Device Name |
Book/Story |
Author |
Date |
D-9 Motherspinner An enormous genetically engineered spider used to create large structures in space. |
The Golden Globe |
Varley |
1998 |
Daily Schedule (DS) The DS was an artificially intelligent day planner, a schedule keeper with voice recognition features; it also talked back when necessary. |
The Dosadi Experiment |
Herbert |
1977 |
Dainties Flavor spheres artificially grown. |
Prelude to Foundation |
Asimov |
1988 |
Daisy Projector Beam of energy penetrates the Heaviside layer to enable communication from planet to planet. |
The Derelicts of Ganymede |
Campbell |
1932 |
Dark Side Referring to the unlit part of a planet's surface. |
The Power Planet |
Leinster |
1931 |
Dark Vapor Bubble A kind of field that keeps an alien base provided with an atmosphere. |
Man-Jewels for Xothar |
Wells |
1936 |
Darkdawn City An entire city that is tuned to be played by the winds. |
Dying of the Light |
Martin |
1977 |
Darkened Glass Face Plate The use of darkened glass on the face plate of a space suit helmet to protect the wearer from solar radiation. |
The Achilles Heel |
Gallun |
1940 |
Darkness Bomb A small bulb containing a vapor that causes darkness to occur. |
The Mightiest Machine |
Campbell |
1934 |
Darknet Farm A farm that uses computer networked information systems to achieve sustainable agriculture in a community. |
Freedom |
Suarez |
2010 |
Dashboard TV A television placed in the dashboard of your car or similar vehicle. |
The Chromium Fence |
Dick |
1955 |
Data Goggles Eyewear connected to a computer provides total immersion in the matrix. |
Snow Crash |
Stephenson |
1992 |
Data Haven A place where data that cannot legally be kept can be stashed for later use; an offshore web host. |
Islands in the Net |
Sterling |
1988 |
Data Space Computer storage and processor time rented by the user. |
True Names |
Vinge |
1981 |
Data Tiles Transparent panes that contain data and programs. |
Minority Report (Movie) |
Spielberg |
2002 |
Datacase A portable suitcase, containing useful electronics for the mobile business-person. |
Heretics of Dune |
Herbert |
1984 |
Data-Net An early mention of the idea of a nationwide data network. |
The Shockwave Rider |
Brunner |
1975 |
Datapack A compact device for carrying data. |
Dune: House Harkonnen |
Herbert |
2001 |
Data-Retrieval Mode A system for getting the thoughts and images out of a person's mind; recovering the data from a brain storage device. |
The Shockwave Rider |
Brunner |
1975 |
Data-Retrieval Programs Programs that searched the Net for specific information. |
Earth |
Brin |
1990 |
Dataset A portable computer with multiple screens and capabilities. |
A Fire Upon The Deep |
Vinge |
1992 |
Datasphere The entirety of computers and their information linked together, typically on a planet, in concept. |
Hyperion |
Simmons |
1989 |
Dattoo A data exchange device worn on the skin like a tattoo. |
Mariposa |
Bear |
2009 |
Datumplane The workspace of console cowboys - the matrix. |
Hyperion |
Simmons |
1989 |
Dazer A person who learned biofeedback techniques to float on his own endorphins. |
Earth |
Brin |
1990 |
DC Mini A therapy tool that allows a psychotherapist to enter a patient's dreams. |
Paprika |
Kon |
2007 |
Deadman's Device A device implanted beneath the skin of an operative who is to be sent on a hazardous mission. |
Shadowspeer |
Clayton |
1990 |
Death Bath A suicide chamber. |
The Revolt of the Machines |
Schachner (w. AL Zagat) |
1931 |
Death Projector Wide angle Ray of death! |
The Stolen Mind |
Staley |
1930 |
Death Star The logical endpoint of a galactic empire. |
Star Wars |
Lucas |
1976 |
Death-Beam Ravening pale beams of light used in space battles. |
Crashing Suns |
Hamilton |
1928 |
Death-Capsule A tiny implanted explosive capsule can be activated remotely. |
Doom Over Venus |
Hamilton |
1940 |
Death-Rattle A device that sends a signal upon brain death of the user. |
The Unreconstructed M |
Dick |
1957 |
Death-rattle File A cache of information set to destroy itself upon the death of its owner. |
The Zap Gun |
Dick |
1965 |
Death-Ray A thin ray of electric light that melts flesh away from the bone. |
The World Masters |
Griffith |
1903 |
Death-Reversal Equipment Brings you back from losing a duel. |
The Age of The Pussyfoot |
Pohl |
1966 |
De-atomizing Ray Beam of energy causes matter to fly apart. |
Crashing Suns |
Hamilton |
1928 |
Decay Ray A mysterious ray that seems to hasten Time for whatever it illuminates. |
Vandals from the Moon |
Marius |
1928 |
Deceleration Chambers Stressed, the ship breaks apart into parts that may survive. |
The Storm |
van Vogt |
1943 |
Deceleration Paste Antidote for deceleration trauma. |
Schismatrix |
Sterling |
1985 |
Decibel Alarms Alarms that would go off if the noise in public gathering places was rising to riotous levels. |
A Bridle for Pegasus |
McCaffrey |
1973 |
Decorative Implant Small devices that can be implanted subcutaneously in the body and then controlled consciously. |
Babel-17 |
Delany |
1966 |
Deep Thought The second-largest computer ever made. |
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy |
Adams |
1979 |
Deep-Radar Device to image within large objects, even within mountains. |
Ringworld Engineers |
Niven |
1980 |
Deep-Space Typically refers to the vast empty regions of interstellar space. |
Triplanetary |
Smith |
1934 |
Deflector Shield A energy field used to shunt the energy of offensive weapons aside. |
Star Wars |
Lucas |
1976 |
Defuser Electroshock cellphones to keep unruly individuals under control. |
Moxyland |
Beukes |
2008 |
Dekon Type DCQ Decontamination foam. |
Subspace Explorers |
Smith |
1965 |
Delayed Action Stereoscopic Principle Distinguishing far off space craft by relative speed against the fixed stars. |
Methuselah's Children |
Heinlein |
1941 |
Deliverator Car The vehicle for edgy pizza delivery. |
Snow Crash |
Stephenson |
1992 |
Delivery Robot A small autonomous device that will bring goods directly to a person or place. |
Podkayne of Mars |
Heinlein |
1962 |
Delphi Pool A large group of people used as a statistical sampling resource; even if the correct answer is not known, responses tend to cluster around the correct answer. |
The Shockwave Rider |
Brunner |
1975 |
Demagnitizing Ray A beam of radiation that makes even the strongest steel as brittle as chalk. |
The Lord of Labour |
Griffith |
1911 |
Dental Switchboard A control device tied in with teeth and nerve endings. |
The Stars My Destination |
Bester |
1956 |
Dentata An anti-rape device. |
Snow Crash |
Stephenson |
1992 |
Depilatory Soap A labor-saving combination of soap and a agent that removes hair. |
Gravy Planet |
Pohl (w/CM Kornbluth) |
1952 |
Deposition (3D Printing) A method for creating any object, molecule by molecule. |
Assassin |
Hogan |
1978 |
Dermadisk A means of quickly administering drugs directly through the skin. |
Neuromancer |
Gibson |
1984 |
Dermal Spray A color coating for the skin, applied as a jet of vapor. |
Dr. Futurity |
Dick |
1960 |
Dermal-Mist Spray Very refreshing for suburbanites. |
Prominent Author |
Dick |
1954 |
Desert Cabbage A giant plant that regulates its internal temperature even on Mars. |
Red Planet |
Heinlein |
1949 |
Designed Bacteria Very early reference to the idea of bacteria designed to wipe out a particular species, and no others. |
Seeds of the Dusk |
Gallun |
1937 |
Designer Eyes Genetic designers create better-than-perfect eyes for replicants. |
Blade Runner |
Scott |
1982 |
Desk (Personal Computer) A computer for students. |
Ender's Game |
Card |
1985 |
Desk Secretary A desk with a computerized secretary built into it. |
The Long Result |
Brunner |
1963 |
Desktop Flat Panel Intercom A small desktop screen intercom system. |
The Shape of Things To Come |
Wells |
1936 |
Desktop-TV Video available worldwide, prepared by everyone. |
Factoring Humanity |
Sawyer |
1998 |
Detectophone First use of the idea of a voice-activated machine. |
Ralph 124c 41 + |
Gernsback |
1911 |
Deviatoscope A device that registered how much your course diverged from what you intended. |
The Emperor of the Stars |
Schachner (w. AL Zagat) |
1931 |
Device Replication Manufacturing devices from a template to save space on space craft. |
The Man in the Maze |
Silverberg |
1969 |
Dew Gatherers Devices used to gather morning dew as a source of drinking water. |
Dune |
Herbert |
1965 |
Dewlog A drug with the side-effect of virtually eliminating hunger. |
The Traitor |
von Rachen |
1941 |
Diabological Armory A set of verbal tools based on a higher form of reasoning. |
Diabologic |
Russell |
1955 |
Diagnostat A device able to diagnose and treat most human ailments. |
The Man in the Maze |
Silverberg |
1969 |
Diagnostic Sleeve Worn on one arm, it diagnoses and adminsters medications. |
Gripping Hand |
Niven (w/J. Pournelle) |
1993 |
Diagnostic Type Sense Transmitter Allows the doctor to directly feel the same sensations that the patient feels. |
The Sky Maniac |
Juve |
1929 |
Diaheliper Offers delivery of diapers by air. |
The Morning of the Day They Did It |
White |
1950 |
Diamagnetic Levitation Levitation accomplished using magnetic field's interference with the motion of electrons orbiting the atoms or molecules of a material. |
The Currents of Space |
Asimov |
1962 |
Diaspar Memory The city's memory could store works of art, and reproduce them upon request. |
The City and the Stars |
Clarke |
1956 |
Dictatel A thought-based dictating machine. |
God Emperor of Dune |
Herbert |
1981 |
Didge-Ital Digital music. |
Islands in the Net |
Sterling |
1988 |
Digger Worm A robot shaped like a fat snake, or worm; used for mining. |
With Friends Like These |
Willis |
1985 |
Digital Ink License Plate License tags that can change both state and number in the blink of an eye. |
Daemon |
Suarez |
2006 |
Digital Paper Pad Just one molecule thick, it flips bits by flipping molecules. |
KOP |
Hammond |
2007 |
Digital Running Shoes Shoes with a digital readout showing performance. |
Islands in the Net |
Sterling |
1988 |
Dime Disk A very small data storage medium. |
The Best of all Possible Wars |
Niven |
1998 |
Dimensino An alien entertainment center that provides the ultimate in immersive experience. |
Time is the Simplest Thing |
Simak |
1961 |
Dimension Describes a reality separate from our own. |
The Plattner Story |
Wells |
1896 |
Dimension Shifting Apparatus Achieves faster than light space travel by moving into a different, parallel dimension. |
Cosmic Quest |
Hamilton |
1936 |
Dimensoscope A telescope for peering into other dimensions. |
The Fifth-Dimension Catapult |
Leinster |
1931 |
Diptray A hovering tray of drinks, used for parties. |
This Immortal |
Zelazny |
1965 |
Dirac Transmitter (also Tranceiver or Communicator) A device that provides instantaneous communication anywhere in the galaxy. |
Cities in Flight |
Blish |
1957 |
Direct Interface A form of computer interface that inputs text into a computer by thinking. |
Steel Beach |
Varley |
1992 |
Directed Cars in Tunnels Self-driving vehicles. |
The Lord of Tranerica |
Coblentz |
1939 |
Directional Ticket A ticket that also has the property of glowing while you are going toward what you bought. |
Foundation |
Asimov |
1951 |
Directrix Z9M9Z A control center ship for a vast space armada. |
Gray Lensman |
Smith |
1942 |
Dirigible Space Armor (Working Space Suits) Heavy-duty space suits for mining work on asteroids. |
Collision Orbit |
Williamson |
1942 |
Dirt-Farming An archaic method of food production. |
The End of the Line |
Schmitz |
1951 |
Dirtside The surface of a planet. |
Starman Jones |
Heinlein |
1953 |
Disabler A device that drains power quickly from an electric vehicle. |
The Human Blend |
Foster |
2010 |
Discorporaphone For speaking with the electronic dead. |
Babel-17 |
Delany |
1966 |
Discorporate Sector An electronic afterlife. |
Babel-17 |
Delany |
1966 |
Disease Circuit A feature of robotic animals which indicated a need to repair by emulating animal sickness. |
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? |
Dick |
1968 |
Disintegrator A device that causes objects to burst into molecular pieces. |
Edison's Conquest of Mars |
Serviss |
1898 |
Disintegrator Plate Ray Ray cuts through metal like butter. |
The Revolt of the Machines |
Schachner (w. AL Zagat) |
1931 |
Disintegrator Ray (Dis Ray) A device that projects a beam reducing matter to nothingness. |
Armageddon: 2419 A.D. |
Nowlan |
1928 |
Disinto A disintegrating ray. |
Robot AL-76 Goes Astray |
Asimov |
1941 |
Diskoid A huge flying saucer. |
Slaves of Mercury |
Schachner |
1932 |
Disk-Shaped Landing Pads Used instead of typical landing gear with wheels. |
The Swordsman of Sarvon |
Cloukey |
1932 |
Disney Therapy Letting people retreat to a simpler time, for their mental health. |
Steel Beach |
Varley |
1992 |
Dispensing Tooth A device shaped like a tooth that dispenses gas. |
Dune |
Herbert |
1965 |
Disperser Device that gives an electric shock to anyone who touches a vehicle. |
Sagramanda |
Foster |
2006 |
Displacement Booth A teleportation portal. |
Flash Crowd |
Niven |
1972 |
Display-Induced Epileptic Seizure A computer program that flashes a computer display to induce an epileptic seizure in the user. |
Press Enter |
Varley |
1984 |
Disposal-Safe Device to store and, if necessary, destroy documents. |
Exploration Team |
Leinster |
1956 |
Disrupter Ray (Molecule Disrupter) Atoms of materials no longer adhere to each other. |
The Silent Destroyer |
Juve |
1929 |
Disruptor Bomb A bomb with a very special purpose; when detonated in space, it makes it impossible to detect the center of the explosion from the dispersion of the fragments. |
The Man in the Maze |
Silverberg |
1969 |
Disruptor Tube (Disruptor Ray) A device that interrupted the very bonds between atoms. |
The Emperor of the Stars |
Schachner (w. AL Zagat) |
1931 |
Distrans Device produces a temporary neural imprint on the nervous system of Chiroptera or birds. |
Dune |
Herbert |
1965 |
Distributed Assembly Plant Bringing parts together for assembly in a crowd anonymously. |
Daemon |
Suarez |
2006 |
Ditto Blank A mentally unformed android, upon which a personality could be impressed. |
Kiln People |
Brin |
2002 |
Diveskin Special wetsuit that allows a diver to function at extreme depths. |
Starfish |
Watts |
1999 |
Diving Apparatus Equipment used to go for walks on the sea bed; the direct ancestor of modern scuba diving equipment. |
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea |
Verne |
1875 |
Dixon Pump An temporary mechanical heart to circulate blood. |
Dr. Futurity |
Dick |
1960 |
DNA Music Storage Encoding music in junk DNA. |
Year Zero |
Reid |
2012 |
DNA Publishing Encode a poem or story in DNA, then multiply. |
Spiral |
McEuen |
2011 |
DNA Swab Palate Adheres to the palate, and provides false material for DNA swabs. |
The Breach |
Hill |
2020 |
Docking-Cradle Holds a space craft in gravity. |
They Never Came Back |
Leiber |
1941 |
Dog Pod Grid A swarm of quasi-independent aerostatic devices. |
The Diamond Age |
Stephenson |
1995 |
Dog Suit A disguise worn by an alien detective, allowing him to look just like a domestic canine. |
Doorways in the Sand |
Zelazny |
1976 |
Dolphin's Hands Digital prosthetic for dolphins. |
Handicap |
Niven |
1967 |
Dome Shelter A permanent domed structure for living on the Moon. |
Brigands of the Moon |
Cummings |
1930 |
Domed Mapviewer Illuminated hemispherical map display. |
Dorsai! |
Dickson |
1960 |
Dominator Device implants a psychological block. |
The End of the Line |
Schmitz |
1951 |
Donnersprache A hypnotic transceiver that enhances the charisma of speakers. |
Silent Thunder |
Ing |
1991 |
Doorseal A portable plastic seal used in temporary camps to keep moisture from escaping from dwelling places. |
Dune |
Herbert |
1965 |
Dope Mule Robot A metal sphere that propels itself with a single piston-like foot. |
Heavy Weather |
Sterling |
1994 |
Dormancy Switch Essential device 'switches off' your cyborg animal, causing it to quickly drop off to sleep. |
Sparrowhawk |
Easton |
1990 |
Dornier A small surveillance drone capable of hovering in midair. |
Mona Lisa Overdrive |
Gibson |
1988 |
Double-Door Vestibule A special doorway leading from the interior of a spacecraft leading out into space which maintains the air pressure within the craft. |
A Journey In Other Worlds |
Astor IV |
1894 |
Double-Pane Vacuum Window Double-pane glass separated by vacuum. |
The Achilles Heel |
Gallun |
1940 |
Doublethink A mental discipline that is an exact contradiction to the basic principles of scientific inquiry. |
1984 (Nineteen Eighty-Four) |
Orwell |
1948 |
Doughpot A mass of white, dough-like protoplasm, ranging in size from a single cell to perhaps twenty tons of mushy filth. |
Parasite Planet |
Weinbaum |
1935 |
Downtime Traveling back in time. |
The Traps of Time |
Baxter |
1964 |
Dozer A person with extreme susceptibility to the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. |
Earth |
Brin |
1990 |
Dr. Smile A suitcase-sized analyst; a machine that served as a psychotherapist. |
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch |
Dick |
1965 |
Drafting Dan The first computer software drafting program (Computer Aided Design - CAD). |
The Door Into Summer |
Heinlein |
1956 |
Dragonfly Sky-Bike An ultralight human-powered flyer. |
Rendezvous With Rama |
Clarke |
1972 |
Dray-Fish Large fish trained to be harnessed to large houseboats. |
The Moon Moth |
Vance |
1976 |
Dream Console Device allows a therapist to enter and create dreams in patients. |
The Dream Master (He Who Shapes) |
Zelazny |
1966 |
Dream Park A vacation theme park in which the visitors participated fully in the different environments. |
Dream Park |
Niven (w/S. Barnes) |
1981 |
Dream-Adventures Dreams sent directly to the brain are more popular than movies. |
Doom Over Venus |
Hamilton |
1940 |
Dream-House An establishment wherein one could find the finest dream adventures placed in his own mind. |
Doom Over Venus |
Hamilton |
1940 |
Dream-Machine The mechanism that sent standardized dreams into the brain. |
Doom Over Venus |
Hamilton |
1940 |
DreamTime Scleral Contact Lenses Full-size contact lenses that can provide an augmented reality view. |
The California Voodoo Game |
Niven (w/S. Barnes) |
1992 |
Dressing Machine A robotic device to serve as a mechanical dresser. |
Roll Out the Rolov! |
Anvil |
1953 |
Dressing Machines Semi-autonomous guided devices that could dress a person in ordinary clothing. |
The Revolt of the Machines |
Schachner (w. AL Zagat) |
1931 |
Drink the Fungi A method of suicide or criminal punishment involving ingestion of spores. |
The Three Suns of Ev |
Sloat |
1933 |
Drinking Bulb A small container, used for drinks. |
The Warriors |
Niven |
1966 |
Driverless Drones One remote supervisor can drive a half-dozen drones, with some computer assistance. |
Halting State |
Stross |
2007 |
Driverless Taxi A taxi that does not require a driver. |
The Living Machine |
Keller |
1935 |
Droid (First Use) Contraction of "android". |
Robots of the World! Arise! |
Wolf |
1952 |
Droid (Star Wars) A contraction of "android", it actually describes one of a variety of robots. |
Star Wars |
Lucas |
1976 |
Dromozoa Life forms that cause the human body to bud new parts for harvesting. |
A Planet Named Shayol |
Smith |
1961 |
Drone Floater Camera A one-foot square aerostat capable of hovering with a camera to transmit images back to a base station. |
Runaway |
Crichton |
1985 |
Drop Shaft (Neutralization of Inertia) An 'elevator shaft' in which the user can fall at the speed of gravity, then be stopped without inertia (i.e., instantly). |
Galactic Patrol |
Smith |
1937 |
Drop-Capsule Minimal spaceship. |
The Man in the Maze |
Silverberg |
1969 |
Dropshaft An elevator shaft with no elevator - the "lift" is from gravity or suppressed inertia. |
Deeper Than the Darkness |
Ellison |
1957 |
Droud A transformer to step down house current for the wire providing current directly to the pleasure center of the brain. |
Death by Ecstasy |
Niven |
1969 |
Dumb Matter Ordinary matter, with no nano-value added. |
Accelerando |
Stross |
2005 |
Dumbler Half-sentient spores of the whistle thistle. |
Hothouse |
Aldiss |
1962 |
Duplication Chamber A means of precisely duplicating an object. |
The 4-Sided Triangle |
Temple |
1939 |
Durachrome Very hard alloy for tanks. |
Honor of the Regiment |
Laumer |
2002 |
Durasteel More durable than steel? |
Sunward Flight |
Zagat |
1943 |
Durite Super-strong material used to counter reaction-blasts. |
Misfit |
Heinlein |
1939 |
Dust-Cruiser Specialized lunar transport able to negotiate dust-filled craters on the Moon. |
A Fall of Moondust |
Clarke |
1961 |
Dustmice Tiny robotic sensors that police could set loose in a crime scene, looking for tiny clues. |
Queen of Angels |
Bear |
1990 |
Dustmote A tiny sensor device that could also form networks with other motes. |
A Deepness in the Sky |
Vinge |
1999 |
Dustplug A cover specially made to protect one's microsoft socket; a tongue retainer for your brain. |
Count Zero |
Gibson |
1986 |
Dust-Ski Special vehicle adapted for quick travel over powdered lunar soil. |
A Fall of Moondust |
Clarke |
1961 |
Dutch Clock (Time Machine) A tall Dutch clock with hands that move... backward. |
The Clock That Went Backward |
Mitchell |
1881 |
DVD/VCR (Entertainment Player) A device that accepts stored moving picture entertainment and makes it available for viewing. |
When the Sleeper Wakes |
Wells |
1899 |