Some of Today's Smart Tech Makes Homes More Advanced Than the Jetson's House in 2062
If you grew up in the 1960s and ‘70s, you probably remember The Jetsons. Even if you are generations younger, you’re likely to have heard of the middle-class family of the future and their home in the sky. But how close are we to living like the Jetson family? While we don’t yet live in an orbiting city, it’s also not quite 2060s yet — as it is in the cartoon. But are we on the path to homes as smart as the Jetson’s smart home in the sky? Experts tell us that, while we may not yet be flying around in bubble-shaped jet cars, we do have many of the smart devices the futuristic show predicted.
Though it may not look exactly as featured on The Jetsons, some of today’s technology is more advanced than predicted, and we are only a little more than halfway to the 2060s from the 1960s during the show’s production.
Streamlined Screens
George Jetson read the morning news from a screen — something that would have been difficult to imagine back in the 1960s when people read their news in daily papers delivered to their door, and read great books and magazines in actual paper print. While George used a Televiewer to read, the way we read our news and books is much more portable and convenient than George’s big screen on the wall. We use our small, handheld devices, including camera phones, tablets, or laptops, and take them with us everywhere we go.
Jane Jetson often talks to friends through a videophone, something people only dreamed about in the 1960s. But today’s technology takes the large, bulky wall-phone style videophone pictured in the Jetson’s kitchen and streamlines it down to a small device we carry in one hand. For that matter, with today’s technology, Jane wouldn’t need to hurry into her “morning mask” for the videophone because her friend would probably be texting her!
Smart Hub Help
While we don’t have rolling blue robots in our homes like the Jetson’s housekeeper, “Rosie,” we do have artificially intelligent smart technology to help out around the house — and it doesn’t have to wear an apron or push a vacuum cleaner. Instead, we have invisible Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant in our smart home hubs. Just like Rosie, smart assistants control our home security systems, garage door openers, thermostats, lighting, television, music, kitchen appliances, and much more. We only have to talk to the helpful hub to operate everything from our Bluetooth speakers to our robot vacuum cleaners. And unlike when Rosie the Robot vacuums, today’s best robot vacuums are small, discreet, and streamlined enough to slip under beds and furniture to clean.
High-Tech Devices
We are also ahead of the Jetson family’s timeline for technology like smartwatches for kids. In one episode of The Jetsons, Elroy’s school friend sneakily watches cartoons on his watch when he’s supposed to be paying attention in class.
Judy Jetson uses a device similar to today's hoverboards, but unlike Judy’s board which a flying car pulls through the clouds similar to water-skiing through the air, today’s best hoverboards move on their own.
From talking alarm clocks to small, swallowable, medical cameras, many of the devices dreamed up by the creators of The Jetsons already exist in ways that are much more convenient than William Hanna and Joseph Barbera ever imagined.
While we don’t yet have 3D printed food show up at the touch of a button the way the Jetson family did, that technology is certainly just around the calendar corner.
Resources— Ericksson, TechCrunch, Fandom
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