Six predictions that Back to the Future II got right

Michael J Fox flies over water in the movie.

1 Hoverboards

We don't have Pitbulls or Mattel hoverboards yet, but Japanese car company Lexus recently unveiled a prototype for a real, rideable hoverboard. A company called Arx Pax in California is also working on its own version, with help from a Kickstarter campaign. Unfortunately they both rely on magnets, so are unlikely to be able to fly over water like Marty's.

The Lexus Hoverboard.

2 Wearable technology

In Back to the Future II, Marty's future kids wear headsets at the dinner table to make and receive calls and watch TV. With the introduction of Google Glass in 2013, and gaming headsets like Oculus Rift in the works, virtual reality is not far off, and Microsoft's recently announced Hololens bears more than a passing resemblance to Junior's goggles.

3 Video calls

Marty's video call with his co-worker Needles in Back to the Future II seemed like a futuristic dream, but with FaceTime and Skype now staples, the video call has evolved from a business medium to everyday life.

4 Hands-free gaming

While we don't see it in the film, kids at Cafe 80s mock Marty for having to use his hands to play an arcade game, implying that Xbox Kinect-style gaming is the norm in their 2015. And guess what, it is.

5 Tablet computers

When Doc meets Marty by the clocktower, he is brandishing what looks like an iPad-style tablet computer. Today tablets are commonplace, with 233 million units expected to be sold in 2015, an 8 per cent increase from 2014.

6 Self-tying shoes

Marty's self-tying trainers were one of the weirder inventions in Back to the Future II. Now Nike designer Tinker Hatfield has confirmed his team are working on a version of the shoes, complete with self-tying laces, and hopes to have them for sale by the end of 2015.