“Today’s fiction is tomorrow's reality”, stories and storytellers have often inspired innovation. Especially in the world of science and technology. We grow up reading comics or watching shows that talk about the future, and some of us go ahead to make it possible someday! Sometime back in 1962, The Jetsons, a popular and well beloved show aired for the very first time continuing to air till the late 80’s and entertaining kids till the early 2000’s.
Set in the futuristic town of Orbit City, The Jetsons gives us a glimpse of what life in the future will look like in 2062 through the perspective of a regular family, The Jetsons. From flying cars, to robots and iron flat televisions, the show imagines how innovative and inventive technology will be a century from when it first aired. Fun Fact: The show didn’t just talk about an innovative future, it created one as well. The Jetsons was ABC’s first colour tv show to air, even though back in ‘62 colour televisions were a luxury privy to a few.
Anyway getting back to the topic, how far away from the future are we today?The 60’s ended with the innovation of the internet, which propelled a whole world of innovation in technology,bringing us back to asking ourselves, how far away are we from the future that the Jetsons showed us?
How close is 2020 to 2062? - According to 1962
With technology advancing at the speed of light, we’ve actually managed to get a lot of things predicted for 2062, way ahead of time, like flat screen televisions and video calling, which have been around for years now. Here’s a list of the future that Jetsons imagined, that we’re all able to live in now:
- Video Calling: With the internet and smartphones, we’ve managed to do better than the future Jetsons predicted, with video calling available right in our pockets rather than bulky monitor screens that are being lugged around the house. In fact with automation you can integrate video calls in your daily schedule with a lot of ease by simply connecting it with your calendar.
- Digital newspapers: The cartoon made us all awe at the fact that George Jetson would wake up everyday to a digital newspaper, reading out the news to him every morning. The internet has made this a reality for all of us. No longer reliant on the monthly subscription to a paper, we all have real time access to information from acorns the world at all times. In fact the issue nowadays is to streamline that information to prevent yourself from information overload. Integrating your social media feeds and directing RSS feeds, your newsletters and social media posts all to one channel for single access viewing is now possible. This allows you to save time and effort of scrolling through multiple channels and gives you everything you need all in one place.
- Virtual assistants: Rosie the robot maid was everything we all wanted. A robotic house help that manages keeping the house afloat, allowing the family to focus on their lives. (quite literally considering Orbit city was built in the sky) We’re not that far away from this, technology has enabled virtual assistants everywhere. From Siri, Alexa and Google in our phones to our speakers, things like home automation is now a mainstream reality for many, allowing for tasks to be controlled by applications and voice command removing the need for us to even lift a finger or walk to do things. Where as chatbots have made it possible to automate our professional lives; allowing us to send automated responses to customers, and understand multiple languages, tone and even emotion now. Technology is constantly evolving and Rosie the robot might be a common household help in homes by 2062.
- Holograms: Seeing visuals in thin air seemed near impossible back then, but holograms have become a reality in today’s world. With bands like Gorillaz performing concerts using holograms and latest gadgets like the newest iPads coming with applications that support augmented reality, holograms are a thing of the present!
- Wearable technology: Things like smart watches and smart shoes back in day made our eyes pop, in today’s world however they’re within a hands reach quite literally. Wearable technology have been all the rage the past couple of years, and with more and more third party applications, you can now integrate them with your phone and computers to get the most out of them! Focus on your fitness, health and get timely updates all through your watch. Integrating your daily use applications on the watch to automatically send the information to your phone or a dedicated application can allow you to explore the world of wearable technology even more freely.
There are still things that are far from reach in wide use, like flying cars or smart food that can be printed by a touch, but in hindsight we’re well on track with the future Jetsons predicted for a century later. With APIs and Integration technology is becoming more and more innovative and easy to personalise as per our needs. In many ways if you go back and rewatch The Jetsons, you’ll realise the present has surpassed what the show had predicted for a lot of things. While space tourism and flying cars are still a distant dream, you can take a step towards living like the Jetsons by automating your personal and professional life! Check out our pre-built journeys and the Quickwork iPaaS to build your own automated Journeys, or get in touch with us if you’re curious about how to get started!
