Dragonball Technology . . . Tomorrow?

Li'l Lemmy · Post by **Li'l Lemmy** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 5:27 pm

In the same manner that people watching Star Trek in the late 1960s had no idea that self-opening doors, computer discs and microwave ovens would ever be a reality in their lifetimes, is there a technology in Dragonball that you think may one day see the light of day in our real world?

Granted, Dragonball is not about technology to the same point as a Trek show. Nonetheless, we do see many interesting devices and technological feats that oft-times border on the very notion of science fiction. (Vehicles that pop out of palm-sized capsules? Come on!) But since our own technology continues to advance rapidly into the 21st century, I don't think we can count out even the most wild Dragonball ideas 100, 50 or even just 20 years down the road. Who knows what we'll see by the time we're Roshi's age?

So what do you think? Can you see one or more of the far-out technological marvels in Dragonball existing in our own world? Are any of their ideas practical at all, or is this thread pointless?

My pick for The DB Technology We May One Day See is the Scouter. Not necessarily to detect a person's battle power (the majority of us would be between .001 and 5, a-heh), but possibly to assess a person's vital signs or general health in a medical capacity. Something akin to the idea of shrinking a CAT scan machine, an EKG monitor and whatever else we get hooked up to these days into an over-the-eye device, I don't know . . . it just strikes me as awesome. I can so see EMTs running out of an ambulace with these devices, switching them on and using their readings to act appropriately.

I suppose they could have a military use. We already have heat-seeking tecnology and infra-red, so I don't see it as a huge leap to make the scouter into a radar-like device. (We may have something like that already, but I'm not sure.) But I'm far more enthralled with my earlier thoughts.

What do you think we may see?

Chuquita · Post by **Chuquita** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 5:53 pm

There's already these ear-clip-on things you can plug into your cellphone and speak into ala a scouter.

I'd still like a hovercar. Or at least a hoverbike.

Rocketman · Post by **Rocketman** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 7:21 pm

Capsules don't seem to be feasible. Compacting something the size of a house down to handheld size would make it incredibly dense, far too heavy to carry a bunch of them around.

Not to mention the amount of energy required to do this. Or how you would restore it to its original state after you compressed it.

kvon · Post by **kvon** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 7:46 pm

Rocketman wrote:Capsules don't seem to be feasible. Compacting something the size of a house down to handheld size would make it incredibly dense, far too heavy to carry a bunch of them around.

Not to mention the amount of energy required to do this. Or how you would restore it to its original state after you compressed it.

It's like the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids series. The kids should weight the same, and yet Szalinski is able to toss them out in a garbage bag. In reality, the kids should crack the wooden floor the instant they got shrunk due to such weight concentrated at one spot.

Excluding Trunks's time machine, I would really like Gohan's Great Saiyaman Watch. Instead of that costume, I would put a Tuxedo in the watch because I hate that I have to spend more than ten minutes before performances to put on the complicated clothing.

Sebastian (SB) · Post by **Sebastian (SB)** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 8:33 pm

Well, if it helps any, Toriyama did actually design an electric car that was being sold in Japan. I believe there wad a thread on this a long while back.

I doubt it'll see the light of day outside any other country.

Steven Perry · Post by **Steven Perry** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 9:33 am

Rocketman wrote:Capsules don't seem to be feasible. Compacting something the size of a house down to handheld size would make it incredibly dense, far too heavy to carry a bunch of them around.

Not to mention the amount of energy required to do this. Or how you would restore it to its original state after you compressed it.

Well... if Dr. Briefs can create a five-hundred times gravity chamber, couldn't he make something along the same lines- but with zero gravity (and somehow use it in a Capsule)?

Anyway, whatever's being compressed into a capsule wouldn't be able to retain its physical properties- because its characteristics are dependant on its constituent element's electronic configuration and spacing. So if it was changed by compression... the object wouldn't be the object anymore. Probably just slush or something.

Mr.Piccolo · Post by **Mr.Piccolo** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 9:38 am

Well, if we have nightvision googles and heat-sensors then yeah, I can see scouters being real for military use. As for capsules, I guess with all of the advances in nano-technology it could be somewhat possible. Mabye Toriyama is some kind of prophet...

MartianOddity · Post by **MartianOddity** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 4:33 pm

Mr.Piccolo wrote: Mabye Toriyama is some kind of prophet...

And there will soon appear people with superhuman strength, and destruction in every city about every seven years! Yaaaay! (j/k, couldn't resist)

I would believe that scouters would become a reality. But not space pods and Hoi Poi capsules (at least not in 1000 years).

Godo · Post by **Godo** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 4:35 pm

Mr.Piccolo wrote:Well, if we have nightvision googles and heat-sensors then yeah, I can see scouters being real for military use. As for capsules, I guess with all of the advances in nano-technology it could be somewhat possible. Mabye Toriyama is some kind of prophet...

Yeah, and soon Goku will be among us! And Vegeta! And we can tell them that Cell will selfdestruct, and Goku won't die and Goten will become SSJ2!
I like that thought.

No sarcasm.

BlueSky · Post by **Kaboom** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 5:06 pm

Godo wrote: Yeah, and soon Goku will be among us! And Vegeta! And we can tell them that Cell will selfdestruct, and Goku won't die and Goten will become SSJ2!
I like that thought.

No sarcasm.

Some time ago, SSj Kaboom wrote:Godo is apparently one of those people who are either right, or insane. No in-betweeen.

_Jrinu_ · Post by **_Jrinu_** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 7:28 pm

MartianOddity wrote: But not space pods

Well, actually if you think about it space pods may be closer to becoming a reality than you would think.

Certainly not in the sense they are portrayed in the series, but rather the realistic idea of a one man space shuttle is not such an impossible task.

Kendamu · Post by **Kendamu** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 7:55 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpWZXnvP_8U

Take the infrared camcorder and compact the technology into scouter size and you'll have the very first prototype Scouter.

MartianOddity · Post by **MartianOddity** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 7:14 am

_Jrinu_ wrote:
MartianOddity wrote: But not space pods
Well, actually if you think about it space pods may be closer to becoming a reality than you would think.

Certainly not in the sense they are portrayed in the series, but rather the realistic idea of a one man space shuttle is not such an impossible task.

I refered to the ball-shaped pods, which aren't likely to exist

. They would spin when travelling. Otherwise I think they're highly possible to appear in 50-100 years.

Godo · Post by **Godo** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 7:58 am

MartianOddity wrote:
_Jrinu_ wrote:
MartianOddity wrote: But not space pods
Well, actually if you think about it space pods may be closer to becoming a reality than you would think.

Certainly not in the sense they are portrayed in the series, but rather the realistic idea of a one man space shuttle is not such an impossible task.
I refered to the ball-shaped pods, which aren't likely to exist . They would spin when travelling. Otherwise I think they're highly possible to appear in 50-100 years.

And all the saiyans would puke, what a wonderful sight.

Pedro The Hutt · Post by **Pedro The Hutt** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 2:51 pm

"Stop Vegeta!"
"But Nappa, we just stopped two planets ago!"
"Yeah but.. I gotta barf...this spinning makes me dizzy."

And if that doesn't stop them, the sheer force from crash-landing on a planet at dizzying speeds might just break their necks. (Unless of course, Saiyajin are just that tough!)