INSPECTING GADGETS
If Tom Cruise as kung-fu master in Mission:
Impossible 2 wasn't hard enough to believe, what about those
snazzy gadgets? EW asked experts from high-tech design firm IDEO
and MIT's Media Lab to accept this mission: Evaluate the
plausibility of the film's doodads.
Voice simulation strips worn on Cruise's throat
DIFFICULT OR IMPOSSIBLE? Theoretically possible. IDEO's Rickson
Sun notes that similar technology — electric charges that stimulate
muscles — is now used on quadriplegics' limbs. So when can we find
one for Fran Drescher?
YEARS TO REALITY 10
Sunglasses doubling as video screens, displaying the mission
Impossible, says MIT. While clumsy headsets with LCD screens
currently exist, lenses of normal shades are too close to the eye
to project clearly.
YEARS TO REALITY Infinite
Camera that beams racetrack images to Ving Rhames' van
Though digital cameras at your local Circuit City can't transmit
data wirelessly, MIT's Wesley Chan says there will soon be
prototypes that can. Maybe Blair Witch III can skip theaters
entirely.
YEARS TO REALITY Less than one
The tiny global positioning system chip in Thandie Newton's
ankle (used to track her)
With current technology, that chip would have to be about the
size of a refrigerator. The problem? You'd need a massive battery
to beam Newton's position to a satellite, says MIT's Wendy Ju.
YEARS TO REALITY 25, at least
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