NAME : ENRIQUE MUNHIRA

REGISTRATION NUMBER : R226896T

PROGRAM : HMIE
MODULE : FEBE101
LECTURER : DR P TAKAVARASHA
TOPIC : SCIENCE FICTION
DUE DATE : FRIDAY 2 SEPTEMBER
Question
Science fiction has always been applauded for conceiving life changing inventions.
Using at least 5 sources of information, review literature on the most recent
inventions linked to science fiction that have resulted in huge milestone in any of the
following fields engineering, transport, agriculture, communication and logistics.

Background
According to many different researchers, long ago people used to use many different
modes of transport for example foot, donkey, horses, wagons and many other.
According to Joseph A. Schumpeter (1935) there was the mail-coach before there
was the airplane we know today. This gives us a clear picture on how science fiction
has brought about life changing features. Before the engine cars we know today
there was the wagon which was driven by horses, this is what pushed the engine car
inventers to invent a car to replace wagons.
Introduction
This literature review helps to analyse the justifications for why science fiction has
always been praised for inspiring the development of life-changing technology.
Science fiction is literature that is focused on imagined future scientific or
technological advancements and significant societal or environmental changes. It
typically depicts space travel, time travel, and life on other planets. According to
some experts, technology—which encompasses communication, home
entertainment, space travel, and transportation—is the area of study most impacted
by science. Our modes of movement both liberate and constrict us. This literature
review will focus on transportation inventions because of science fiction.
Body
According to Weber, (2014) the autonomous car was made a reality in 2014 by Ernst
Dickmanns of the Bunderswehr University Munich in Germany. According to Weber,
Ernst and his colleagues at the University were able to modify a Mercedes Benz van
such that it could travel 96 km/h on an empty highway for more than 20 kilometers
on its own. He goes on to state that by 1989, the vehicle could recognize
impediments, and by the 1990s, it was capable of making lane changes on its own.
This demonstrates how the development of the transportation sector in science
fiction has decreased traffic accidents and improved human safety.
The Wright brothers, two brilliant self-trained engineers from Ohio, are credited by
NASA for designing, building, and flying the first powered, heavier-than-air aircraft
that allowed people to fly freely, deliberately, and for an extended period of time.
Focusing on the historical significance of the aviation-related events preceding and
following December 17, 1903 is a rare opportunity made possible by the centennial
of powered flight. A new generation of inventions, thinkers, and dreamers will be
motivated by the 100th anniversary of flying, which is even more significant. We
made the first powered flight on the sand dunes of North Carolina's outer banks a
century ago, and today we have a permanent presence in space thanks to the
vision, perseverance, and creativity of many. This source clearly shows us that
indeed science fiction has always been applauded for conceiving life changing
inventions as we see the invention made by these two brothers to fly the first plane.
According to the book ‘ON THE MOVE’ by Phyllis McIntosh, As the 19th century drew
to a close, numerous inventors were trying to design new gasoline-powered vehicles,
both four-wheeled and two-wheeled. One of the most successful was Charles Metz,
who founded a company in Waltham, Massachusetts, to manufacture racing bicycles.
According to some accounts, Metz attached an internal combustion engine to a
bicycle to create a pace bike with which to train his racing team. His innovation led
to the first mass-production motor-cycle, known as the Orient-Aster. Metz introduced
the motorbike in Boston in 1900 at the first recorded motorcycle race in the United
States. The next few years saw the establishment of two brands that would
dominate the U.S. motorcycle market for half a century. The Indian Motorcycle
Company, created in 1901, was for several decades the largest motorcycle
manufacturer in the world. Although the original company went out of business in
1953, other companies are still attempting to resurrect the Indian brand. Indian’s
rival, Harley Davidson, founded in 1903, has experienced far greater success and
now ranks as the iconic name in American-made motorcycles. This tells also why
science fiction has always been applauded for conceiving life changing inventions.
People used to believe that things like motorcycles do not exist until these inventors
prove the world wrong. The dreamer’s visions came true when it was considered as
imaginary.
Another invention was the high-speed train, which was faster than most cars. At
first, the invention was just an invention on paper until someone had to take a stand
and make it a reality. According to Japan Railways and Transport Review No. 16
(1998). Gentlemen After graduating as a mechanical engineer from the University of
Tokyo, Hideo Shima began working as a locomotive designer for the State Railways
in 1925. Gentlemen. Challenging the assumption that trains operating in Tokyo are
noisy, Shima has launched an electronic medium-distance consortium that serves up
to 200 kilometers in Tokyo. We believe that the improved high-speed rail offering in
the world today is one of the fastest. In this game, we once again see how science
fiction is praised for creating life-changing inventions. The science fiction here
speeds up travel, whether for work or movement.
In the transport industry again we science fiction being applauded for life changing
inventions in the industrial elevators. People used to use stairs to move from one
floor to the other. As a result of this industrialists decided to manufacture an
industrial elevator that was going to help them move without getting tired.
According to Procedia Manufacturing 43, (2020), the lift was designed in Zimbabwe
by industrialists after taking a look at some drawn pictures of the elevator so they
had to modify it so that it can work with the aid of electricity. Science fiction has
moved the world from one stage to another thereby improving living standards.
Conclusion
Science fiction has basically improved the lively hoods of all humans at large.
Travelling was made easier and more efficient there by serving natural resources.
Above all I agree with the statement “science fiction has always been applauded for
conceiving life changing inventions”.
References
1. Weber, (2014)
2. NASA
3. ON THE MOVE by Phyllis McIntosh
4. Japan Railways and Transport Review
5. Procedia Manufacturing