I ran into an image from the short-lived 1979 ABC series Supertrain, and it struck me how the general design of the locomotive end of the train resembled that if the San Francisco Air Tram from Star Trek The Motion Picture. The rough shape, latitudinally split windshield, side windows which wrap over the top, slightly raised spine, etc. They both were designed and built around the same time, so I don't think either is a copy, but it got me thinking about other objects on Star Trek which have visual similarities to other items, and how much of that is coincidence, copying, convergent evolution, or merely coming out of the dominant style of the time they were made. Anyone got some others?
The sky tram always reminded me of the bullet train for some reason. Maybe they both drew influence from that? (I'm not sure when the bullet train was first introduced. Something to look up!)
I did a quick look at bullet trains and nothing in particular looked too much like the above, but I hardly did an in-depth study. Some years ago I ran across some images of what was (apparently) the first transistorized and "portable" (battery powered) TV set, the Philco Safari Model H2010L. What struck me about it, especially when you see it with its "hood" closed and then open, was how much it reminded me of a TOS tricorder. I could see how this design aesthetic could have snuck into the prop design of TOS. Sure, the thing was a whopping 18 inches tall, but the similarity is interesting.
I think any design similarities were mostly the result of following contemporary trends -- or, in some cases, out-and-out copying. Compare the building on the right-hand side of the Delta Vega matte painting for "Where No Man Has Gone Before" with Oscar Niemeyer's Alvorada Palace in Brasilia. Supertrain was on NBC. And it was a colossal flop that ran only nine episodes and nearly bankrupted the network.
I'd still rather have that than a tablet. It just looks better than a slab. Tech should look...important.