Star Trek Replicator And Other 'Props' - The Technology Is Closer Than You Think

There was the cell phone characterized on the show as a small flip open "communicator" and what became incredibly similar to the flip phone of the late 90's and early 2,000's. Bluetooth came in "The Next Generation" when they moved the communicators into the iconic badge and fitted everyone with an inner ear piece- also the universal translator (now an iPhone app).

Next the GPS concepts and Satellite phones (which were already in planning stages), the tri-corder is even a real device now and just as sophisticated (and getting closer) as they portrayed theirs on the show to be. Flat screen monitors today make even Star Trek's original screens we marveled over, look archaic.

The iPad brought the tablet computer prominently displayed on the show, and they've even figured out the phasor, or was it phaser? A "ray gun" that works by mixing the more physical nature of photons (light molecules) and sound technologies together to generate a disintegrater. They've even figured out a transporter, but what comes out on the other end is like a leggo set poured out instead of a completed... whatever was being transported (literally like what was portrayed in "The Fly" but less sci-fi and scary.

They are now itching very close to creating the first replicator that actually does what you see the Star Trek model doing. It will likely be decades or more before it's a working streamlined concept but the actual concepts are in play as to "how" to make it work.

Not all of these technologies are mainstream or even available to the common person (I'd say general public but we all know the wealthy can access or have anything built that exists), but they do exist and are being perfected as I write this.