Photo by Alexandre Debiève on Unsplash
"Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window."
Steve Wozniak
So, I am sat trying to think of what to write and I have the news on in the background. I know I am old as I watch the news. But I like to know what is happening in the world and here in the UK. One report caught my eye and I could hardly believe my eyes and thought at first was today 1st April, April fools Day?
Here is the headline:
Jet Pack Paramedic Tested by Air Ambulance Service
The Great North Air Ambulance Service paramedics could be using rocket-powered suits to find and treat injured or stranded ramblers on mountains in the lake district as soon as next summer, after a successful test flight. This flying suit, developed by inventor Richard Browning, was put through its paces at Langdale Pike where he flew over difficult terrain at heights of up to 20ft searching for a group of ramblers.
As part of a test run, it was able to reach the peak 3,117ft peak of Helvellyn mountain in under eight minutes - it would take a helicopter three times as long and a paramedic on foot would take at least an hour. The Marvel Iron Man-inspired jet suits sell for £340,000 but Browning, and his firm Gravity, says it is considering a lease arrangement with emergency services who need them.
They had been testing this ‘Iron Man suit’ two weeks ago and simulated a rescue at Langdale on The Band, Bowfell.
The biggest benefit is to speed up the first response to an injured person, or locate a missing group, more quickly than other methods. If the idea 'takes off’ (sorry bad joke), the flying paramedic will be armed with a medical kit with strong pain relief for walkers who may have suffered fractures, and a defibrillator for those who may have suffered a heart attack.
Currently the jet pack can only fly for five minutes at a time - but even with that limitation it can reduce a rescue that would take 25 minutes on foot to 90 seconds.
The jet pack can go over 50 miles per hour if necessary and can go up to 80ft above water but above ground they don't go over about 20ft due to the 'hard landing’.
Is this the future? I think it is.
I first saw a jet pack a bit like this in a James Bond movie called ‘Thunderball’. As I watched this I thought that would be so cool, but I am sure I would never see this kind of technology in my life time!
However, technology that I saw as kid in movies and sci-fi series have been developed and come onto the market!
For instance:
Space Travel - ✅ 1865 novel: “From Earth to the Moon”
Robots - ✅ 1927 film: ‘Metroplis’
Smartwatch - ✅ 1940’s: Dick Tracy Comic strip
Video Calling - ✅ 1968 film: ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’
Mobile phones, Universal Translators & Automatic doors - ✅ 1966: ‘Star Trek’
Smart Homes - ✅ 1977: ‘Demon Seed’
Holographic Performances - ✅ 1977: ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’
Flying Cars & Digital billboards - ✅ 1982: ‘Blade Runner’
Military Drones - ✅ 1984: ‘The Terminator’
Self-driving cars - ✅ 1990: ‘Total Recall’
VR Devices - ✅ Total Recall, The Matrix and more!
And the list goes on and on.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution."
Albert Einstein
I am so blessed to be part of this generation where technology has moved so quickly and I am looking forward to seeing what else will be invented!
My question for you is: What technology have you seen come to real life from a sci-fi movie/series? and What would you like to see come to life?
We are living in a world of uncertainty, we are here for you!
Stay safe!
Darren.
This week’s resource…
Video Clip: UK Air Ambulance tests Paramedic Jet Suit
Can be found: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRBJixCmw1w (1min 49sec)
About: UK Air Ambulance tests Paramedic Jet Suit
Emergency responders and engineers in Britain say they have successfully tested "the world's first jet suit paramedic". The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) worked with Gravity Industries to test their jet suit in the hilly Lake District, where mountain rescuers can often take around an hour to arrive if a helicopter isn't required.
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