Drawing inspiration from science fiction

The military is doing all kinds of projects that seem to draw inspiration from science fiction. On an article I read on Forbes the other day, I saw exoskeletons that looked right out of Halo, tiny flying robots, a super-fast running robot, computer-controlled sharks, super-sonic planes, augmented reality contact lenses, flying HUMVs that can transform and go underwater, and planes that don't ever need to land. You can view the whole photo essay at the link above.

All of those things were cool, but by far the coolest thing (for me) was the shape-shifting robot pictured above. Sure, it's a long way from the T1000 in Terminator 2. This is a picture of their latest experiment of taking a material that can transition between liquid and solid based on pressure. In their words, "The resulting slushbot may someday be able to slip between cracks or holes in a barrier and re-form on the other side."

How long do you think it will be before someone builds one of these:

Do you think it's weird that so much science fiction seems to become science fact at some point?

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I for one kind of think it's a little strange. Fun...but strange.

Have a great Wednesday.

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