"To boldly go, where no one has gone before," this is a line from "Star Trek" that represents exploration and risk. And, it is also the mantra for Trekkies who have been inspired so much by the science-fiction series that they have created real life objects: Physicists have created a reversible tractor beam, and a "Star Trek" communicator is coming soon.  

In "Star Trek" related news, a group of physicists in Australia have painstakingly designed a reversible tractor beam with photons and heat. And one company is working to bring the "Star Trek" like communicator to consumers; not the one that Captain Kirk used, it is like the communicator badge of the more modern "Star Trek" spin-off series.

Photons - laser lights in this case - and heated particles are what make up the reversible tractor beam. The futuristic tractor beam is made up of a hollow laser beam - a laser bright around the edges and empty in the center. The physicists, at the Research School of Physics and Engineering at The Australian National University, were able to move the particles 0.2 mm in diameter to distances up to 20 cm (7.87 inches), CNET reported.

The distance at which the physicists were able to move the particles was equal to 100 times farther than they had ever achieved in their previous experiments.

"Demonstration of a large scale laser beam like this is a kind of holy grail for laser physicists," Professor Wieslaw Krolikowski said from the research team, CNET reported.

In previous experiments conducted by the University of St. Andrews - a team of scientists from Scotland and the Czech Republic - researchers employed the motion of photons to propel particles at a microscopic level. But the Australian National University (ANU) research team did a similar experiment using photon momentum, but they added heat, CNET reported.

The ANU team then trapped the microscopic gold-coated hollow glass particles within the dark center of the laser beam. The energy that comes from the laser travels across the surface of the particle, this is where the heat is absorbed. Hotspots are created when the particles collide with other organic hotspots; then they heat up and shoot away from the particle. The reaction is that the particle recoils in the opposite direction, CNET reported.

With this new tractor beam application, the ANU physicists can use it control atmospheric pollution or for the retrieval of tiny, delicate or dangerous particles for sampling, Sci-News.com reported.

"Because lasers retain their beam quality for such long distances, this could work over meters. Our lab just was not big enough to show it," one of the researchers on the ANU team stated, Sci-News.com reported.

From using photons and heat, electronics and apps is what is guiding this possible "Star Trek" communicator. "Two to beam up Scotty!" Well not quite. This Bluetooth enabled wearable group communicator is able to clip onto your shirt, just like "Star Trek's." A San Francisco-based technology start-up company named OnBeep is calling their device Onyx. It is the size of three oreo cookies stacked on top of each other, Geek.com reported.

It is 2.5 inches across, and it is a little pricey $99.00 each, or $195.00 for a pack of two. The small device clips onto your clothing, and it allows for real time voice communication with a group of people. All you have to do is press a button and start talking. Onyx can be connected to one's smartphone via Bluetooth, once your phone is connected to a network, Geek.com reported. The battery lasts for 12 hours with heavy usage.

Robbins believes that the device is revolutionary. Onyx - Robbins feels - that the device will provide a seamless way of communicating with groups of people.

"We want to provide something that's heads up and in the moment rather having to figure out which app you're in and looking down at the screen," Robbins said, Forbes reported.

Robbins has big plans for Onyx. He wants it to be a direct-to-consumer play. He even wants everyday people to pick up an Onyx and then gradually migrate their product into different settings, such as work, for example.

"This is a direct-to-consumer item for people who work in jobs that require them to be out in the world and be connected to other people," Robbins said, Forbes reported.