By WILIAM HUNTER, SENIOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER
Published: 16:44 BST, 21 August 2026 | Updated: 17:22 BST, 21 August 2026
This month, the cult science fiction classic Aliens celebrates its 40th anniversary.
Set in the year 2179, James Cameron's sequel follows a group of Colonial Marines who come face-to-face with extraterrestrial terrors beyond their wildest imaginations.
However, although humanity thankfully hasn't discovered the Xenomorph, scientists say this visionary film does make some surprisingly accurate predictions.
According to Professor Steve Benford, of the University of Nottingham, many of the film's sci-fi inventions are now commonplace items used by millions.
Aliens is set 153 years into our future, making it as far removed from the present day as we are from 1873, when gas lighting and steam power were the height of technology.
However, Professor Benford points out that our technology has already surpassed some of the gadgets seen in the film.
Professor Benford told the Daily Mail that the thing that Aliens predicted most accurately is 'sadly' the use of automatic guns and robotic weaponry.
But from synthetic humans to the iconic motion tracker, there are still a lot of things the film gets wrong.
This month, the cult science fiction classic Aliens celebrates its 40th anniversary. Now, a scientist has revealed what the film got right and wrong about the future of technology
Professor Benford says one of the most impressive things Aliens gets right isn't the big impressive pieces of technology, but the small things people carry with them.
While the apparent absence of personal phones might seem strange to modern audiences, the Colonial Marines do have plenty of wearables.
Professor Benford says that the motion detectors, wearable cameras and biosensors embedded into wristbands all feel quite 'current'.
From smart watches to fitness tracking rings, small wearable devices are now exceptionally common.