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Vehicle in Science Fiction
(Technovelgy items at top: skip
down to News)
Name |
Author (Publication Date) |
| Fred C. Smale (1900) | |
| Philip K. Dick (1963) | |
| Philip K. Dick (1964) | |
| Roger Zelazny (1966) | |
| Robert Heinlein (1941) | |
| Robert Heinlein (1985) | |
| Frank Herbert (1965) | |
| Neal Stephenson (1992) | |
| Thomas A. Easton (1990) | |
| Charles Stross (2007) | |
| John Jacob Astor IV (1894) | |
| Larry Niven (1976) | |
| Larry Niven (1969) | |
| Philip Frances Nowlan (1928) | |
| Ridley Scott (1982) | |
| Thomas A. Easton (1990) | |
| E.E. 'Doc' Smith (1937) | |
| Philip K. Dick (1960) | |
| Piers Anthony (w/R. Margroff) (1969) | |
| John W. Campbell (1930) | |
| George RR Martin (1977) | |
| Isaac Asimov (1954) | |
| William Gibson (1988) | |
| Jack Vance (1964) | |
| Philip Frances Nowlan (1928) | |
| Jack Vance (1952) | |
| George Lucas (1976) | |
| David Brin (1990) | |
| John Jacob Astor IV (1894) | |
| Robert Heinlein (1951) | |
| Frank Herbert (1965) | |
| John W. Campbell (1938) | |
| Keith Laumer (1965) | |
| Roger Zelazny (1966) | |
| Thomas A. Easton (1990) | |
| Lester del Rey (1939) | |
| Clifford Simak (1957) | |
| J.G. Ballard (1966) | |
| Jack Vance (1964) | |
| Frank Herbert (1977) | |
| Vernor Vinge (1992) | |
| Robert Heinlein (1941) | |
| Larry Niven (1967) | |
| George RR Martin (1977) | |
| Robert Heinlein (1940) | |
| Arthur K. Barnes (1938) | |
| James Blish (1957) | |
| Frank Herbert (1977) | |
| David Brin (1979) |
Related Science Fiction in the News
OnStar Stolen Vehicle Slowdown Foils Carjacker Predicted by several science fiction writers starting in the 1960's, this device has been tested in the field. And it works. (re: Keith Laumer, 11/17/2009 ) |
iPhone App To Drive Your Car Watch movie then and German engineering now videos of this iPhone app that lets you drive your car by remote control. (re: Various, 10/31/2009 ) |
AIDA Affective Intelligent Driving Agent This cute little 'dashboard droid' should be familiar to sf movie fans everywhere. (re: George Lucas, 10/31/2009 ) |
Autonomous Valet Parking By Volkswagen Imagine leaving your car at the curb of the restaurant, pushing the 'park' button and just walking in for dinner. Watch the video. (re: Robert Heinlein, 10/26/2009 ) |
WaterCar Python Not Your Father's Amphicar This is not a slow boat and it's not a slow car, either. I'd like to try driving one of these. With video. (re: Robert Heinlein, 10/12/2009 ) |
In-Road Electric Vehicle Charger Intriguing patent surfaces (with video) for an in-road electric vehicle charging system; you can move on or off the charging strip at will. (re: Hugo Gernsback, 10/11/2009 ) |
Honda U3-X Self-Balancing Unicycle Video With video. What's that you're saying? Another attempt to bring Heinlein's tumblebug to life? That's right. (re: Robert Heinlein, 9/24/2009 ) |
Toyota Ignition Breathalyzer Lock Philip K. Dick told us this was coming almost fifty years ago. Like so many other things. (re: Philip K. Dick, 9/7/2009 ) |
eniCycle Self-Balancing Tumblebug Just the thing for engineers - if they're working on the rolling roads. (re: Robert Heinlein, 8/22/2009 ) |
Life-Size Tachikoma Robot Vehicle This is a pretty nice implementation of the Tachikoma tank, even if it doesn't climb buildings or turn invisible. (re: Various, 8/15/2009 ) |
Wooden Helicopter Personal Transportation The do-it-yourself spirit is alive and well in China; this farmer used materials at hand to construct a personal flying vehicle. (re: John W. Campbell, 8/9/2009 ) |
Toyota i-Real Personal Transport Now In Use Sit up straight if you want to look pedestrians in the eye, then recline for speed. With video. (re: Various, 6/25/2009 ) |
Ripsaw MS1 Like Laumer's Bolo This unmanned tank can do speedy maneuvers and zip along at up to sixty mph. It's not autonomous - yet. (re: Keith Laumer, 5/13/2009 ) |
Electric Cars To Make Noise By Law? A quarter-century ago, an SF writer thought that it might be cool to give silent cars real engine sounds. Now, you might be forced to - and no way to turn it off. (re: Robert Heinlein, 5/12/2009 ) |
Tesla Model S Not Your Grandfather's Electric Phaeton Tesla has finally unveiled their electric car for the rest of us; take a look at the future of the electric Phaeton. (re: John Jacob Astor IV, 3/27/2009 ) |
Cajun Crawler Like Segway With Legs - Lots Of Legs This unique vehicle has the creepiest locomotion I've seen in a while. (re: Various, 3/20/2009 ) |
Dynamic Augmented Wheel System Eight-Part Wheel Interesting concept seems to work as prototype, but despite similarity to smartwheels, I think there is a traditional solution that works better (re: Neal Stephenson, 3/13/2009 ) |
Deep Flight Super Falcon Luxury Submarine Try flying underwater with this unique submersible from Graham Hawke. (re: Various, 3/10/2009 ) |
Global Comm Net May Reduce Emissions Interesting idea for (among other things) reducing emissions of the earthly vehicle fleet. (re: Doctor Who, 3/8/2009 ) |
Katana Mono-Wing Rotorcraft Nano Air Vehicle DARPA is financing this coin-sized flying machine; take a look at four imagined futures as well. (re: Raymond Z. Gallun, 3/6/2009 ) |
Hamster Controls iRobot Create Vehicle This hamster knows where he's going; the next step is to soup up this iRobot hobby robot for some real speed. (re: Robert Heinlein, 3/5/2009 ) |
Chrysler To Help Battle Skynet Hopefully, they won't be saying 'I'll be back - for more money' anytime soon. (re: Various, 1/27/2009 ) |
Texting UK Police May Control Your Car This technology may be familiar to fans of Greg Bear. (re: Keith Laumer, 1/25/2009 ) |
Lrry-1 Fire-Breathing, Riding MechaDog Video You'll need to look at the video before you decide what this thing really is; from the Mutoid Waste Company. (re: Anthony Boucher, 12/12/2008 ) |
Moller M400 SkyCar Taking Too Long What exactly is keeping this guy? Don't we all want skycars? Robert Heinlein certainly did. (re: Robert Heinlein, 11/25/2008 ) |
'Mycodiesel' From Patagonian Tree Fungus Interesting find in the rainforests of Patagonia; the only organism that produces ready-to-use fuel. Put a fungus in your tank. (re: Neal Stephenson, 11/10/2008 ) |
Yamaha Deus Ex Wearable Motorcycle Concept Although only a concept, the 'Deus Ex' may remind you of another vision of the wearable motorcycle. (re: Various, 11/10/2008 ) |
Hover Chair Like Star Wars Landspeeder Keith Dixon makes himself a hover chair - it's like floating on a cloud. For $9,600 I was hoping to go find some droids... (re: George Lucas, 10/30/2008 ) |
Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Like Thunderbirds' Fireflash? Nuclear-powered aircraft could make a comeback after being given the axe in the 1950's. (re: Various, 10/30/2008 ) |
Self-Balancing Unicycle - Heinlein's Tumblebug Nifty cycle looks a lot like what Heinlein described in the 1940's. (re: Robert Heinlein, 10/23/2008 ) |
PlantBot: Humans Provide Gift Of Greater Mobility With 'Skrodes' Unusual work by an unusual group gives us a glimpse of what Vernor Vinge had in mind fifteen years ago. With interview and moving image. (re: Vernor Vinge, 10/19/2008 ) |
Rocket Races Approved For Earth Only, Unfortunately I'm certainly in favor of rocket racing and this is a good start. However, I can recall at least one sf work that offered rocket racing on somewhat larger scale. (re: Lester del Rey, 10/17/2008 ) |
Submersible Aircraft - DARPA's Flying Sub? I really think that everyone who watched TV in the Sixties knows what they want; and what have those DARPA guys left out of their spec? (re: Irwin Allen, 10/6/2008 ) |
Shape-Shifting Bomber In Need Of Plowsharing Unfortunate budget cuts for DARPA may signal an opportunity for the rest of us to think of peacetime uses for cool military stuff. (re: Philip K. Dick, 10/5/2008 ) |
4Moms Stroller: Death Cab For Cutie? I'm thinking that I must have something in my database under the category of collapsible vehicle, but anyway. (re: Various, 9/23/2008 ) |
Satellites To Limit Your Driving Speed This will make you long for the days when Big Brother contented Himself with merely watching you. (re: Nat Schachner, 9/18/2008 ) |
Pribot Robotic Prius Tours 'Frisco New entry in self-driving sweepstakes comes not from a huge team but from one very determined engineer; you may recall his self-driving motorcycle from four years ago. (re: Robert Heinlein, 9/17/2008 ) |
Jetpack From New Zealand Takes Off Pretty nifty DIY jetpack from New Zealander Glenn Martin; includes better video than that provided by the New York Times. (re: Robert Heinlein, 7/29/2008 ) |
Who First Thought About Solar Powered Cars? The earliest reference I can think of is from 1940. But there are some cool hybrids with solar panels that will be available soon. (re: Robert Heinlein, 7/11/2008 ) |
Robot Teddy Bear Chats With Drunk Drivers If you think that getting into an argument with your car over drinking and driving is a bit surreal, you're right. But, bear knows best. (re: Philip K. Dick, 6/18/2008 ) |
Gina Cloth-Covered Car From BMW Watch the video to see how much this prototype car acts like a mammal with skin; I think we need to talk about exactly what sfnal properties the skin should have. (re: Neal Stephenson, 6/14/2008 ) |
Superconducting Electric Motor Car Now that gas costs $4 per gallon in the States, superconductivity in a car seems like a good idea. (re: Various, 6/13/2008 ) |
Self-Repairing Aircraft Mimic Borg Cubes It may be possible for aircraft to repair structural damage in flight - kind of like a Borg cube, but with no offers to assimilate passengers. Yet. (re: J.G. Ballard, 5/19/2008 ) |
Pinta The Robot Sailboat This robotic sailboat reminds me of another kind of automated vehicle, sailing even further. (re: Larry Niven, 5/13/2008 ) |
Audi Snook One-Wheel Concept Gyrocar Updated Updated with RAH tumblebug picture from June, 1940 Astounding! If you're wondering how much fun it will be to drive, read what Piers Anthony and Robert Margroff wrote forty years earlier. (re: Anthony/w R. Margroff, 4/17/2008 ) |
Rocket Racing League Almost Podracing Take a look at these two videos, and tell me if you think that this exhibition event taking place this summer looks like a good step towards podracing. (re: George Lucas, 4/16/2008 ) |
Aptera Electric Vehicle So Cool It's On Star Trek Just the kind of flivver James Tiberius Kirk would need to be BMOSAC - big man on Starfleet Academy campus. (re: John Jacob Astor, 3/22/2008 ) |
DARPA Vulture Five Year Flying Wing DARPA sets yet another ambitious goal; I don't understand why nobody remembers the amazing prototype aircraft that reached 100,000 feet on solar power alone a few years ago. (re: E.E. 'Doc' Smith, 3/4/2008 ) |
MDI OneCat AirCar Breezes Toward Consumers The AirCar concept still seems to be sound; the Tatas don't put their money in products that don't work. (re: Various, 2/18/2008 ) |
Robotic Flying Saucer Drones This company also has big plans for this little unmanned aerial vehicle. (re: Michael Crichton, 2/13/2008 ) |
Ginormous Mech Animals Only Way To Travel You may not make it all the way to the planet of the Overlords, but you can seriously ride on these animals. (re: Arthur C. Clarke, 1/29/2008 ) |
Australasian Intelligent Speed Adaptation Initiative - Big Road Brother Surveillance is one thing; automated ticketing another. But actually stopping a vehicle automatically? (re: Keith Laumer, 1/12/2008 ) |
GM Betting On Driverless Cars When GM says it thinks that autonomous vehicles will be commercially available in ten years, you're starting to get mainstream. (re: Robert Heinlein, 1/9/2008 ) |
Dub Pimpstar Rims LED Wheel Display Forget driving while talking on a cell phone - this takes distracted driving to a whole new level. (re: Various, 1/8/2008 ) |
PAL-V Personal Air And Land Vehicle The flying car concept is born again for the new year; is this the world's first practical flying car? (re: Fred Smale, 1/2/2008 ) |
Disappearing Car Door Perfect For Your Motor Coach You'll forget all about that gull-wing door nonsense after you've seen this one. (re: Robert Heinlein, 12/14/2007 ) |
VertiPod From Air Buoyant: Segway Of The Sky This is a classic single-person flying machine; you steer it by leaning where you want to go. (re: Robert Heinlein, 12/11/2007 ) |
PhantomPark Secret Agent Parking System I'm pretty sure I saw the idea in the sixties - maybe in a James Bond film. Anyway, you can get one now, if you like. (re: Various, 11/29/2007 ) |
Volitan Solar 'Sail' Yacht The Volitan looks good in this conceptual video; I like the idea of a boat powered by sun and sail only. (re: Jules Verne, 11/27/2007 ) |
Waterspout Helicopter Designed To Take Off Underwater Here's a cool design from a team of American and Israeli students; a submarine-based helicopter that can take off while the sub is still submerged. (re: Various, 10/31/2007 ) |
Nissan Pivo 2 Concept Car Spins Its Wheels You've gotta love this bug-like buggy, but you'll have to watch the tire wear. (re: Various, 10/5/2007 ) |
Nano Air Vehicle Floats Like Maple Seed Next time you crunch through the maple seeds in the spring, be careful where you step. (re: Various, 9/25/2007 ) |
X-Hawk Concept Video Vs. Bladerunner Flying Car Video That's right - you pick the future. (re: Ridley Scott, 9/7/2007 ) |
Underwater Express - High Speed Troop-Carrying Torpedo This remarkable development has at least been foreshadowed by elements of computer games. (re: Hideo Kojima, 9/5/2007 ) |
Tribal Pizza Carputer For Snow Crash Deliverator It's just the first generation, but I can almost smell that fresh 'za gliding silently to my house. (re: Neal Stephenson, 8/18/2007 ) |
Tango Motorcycle Monocycle Like Heinlein's Tumblebug This looks like great fun to ride, way more fun than a Segway, anyway. (re: Robert Heinlein, 8/3/2007 ) |
Front Runner Hydrofoil Like Star Wars Podracer Who knew that Boonta Eve races were held in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (re: George Lucas, 6/22/2007 ) |
Smart Wheels Are Artificially Intelligent Looks like the old 'Tiger Paws' advertisement will finally come true - not the tires, but the wheels themselves. (re: Neal Stephenson, 6/19/2007 ) |
GEN H-4 Looks Like Heinlein's Copter Harness John Thomas really wanted one of these, and so do I. (re: Robert Heinlein, 4/4/2007 ) |
Blimp Swims Through Air Like A Fish Yet another use for electroactive polymers, helping non-rigid airships swim like fish. (re: Various, 3/24/2007 ) |
MiniC.A.T Urban Air Car This remarkable car is on the verge of mass production in India; it runs entirely on air. (re: , 3/20/2007 ) |
Car Seat Prototype Knows When You Are Sleepy This smart car seat will wake you up when you get sleepy behind the wheel - but will it get to market fast enough? (re: Robert Heinlein, 3/5/2007 ) |
X-Hawk Fancraft Like Blade Runner Flying Car? Interesting working prototype of a flying car-style VTOL aircraft. (re: Ridley Scott, 2/6/2007 ) |
Drivemocion More Expressive Than KITT I hope this thing offers more than just the smiley face. (re: Various, 1/23/2007 ) |
HyperBike - NASA-Supported Heinlein Lunocycle? This unique bicycle combines elements of old-fashioned big wheels and racing wheelchairs. NASA's interested, too. (re: Robert Heinlein, 1/22/2007 ) |
Peter Robbins' Alicia, Tom Swift's Jetmarine Remarkable homebrew submersible allows builder to live his Tom Swift-inspired fantasy. (re: Victor Appleton, 12/28/2006 ) |
First Jetpowered Flying Man Apparently, the first successful jet-pack; it looks pretty good on YouTube. (re: Robert Heinlein, 12/25/2006 ) |
Innespace Dolphin Boat Breaks The Surface This is another cool dolphin boat - closer to a product this time. (re: David Brin, 12/11/2006 ) |
Bionic Dolphins And Whale Waldoes Amazing prototype submersible is not your father's water toy; this baby's got a Corvette engine. (re: David Brin, 10/29/2006 ) |
Shiva The Riding Mechanical Lion This retro mechanical lion has at least one feature that DARPA's BigDog robot doesn't have... (re: Various, 10/18/2006 ) |
DARPA Urban Challenge For Autonomous Vehicles Cars that can really drive themselves in traffic? DARPA sets the Urban Challenge. (re: Robert Heinlein, 10/4/2006 ) |
Rinspeed 'Splash' English Channel Crossing Amphibious cars are almost speedy enough for sci-fi. (re: Robert Heinlein, 8/12/2006 ) |
Hyanide Motorcycle Snowmobile Eyecandy Part tank, part motorcycle - the Hyanide design prototype looks promising. (re: , 7/25/2006 ) |
DARPA Urban Challenge - KITT, Put Up Or Shut Up Okay, KITT - it's time to come out of retirement and win this thing for Knight Industries. (re: Various, 5/2/2006 ) |
CLEVER Car One Meter Wide The CLEVER car is a zippy little prototype vehicle just one meter wide (re: Frank Herbert, 4/25/2006 ) |
Eunicycle Single-Wheel Gyro-Stabilized Scooter Dr. Trevor Blackwell has constructed a self-balancing, powered unicycle he calls the Eunicycle. It's pretty close to what Robert Heinlein had in mind in 1940 in The Roads Must Roll. (re: Robert Heinlein, 1/31/2005 ) |
Mac Mini and KITT The Knight Rider the 6.5"x2" Apple Mac Mini is just the right size to fit into a car stereo single-DIN compartment. Let the Mac Mini custom auto conversions begin! (re: Neal Stephenson, 1/13/2005 ) |
Ornithopters In Fact And Fiction An ornithopter (a flapping wing aircraft) under development at the University of Toronto's Institute for Aerospace Studies may yet make Leonardo da Vinci's dream a reality. Frank Herbert fully visualized them in Dune. (re: Frank Herbert, 12/2/2004 ) |
Animaris Rhinoceros Transport The Animaris Rhinoceros Transport is - well, I don't know what it is. It stands about 4.7 meters tall, and is constructed with a steel skeleton covered with a polyester skin. (re: George Lucas, 9/29/2004 ) |
SubjuGator: Flying Sub From Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea The SubjuGator is an autonomous underwater vehicle based on the design of the Flying Sub (re: Irwin Allen, 9/20/2004 ) |
Springtail EFV-4B Personal Air Vehicle From Trek Aerospace The Springtail EFV-4B Personal Air Vehicle (PAV) is a fourth-generation vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) craft powered by a single engine. (re: Robert Heinlein, 6/15/2004 ) |
VolksVegan - Biodiesel Powered Vehicles The VolksVegan biodiesel is a great little car; any diesel vehicle can be converted to run on vegetable oil. Rudolph Diesel would have approved! (re: William Gibson, 4/12/2004 ) |
Skyray Human Glider Flight Tired of dawdling along at one hundred and twenty miles an hour, a typical terminal velocity for human-shaped skydivers? Can you go faster? and farther? (re: Robert Heinlein, 12/17/2003 ) |
EMBRIO Embodies The Tumblebug Bombardier recently came up with a new concept vehicle that "promises a whole new experience on the road." The EMBRIO would be a single-wheeled vehicle that used gyroscopes and sensors to maintain proper attitude. (re: Robert Heinlein, 11/30/2003 ) |
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