Researchers at the University of Tokyo have created what they are calling a “magic mirror”. It shows you your muscular activity in real time so you can visually see how hard your muscles are working while you exercise. The system can currently monitor the activity of 30% of the body’s 300-some skeletal muscles.

Sadly the user has to wear all of those little balls etc, to get the readings. At the moment it’s a medical device, so it won’t be showing up at the gym anytime soon or on Wii-Fit. But one day soon you’ll be using your mirror as an actual health device. Not just a surface for your popped zit juice.

Self-parking automobiles aren’t new, but Ford’s system, which is part of the company’s new power steering technology, will work on hills and uses sensors to monitor blind spots and notify the driver of approaching traffic. This new auto-parking technology debut on the 2010 Lincoln MKS sedan and Lincoln MKT luxury crossover vehicle.

The fancy new power steering uses the vehicle’s battery instead of it’s hydraulic system, which improves fuel economy and reduces carbon emissions. It should be showing up in almost ninety percent of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles by 2012.

Like many Sci-Fi novels shows and movies, Star Trek showed us futuristic gadgets that at the time were complete Science fiction, but soon came to be a reality. Here’s a list of such technology, in no particular order.

These might be new to you if you have always been far to enamored with the women of Star Trek to notice the tech and gadgets. I don’t blame you, from Yeoman Rand to Tasha Yar, to Beverly Crusher and beyond, there’s some hot babes gallivanting around in the final frontier. Before we get so easily sidetracked, back to the theme. Star Trek gadgets and tech. Some you can own, some are in the works and some are just strange.