avengers UIIt is because movies are the stuff of fiction (generally speaking) that the writers can come up with all sorts of crazy technology ideas and gadgets without really having to worry about how feasible would it be. Now if you’ve ever seen movies like Iron Man and Minority Report, you’ll notice that the characters in those shows interact with some pretty badass UIs.

Of course like we said it is the stuff of fiction, or is it? Speaking to Quartz, John Underkoffler of Oblong Industries has revealed that his company is currently working to make such interfaces a reality. In fact Underkoffler had recently won a National Design Award for his work on user interfaces, so if anyone knows UIs, it would be him.

Now instead of movies inspiring technology, technology is inspiring movies. Underkoffler recounts how at one point during Iron Man 3, the movie’s star Robert Downey Jr. stopped by his office to work on creating a gesture for his Iron Man suit that would be believable. “Movies now know that it’s worthwhile and valuable to go into the industry and get technology experts to kind of help them shape what they’re showing in the films.”

Of course it might still take a while before the technology we see in movies becomes actual products that we know and love, like how the Star Trek communicators took 30 years to be realized in the form of the Motorola Star-Tac, but Underkoffler appears to be optimistic, claiming that due to the advancement of technology, such feats could be accomplished in a matter of months.

Filed in Computers..

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