that crew members used to stay in touch with the ship will actually be made available for sale (in a sense).
While you still can't call Vulcan with this communicator, it can hook up to your mobile phone via Bluetooth. Think of it as a neatly-designed wireless device; you can do hands-free calls or play music or do similar functions with it. And yes, it comes complete with adorable sound effects. It premiered to great acclaim at San Diego Comic-Con last week.
"Is it accurate? Well, it was created using 3D scans of the alpha hero prop. How does it work? It pairs up with your Bluetooth®-enabled phone just like a wireless speaker or a pair of headphones would," wrote ThinkGeek on the page where you can pre-order the communicator. It should be ready early in 2016.
It's interesting how far our concept of communications came since Star Trek aired in the late 1960s. Back then, we were content to see our brave astronaut heroes (and heroines) communicating simply over a radio device. After all, the astronauts we had going to the moon at that time were talking via the airwaves; what more was needed?
We couldn't anticipate 50 years ago how much computers would improve. These days, we're talking about integrating heads-up displays into our lives so that, for example, signs in a foreign language could be translated instantly. We can answer phone calls on our wrists and all look like Secret Service agents in the movies. And we can take video calls on the go, even while sitting in rush-hour train traffic.
Even the robots that are exploring other planets could get an upgrade. Instead of relying on oh-so-slow radio, there's serious talk about including lasers in their payload so they can beam high-speed video back of the universe. Maybe it's not quite how we wanted space exploration to go in the era of Captain Kirk's exploits to uncharted worlds, but we still are looking around.
And think about the small benefits that instant communication even brings to our own world. We can get news updates as things happen, rather than waiting for the 6:00 broadcast. Finding out how friends are doing overseas usually requires nothing more complicated than logging into Facebook. It goes to show you the new reality of communications: voice isn't all of it. We have a suite of multimedia tools that can also bring us valid updates.
By the way, communications can also be used to improve patient outcomes. HeroX's CHIME National Patient ID challenge is looking at ways of harmonizing health records between different providers -- click the link to contribute. It's a great example of science being awesome.
Top image: A communicator used by Captain James T. Kirk in the original Star Trek. Credit: Paramount Pictures/CBS
