Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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
"This category [science fiction] excludes rocket ships that make U-turns, serpent men of Neptune that lust after human maidens, and stories by authors who flunked their Boy Scout merit badge tests in descriptive astronomy."
- Robert Heinlein
 |
| Selective Electric Eye | ||
| A facial recognition device. |
| Then she turned to the entrance.
But the selective beam of the electric eye refused to swing open the portal. Already the orders of the master of the house had barred the door against her. The actuating mechanism that should have operated by the imprint of her image on the telephoto cell, remained dead. She stared uncomprehending for a moment, then a flush of anger suffused her cheeks. The little fists clenched. "Oh, despicable!" she exclaimed, "he's made me a prisoner, a prisoner in my own room!" Well she knew the futility of battering furiously against the barrier. None but those for whom the mechanism were set could pass through. |
| Technovelgy from Exiles of the Moon,
by Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat). Published by Wonder Stories in 1931 Additional resources -
|
Joseph Gilbert and Fred Fischer use the same idea in Escape (1943):
Compare to facial recognition from Rogue Psi (1962) by James Schmitz, face recognition sunglasses from The Water Knife (2015) by Paolo Bacigalupi and the cephalic pattern door from The Zap Gun (1965) by Philip K. Dick.
The earliest reference to a biometric recognition lock is probably the phonographic lock from A Journey to the Year 2025, by Clement Fezandie, published in 1921.
Jean Rogers stepped out of the magnetic lift, paused before the door of her apartment, and waited quietly while the relays connected to the multicellular photoelectric bank on the door hummed a little electric song — checking her with the pattern it was set for. It approved the result, and the door split in half, sliding silently back into the frame.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Exiles of the Moon
More Ideas
and Technology by Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat)
Tech news articles related to Exiles of the Moon
Tech news articles related to works by Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat)
Selective Electric Eye-related
news articles:
- UK School Face Recognition: Kiddie Orwell Tech
- Chinavision Face Recognition Door Lock
- Merchants Get Face-Recognition Via The Cloud
- US Customs Now Doing Facial Recognition At DC Airport
- Amazon's Rekognition System Sees Criminals In Congress
- Chinese Face Recognition Mistakes Bus Ad For Jaywalker
- Facebook Unexpectedly Turns Away From Sfnal Face Recognition
- Goodness Gracious Me! Google Tries Face Recognition Security
- Seeing Faces On Grains Of Sand (AI Pareidolia)
| China's 'Magpie Drone' Ornithopter |
| FTC: Says Ring Employees Illegally Surveilled Customers |
| Perching Ambush Drones |
| India Ponders Always-On Smartphone Location Tracking |
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 Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'Maybe the individual intelligence of each Cubic pools into a group intelligence...'
'Looks like she has bought the Avatar Construction Set and put together her own...'
'Across the ground something small and metallic came, flashing in the dull sunlight of midday.'
'A broken circle with arrows pointing to a right-hand flow appeared in the chalf.'
'The object seemed melted together like wax — nothing was distinguishable.'
'Midges have many capabilities. To the untrained eye, they look like sparrows.'
