Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"Modern science fiction is the only form of literature that consistently considers the nature of the changes that face us, the possible consequences, and the possible solutions."
- Isaac Asimov
 |
| Instant Customized Clothing | ||
| A machine that produced a selected item of clothing, on the spot, based on customer demand. |
| He sat himself down in a sales cubicle and dialed the code number for kilts. He let the pictures of cloth designs flicker past his eyes while he let the persuasive voice of the catalog drone on until a pattern showed up which was distinctly unmilitary and not blue, whereupon he arrested the display and punched the combination for his size.
The plain blue uniform kilt he stuffed in the refuse hopper of the sales cubicle and left, nattily and somewhat flamboyantly attired.
 (Astounding cover, 1941) |
| From Methuselah's Children,
by Robert Heinlein. Published by Astounding Science-Fiction in 1941 Additional resources -
|
There is an interesting correspondence between the functionality of this device, and the matter compilers shown elsewhere. It is not clear how the device functions; suffice it to say that Heinlein looked ahead to a point in time where the manufacture of customized, to-order clothing was practical.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Methuselah's Children
More Ideas
and Technology by Robert Heinlein
Tech news articles related to Methuselah's Children
Tech news articles related to works by Robert Heinlein
Instant Customized Clothing-related
news articles:
- 3D Printed Clothing 'Escapism' Couture Collection
| A 'Genuine Nanorobotic Production Factory' |
| Made In Space To Manufacture Optical Fiber In Orbit |
| Self-Assembling Bacteria Build A Pressure Sensor |
| Artificial Spider Silk |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
'He was glad to crawl into his autocab and close the cover.'
'Thus it came about that the search for a planetiferous sun... was not unduly prolonged...'
'The planes flew continuously, twenty-four hours a day...'
'The auto-treadmill's bumps and gullies matched whatever terrain the goggles showed me...'
'Give me an old-fashioned tetragon on a central pivot every time.'
