Quote:
According to Zemeckis, the 2015 depicted in the film was not meant to be an accurate depiction of the future. So, rather than trying to make a scientifically sound prediction that we were probably going to get wrong anyway, we figured, let's just make it funny." Despite this, the filmmakers did do some research into what scientists thought may occur in the year 2015. Bob Gale said, "We knew we weren't going to have flying cars by the year 2015, but God we had to have those in our movie."
However, the film did accurately predict a number of technological and sociological changes, such as the rise of ubiquitous cameras, the influence of Asian nations over the United States (though this was certainly already on the rise at the time of its release), flat panel television sets mounted on walls, the ability to watch six channels at once, Internet video chat systems such as Skype, increased use of plastic surgery, head-mounted displays, and automated fueling systems. The film also correctly predicted a future where video games do not need hands (Microsoft Kinect) or, at the very least, do not need traditional controllers (Wii Remote).
There was high demand for the Nike tennis shoes Marty wears with automatic shoelaces, which some fans thought to be real. They eventually released a real version of their Hyperdunk Supreme shoes, which appear similar to Marty's, in July 2008. Fans dubbed them the Air McFly. In April 2009, they filed the patent for self-lacing shoes, and their design bears a resemblance to those worn by Marty in the film. In 2010, an inspired fan named Blake Bevin created shoes that tie themselves. In September 2011, they revealed that their MAG line of shoes would not feature the self-lacing feature shown in it. Tinker Hatfield, one of the shoe's designers, indicated in 2014 that they would introduce shoes with power-lacing technology the following year, 2015.
The concept of the hoverboard—a skateboard that can float off the ground—has been explored by various groups since the release of the film. Attempts similar to hoverboats, which blast air at the ground, have been shown possible. The closest in concept to the film is considered the MagBoard, developed by researchers at the Paris Diderot University. It uses a large superconductor plate on the bottom cooled with liquid nitrogen as to achieve the Meissner effect and allow it to float over a special track; it was shown capable of carrying the weight of a human in its practical demonstration. However, the requirement to run the superconductor at higher, more ambient temperatures prevents this from becoming practical. In March 2014, a company named HUVr Tech purportedly demonstrated a working one along with several celebrities including Lloyd, though this shortly was revealed as a hoax created by the website Funny or Die.
A brief joke has the Chicago Cubs winning the 2015 World Series over a Miami-based team whose logo was depicted in the film as an alligator, given both the long title drought of the Cubs and the fact that at the time, no Major League Baseball team was located in Florida. The state of Florida has since gained two franchises: the Miami Marlins in 1993 and the Tampa Bay Rays in 1998. (The Marlins, like the Cubs, are a member franchise of the National League (NL), making it an impossibility that both franchises would play each other in the World Series.) In the actual 2015 season, neither Florida-based team qualified for the postseason, but the Cubs clinched a berth in the NL Wild Card Game, marking their first postseason appearance since 2008. The Cubs won 4-0 at Pittsburgh to advance to the 2015 National League Division Series against their chief rival and Central Division champions, the St. Louis Cardinals.
On May 7, 2013, Terrafugia announced the TF-X, a plug-in hybrid tilt-rotor vehicle that would be the first fully autonomous flying car. It has a range of 500 miles per flight and batteries are rechargeable by the engine. Development of TF-X is expected to last 8–12 years, which means it will not come to market before 2021-2025.
At the 2014 Pioneers Festival at Vienna (Austria) AeroMobil presented their version 3.0 of their flying car. The prototype was conceived as a vehicle that can be converted from an automobile to an aircraft. The version 2.5 proof-of-concept took 20 years to develop, and first flew in 2013. A prototype flying car was released in 2013, with a price tag of approximately $35,000 which is close to the "hover conversion" price of $39,999.95 as seen in the film. The new version 3.0, presented 2014, flew in October.
The Xplorair PX200 is a French project of single-seater VTOL aircraft without rotating airfoil, relying on the Coandă effect and using an array of small jet engines called thermoreactors embedded within tiltwings' body. Announced in 2007, the project has been funded by the Government of France and is now supported by various aerospace firms. A full-scale drone is scheduled for flight at Paris Air Show 2017, followed by the commercialization of a single-seater flying car in the years after.
Perhaps it is a good time to rewatch BTTF part 2 (or all three), and see what October 21st *should* have looked like... or just have a good laugh at what they got wrong. :p
