Top 10 Future Home Gadgets

If you’ve ever dreamed of being telekinetic or just don’t have the patience to go to the gym or learn to use the force, then this item may just be the next best thing. Appearing in the video game “Half-Life 2,” and similar to “Doom 3”’s ‘grabber,’ the zero-point energy field manipulator – or, gravity gun – is a handy household gadget waiting to happen. Sure, you could use it to handle hazardous materials, safely detonate mines, or even fling heavy things at jerks, but a gravity gun may prove to be most useful lifting the couch out of the way of captain vacuum cleaner or big daddy broom. Fully charged, the gravity gun is bound to be more dependable than even your friends – making it a life-, time- and back-saver on moving day.

Okay, so there have been attempts at AI. Take the John Lennon Artificial Intelligence Project, for example. Or seasoned social messengers may remember the tragically comical disaster that was the Santa Bot – to say nothing of TayTweets. Of course, many smartphone owners have an attempt at AI right in their pocket. But ask Siri for directions to an obscure or oddly spelled town and you’ll soon see that – in her current form anyway – she’s far from Just A Rather Very Intelligent System. In the future, however, AI could become far more than just vocal interaction; it could take the form of everything from an assistant to caretaker to autonomous car. Yes, Siri can beatbox and spin a fine haiku, but properly developed and intuitive AI – one that ignores and also doesn’t cause outbursts of profanity, for example – could just be the best friend humanity never knew it needed.

Unlike virtual reality, augmented reality – or AR – enhances the existing world around us. As with AI, augmented reality does currently exist in several forms, but we are mere witnesses to a technology in its infancy. Currently, smart phone apps and devices like Microsoft’s HoloLens are just a taste of what this technology has in store. Eventually, AR may become commonplace in real life, and we’ll start seeing tech similar to Simon Pegg’s paper laptop in “Mission Impossible V.” Touch-free computer interfaces, video games integrated with real life or just simple home decoration, AR will change the way we see the world.

Dilemma: you forgot your towel. Worse still, it’s the fifth time this week you’ve forgotten your towel. You have a good reason but your significant other, boss, or arresting officer won’t hear of it. That’s when the handy dandy Point of View Gun can come to the rescue. Designed by Deep Thought and commissioned by the Intergalactic Consortium of Angry Housewives, the Point of View Gun is a device that “does precisely as its name suggests.” [“That is, if you point it at someone and pull the trigger, they’ll instantly see things from your point of view.”] Effectively an off-the-shelf alternative to the Jedi Mind Trick, the POV gun could bring about world peace – or at least end petty and pointless arguing – allowing you to not only win arguments but also to free up your day to start more of them. The use of such a device may suggest more sinister overtones, but as far as “ways to end fights once and for all” go, it’s among the least catastrophic.

What if the majority of all your day-to-day electronic, mechanic, hydraulic, and pneumatic problems could be fixed with one handy, all-purpose tool? What if that one handy, all-purpose tool also lit up blue and made whirling noises? And what if that same tool meant no more soldering jobs ending in burned fingers, no more needing to know a potentiometer from a rheostatic variable resistor, and no more lengthy phone calls to IT guys, Triple A, or locksmiths? Yes, the sonic screwdriver could not only change the way you fix things, but also life as you know it! Throw in a universal remote that controls reality instead of a TV, and you’ll be unstoppable! Just be careful not to overuse it…

With the advent and addition of a photonic entertainment system to one’s home, traditional entertainment formats would be rendered obsolete. Sure, purists and enthusiasts will always hold on to old formats but for most with the option, holodeck-style technology would be the way to go. Why just listen to an album when you can sit in the studio and watch it be created? Why watch a comedy special when you can sit in the front row? And why watch a movie or TV show when you can be part of the action? With limitless options and default safety protocols, you could go on a dream vacation without ever leaving your rec-room, score dates you could never pull off in real life, relive your glory days, or just let off some steam.

Imagine a world where you don’t have to wait weeks to see a doctor, months for surgery, or worry about deductibles and co-pays. That’s the world of the med-bay. An all-purpose medical device that’s part x-ray, ultrasound, MRI, CAT, MD, DDS, and more; the med-bay would revolutionize the health industry as we know it. Lying in the bed, the system would scan for a full range of diseases and aliments, conduct surgery, set broken bones and even reverse ageing and flatten out wrinkles. A world with a med-bay in every home is a world where no one has to die because they couldn’t afford medical care, were misdiagnosed, or weren’t helped in time. For more run of the mill cuts and scrapes, meanwhile, a dermal regenerator in the house would reduce ER visits and make the band aid a thing of the past.

Today, everyone needs a vehicle. But what if they didn’t? With air travel becoming more of a hassle every day, boats and ships more of a luxury than mode of transportation, and conventional cars crowding roads and polluting the planet, the benefits of the transporter would be multifold. Eco-friendliness aside, the transporter’s built-in bio-filter would eliminate the spread of disease among travellers, while its security features would detect and disable any active bombs or hostile devices. For the average person, transporters would mean skipping the commute and beaming directly to work or attending university in another country while living at home. It would mean fishing in Banff, coffee in Rio, date night in Paris, and sightseeing in Tokyo with mere seconds wasted on travel.

While there are some who actually like to clean and do other household chores, for most of us cleaning up after ourselves – and our families – is a never-ending burden. Having a maid or butler seems like a win but, as most lords and noblemen will tell you, having a personal staff is an expensive proposition. And besides, if everyone has a maid does the maid then have a maid? With advances in robotics, and perhaps even a splash of AI, every home could benefit from the addition of a robotic housekeeper. Whether it’s fully autonomous or socially interactive, whether it fills more of an assisting role or is basically a glorified trash compactor, a robot maid would cut down on housework greatly, while a robotic butler would add an air of class to any home.

Before we unveil our top pick here are a few honorable mentions:
- In-Person Tinder
- Zero-Gravity Beds
- Self-Compacting Vehicles
- Dream Recorder

Far more than any of the other devices on today’s list, the replicator could change the world for the better – as anyone with access to a replicator would never go hungry again. Introduced as the sci-fi gadget we know today in “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” and picking up where the “Original Series”’ “food synthesizers” left off, the replicator is capable of producing any meal, snack, treat, or beverage it has on file. Properly programmed, replicated foods would not only be tasty and rich with a perfect balance of nutrients, but would also be faster and fresher than anything from a lousy old food hydrator. Additionally, replicators could create any manner of non-food item, from blankets and clothing to knick-knacks, books and musical instruments. Like a 3D printer, but wayyyy better.

Do you agree with our list? What futuristic home gadget are you most looking forward to? For more innovative Top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.