Set 100 years into the future, the 1962 Hanna-Barbera cartoon series, 'The Jetsons' told the story of life in 2062 society. The Jetsons (comprised George, Jane, Judy and Elroy) lived in Skypad Apartments, Orbit City with their robot housekeeper, Rose and talking dog, Astro. Fifty years after the series premiered, Rupal Parekh of 'AdAge' remarked, "In 2012, Honda's Asimo is the most advanced robot to date, as it can walk, talk and interact with humans. Such devices are becoming more popular when it comes to housekeeping too, particularly with robotic vacuums such as the iRobot Roomba."
Nina Zipkin of 'Entrepreneur' reported in 2015, "the Jetsons' housekeeper Rosie would feel right at home with the robotic butlers and concierge's employed at the Henn-na Hotel in Japan and Aloft Hotel in California. The Jetsons family had a home food replicator that could churn out anything from asparagus to stroganoff. Now companies like Foodini and CojoJet are making it possible to create delicious 3-D printed entrees and desserts."
Richard D'Aveni wrote in 'Harvard Business Review' in 2013, "To anyone who hasn’t seen it demonstrated, 3-D printing sounds futuristic—like the meals that materialized in the Jetsons' oven at the touch of a keypad. But the technology is quite straightforward: It is a small evolutionary step from spraying toner on paper to putting down layers of something more substantial (such as plastic resin) until the layers add up to an object. And yet, by enabling a machine to produce objects of any shape, on the spot and as needed, 3-D printing really is ushering in a new era."
Nina Zipkin continued, "In that classic intro, the Jetsons kids get delivered to school via flying pods. Though they aren't dropping off people in their preferred locations yet, drones are being implemented to deliver packages, and taking aerial footage for industries as varied as movie making and real estate." Christina Lincoln of Robins Kaplan noted, "Watching 'The Jetsons' cartoon as children, many of us no doubt wondered what our future would hold as a civilization – asking ourselves whether we would be traveling in flying cars, using jetpacks, or otherwise. That future is arriving, and at a speed that none of us could have predicted or controlled.
"For example, more than 2,000 drones are being registered with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) every single day. That is over 550,000 registrations in the first nine months of 2016 and potentially over 2.6 million drones by the year 2020. The Jetsons used jetpacks to greatly simplify and add convenience to their lives. Drones will undoubtedly do the same. However, unlike the Jetsons, we have to account for the practical problems that arise from living in a society that seeks to embrace such a technology. "
Rupal Parekh continued, "In video chat, we seem to have already surpassed the expectations of 'The Jetsons'. Video chat tools such as Skype, Google voice, Facetime and Logitech are regularly used in business and at home. And what's more, their use isn't confined to a single monitor but can be used from mobile devices. For many, it would be difficult to imagine life without seeing colleagues or loved ones speak to you in real time."
Adam Justice of 'ConnectSense' pointed out in 2015, "A lot of the concepts of Internet of Things (IoT) are beginning to be introduced into our lives. As life often imitates art, we draw inspiration from this entertainment to imagine where our lives are going." Scott Hamilton of Arapiles Consulting made the observation in 2016, "For all of the space age technologies and futuristic ideals it was portraying; Orbit City still used cash. Today, the use of cash is becoming less relevant.
"In Australia, of the 52.7 million ATM cash withdrawals in January 2016; the total value was only $10.8 billion (on average just over $200 per withdrawal). Many low value transactions (transaction less than $20) are accounting for around 70% of the cash payments; this however is starting to change as consumers are using their cards and/or technology devices to pay for these types of transactions more frequently. It may be that Australia in 2016 is more futuristic than 'The Jetsons' in the usage of technology to reduce the reliance on cash. Whilst it may be some time before Australia (and the global economy) becomes a cashless society; we are certainly a long way down the less cash society."
On reflection, Vera Hogan wrote in 'tctimes.com' in June 2017, "Some of the ideas, products and technology that we enjoy today were featured in some way on 'The Jetsons'. It didn't even take 100 years to actually acquire some of the futuristic ideas posed to us when 'The Jetsons' first appeared on our TV screens in September of 1962." Matt Novak concluded, "I do think that if we accept that children's programming has any effect at all, 'The Jetsons', I would argue, is the most influential of the 20th century."
Adam Justice of 'ConnectSense' pointed out in 2015, "A lot of the concepts of Internet of Things (IoT) are beginning to be introduced into our lives. As life often imitates art, we draw inspiration from this entertainment to imagine where our lives are going." Scott Hamilton of Arapiles Consulting made the observation in 2016, "For all of the space age technologies and futuristic ideals it was portraying; Orbit City still used cash. Today, the use of cash is becoming less relevant.
"In Australia, of the 52.7 million ATM cash withdrawals in January 2016; the total value was only $10.8 billion (on average just over $200 per withdrawal). Many low value transactions (transaction less than $20) are accounting for around 70% of the cash payments; this however is starting to change as consumers are using their cards and/or technology devices to pay for these types of transactions more frequently. It may be that Australia in 2016 is more futuristic than 'The Jetsons' in the usage of technology to reduce the reliance on cash. Whilst it may be some time before Australia (and the global economy) becomes a cashless society; we are certainly a long way down the less cash society."
On reflection, Vera Hogan wrote in 'tctimes.com' in June 2017, "Some of the ideas, products and technology that we enjoy today were featured in some way on 'The Jetsons'. It didn't even take 100 years to actually acquire some of the futuristic ideas posed to us when 'The Jetsons' first appeared on our TV screens in September of 1962." Matt Novak concluded, "I do think that if we accept that children's programming has any effect at all, 'The Jetsons', I would argue, is the most influential of the 20th century."
