12 Tech Inventions From Star Wars That Already Exist Today

4. Droids

We're no strangers to the notion of artificial intelligence or robotics. However, if you'd asked an original Star Wars fan what they think robots will be capable of in the next thirty to forty years, they probably wouldn't have expected things to have become so sophisticated and indeed, so much like Star Wars' droids. The Imperial probe droid of The Empire Strikes Back (pictured) might look like something we've got no hope of creating for another few decades but it is essentially just a hovering reconnaissance drone, which are commonplace in today's military arsenal. I've not heard of any drones that have little arms dangling off the bottom (though it wouldn't surprise me if they existed) but they're certainly equipped with all the tech you'd expect either an Imperial scientist or a terrestrial engineer to put into a robot designed for recon. And yes, in case you didn't know, modern drones can be fully automated and no longer require someone to pilot them. Slightly scary. Boston Dynamics even developed strange four-legged walking robots that can plan a route across tricky terrain and even correct for mistakes (or being absolutely booted in the side by its creators). It's not unlike a mini AT-AT but we've got one up on the Galactic Empire here because our walkers don't even need a pilot.