Video Conferencing And Its Relation With Science Fiction

Videotelephony or video calling is nothing but transmitting video, and audio signals thus enabling
communication between two or more people. This technology is used in video conferencing through
which meetings are conducted where people from remote locations take part in it. The Internet has
increased the popularity of this technology in the early 20th century. Thus video conferencing is
widespread with the use of mobile phones with cameras, webcams in the computer, etc. The main
advantage of video conferencing is that it is not necessary to travel to various places to talk with each
other. The first high definition video conferencing system hit the market in the year 2005. In the year
2010 video conferencing became popular among all sections of people.
In the past, there were several science fiction stories written by popular writers who wrote about
audiography, video telephony and video calling. These science fiction stories are perfect proof that
people dreamt for a technology which would help them to see and talk with distant people. There are
several voice-based apps in use today, and voice snap is one such school app which helps teachers,
students, and parents to communicate with each other. This app works on the technology of video
calling.

People in the early 18th century have dreamt about the world of video enriched communication of
people. Thus specific science fiction stories talked about videotelephony and video calling. After nearly
130 years, these science fiction stories have come to reality. Here you can know about the history of
video conferencing in relation to science fiction.

Fictional Depiction Of Video Conferencing

George Du Maurier, a British cartoonist, born in France, came up with lots of imagination. He wrote a
fictional depiction of video conferencing in his science-based fictional stories. He wrote a depiction
based on the idea Thomas Edison, where a mother and father wished to communicate with their
children who are living in another city. Thus they would set up an electric camera-obscura in the
bedroom and converse with them through a wire.

Imagining Distant Future

An early French Scientist Jules Verne is a popular science fiction writer of the 1880s. One of his fiction
story named "In the year 2889" is a popular science fiction story which talks about the world in the year
2889. He has written how the world would be after 200 years. He has mentioned that it would be
possible to transmit images through mirrors connected with wires. Thus it would help a person to from
Paris to communicate with his wife who lives in another country.

Telephot - An imaginative Video calling Device

Hugo, an American Science fiction writer, imagined a device where a faceplate came up with a human
face during a video call. His imagination was very close to modern technology that we use for telecalling
and teleconferencing.

Video calling In Films

Metropolis by Fritz's Lang was the first film to come up with the video conferencing technology in the
year 1927. The film featured a wall mounted videophone which was used to make a face to face
communication.

Animated Sitcom
The early animated sitcom depicted the technology of video conferencing. It was early speculation of
video conferencing. It was used as a collaboration tool.
A Space Odyssey
This is a popular science fiction film of Stanley Kubrick of the year 1968. This is a film about a space
traveler, and it features a video call from the space to the earth. The space traveler talks with his
daughter through a video call. This is similar to children conversing with their parents through skype
who are in office.

Back To The Future Part II

This is a popular science fiction film featured in the year 1989. The movie came up with scenes where
people who wore a specific type of glasses were able to take up video calls. The film also envisioned a
device that communicated with employees in remote locations.

Thus video calling and video conferencing technology was once a dream in the past which has come into
reality in recent years. This technological invention can indeed be a great boon to the world when they
are used in the right way.

How Has The Science Fiction On Smart Homes Turned Into Reality?
All of us dream about living in a comfortable and highly sophisticated house with smart inventions.
There were several science fiction stories and films which talks about smart homes. Now this science
fiction has turned into reality! You can now transform your home into a perfect smart home with the
use of latest technology devices. Today several companies work on smart home technology, and Delfin
is one of the popular dealers of home automation system who offer a customized smart home solution.
Intelligent homes have indeed made life easier for people in this busy world.
Thus you can control everything in your house with just a swipe of your smartphone. The article talks
about some of the science fiction technologies which were a dream in the past and how it has come to
true in recent years.

Smart Assistants
In the movie Iron Man of the year, 2008 smart assistants were in use, which helped to respond to voice
commands and can even control electrical appliances. Today virtual assistants are usually installed in
almost most of the houses. Thus it is possible to switch off your AC when you're about to enter your
home. You can also switch on the lights when you're out for a vacation. It is true that in the past, these
technologies were considered as only fiction and a dream, and that has turned into reality.

Smart Lights
The Smart home technologies that are popular today were predicted in the early days. Several films
featured specific science fiction technology. Smart lights were featured in the film Ex Machina where the
lights responded to the music played. Thus the color lights were synchronized to music. The same effect
can be achieved by the use of Philips Hue, where the light comes into life to the music played.

Smart Appliances
The movie Smart House was featured in the year 1999. The film depicted most of the smart appliances
prevalent today. It is possible to send messages to people in your contact without touching your phone.
There are several smart kitchen appliances like smart coffee makers which prepares coffee before you
enter your house. The lights, fans, AC, etc. are switched on when you're about to enter your home. It is
possible to cook your food by just setting the time in the cooker.
Smart Homes-Safety
Theft, fire accidents are the common safety threat of people living in a house. People would indeed have
dreamt of a safety system which would alert them during the time of emergency well ahead. Today
safety systems are a part of the home automation systems. The safety locks installed would send an
alert message when robbers break it. This would help to ensure the safety of your family. It is also
possible for the smart home systems to detect fire accidents early so that it can avoid significant
hazards. Thus smart safety system offers peace of mind to the house owner whether they are inside or
outside the house.

Energy Saving
You have read about the technology of controlling the temperature of your house from a remote
location in some of the science fiction stories. Today these are smart devices which are used in most of
the uses. It helps to maintain the temperature of the house based on the outdoor temperature, thereby
saving a lot of energy. Thus smart devices help in practicing an eco-friendly lifestyle.

Smart Gadgets
Today we make use of some modern gadgets which has transformed our homes into smart homes. In
the Star Trek series, you have witnessed some touch screen displays, and in the Space Odyssey film, you
would have come across Newspads. These devices are very much similar to the tablets and i-pads that
we use today. Head up display is a device that was featured in the film Iron Man and Avengers, where a
holographic display of real-time activities is projected in front of you. Today Google Glass is one such
smart gadget which creates augmented reality and helps people to connect to the different world. You
have enjoyed several Hollywood movies where the actors made use of their watch to communicate with
others. Today there are lots of brands of smartwatches which offer several advanced functionalities.

The above are some of the home automation systems that have made science fiction technologies to
become real.

How Has Science Fiction Interpreted Robot And AI?

There were some science fictional stories and even some old films which came up with the theme of
robots. These fiction themes have been transformed into real-time facts in recent years. Today, robots
can do jobs that human being can do. Some robots can perform household chores whereas some robots
used for industrial purposes. They make the job easy, and reduce the need for labor.
Artificial intelligence is another technology where machines are used to think and reason similar to
humans. Today cobots are the latest technological innovations that have replaced robots. There are
several science fictional stories with a plot of AI. Science fiction is a valuable resource to the world of
science as it is the main inspiration for most of the latest technological inventions. Here you can know
about some of the science fiction that matches up with the current reality.

Robots On Screens
The first robot hit the big screen in the year 1927 in the film named Metropolis. It was a female robot
which looked similar to humans. This robot helped to fight from the evil. Today there are several female
robots build which works based on artificial intelligence. It is true that one cannot bring in humanity into
robots. In the year 1970, a film named The Star Wars came up with cute robots. The movie Wall-E hit
the screens in the year 2008, which featured a small robot that was used for the purpose of garbage
collection. This robotic character was built with emotions, and thus, it can be related to humans.
The robot featured in the film Star Trek: The Next Generation performed just like a human.
The Battlestar Galactica of the 21st century came up with Cyclons that looked similar to the human race.
Some of the fictional robots that were featured in the stories and films looked cuddly. Some of the
robots of the science fiction stories stole the heart of the people. But now you can have a look at the
most powerful robots performing tasks; even humans cannot do. These are programmed devices which
does a specific job based on the instructions of humans.
History Of AI And Robots
The concept of Artificial Intelligence and Robots was evident several centuries back in science fictions
and feature films. But in reality, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other related terms entered
the world of science only in the year 1950. In the year 1966, the Stanford Research Institute came up
with the first ever reasoning robot called the electronic person. This robot was named as Shaky, which
can move around on wheels and monitor the surrounding with his eyes. This is a historic achievement as
the science fiction stories of the past have turned into reality.

Robots Of Current Era

A robot is not stuff that you might think that are featured in science fiction. It is nothing but factory
made with complex circuits and processors. It helps people for easy access to information and can
control home devices effectively.
Some robots can find hidden patterns in data, beat humans in chess games, and also outperform human
in reasoning skills. It is true that robots cannot replicate humans in all aspects. Robots struggle in certain
aspects like sensorimotor skills, attention, perception, coordination, and social interaction.

AI And Robots Lack Morality

In the year 2004, there was a story published called the I. Robot in which car crash was depicted. Two
cars crashed and ended up in a river. A robot can save only one person, and it has to choose between a
detective and a small girl. The robot ended up in saving the detective as the percentage of survival is
more compared to the girl. Thus this scene is a clear proof of the lack of humanity with AI and robots.
This was predicted early in the 21st century, and it is still not possible to build robots with humanity and
other human nature.

The above article offers a clear overview of the interpretation of science fiction and robots.