The level of technology in Panem varies significantly from area to area. The Capitol is a technologically advanced metropolis, utilizing advanced science and engineering to make life easier for its plutocratic citizens. Technology in the districts is not described in as much detail, but it seems that the poorer districts, at least, have progressed little beyond 20th and 21st century technology, and in some cases even regressed: For example, Katniss Everdeen mentions that District 12 is lucky to get more than a few hours of electricity in the evening[1], and that remedies made from crudely processed plants are the only medicines available to most people.[1]
Outside of the Capitol, District 13 seems to be the most technologically advanced area of Panem. Due to the non-aggression pact established following the Dark Days, District 13 gained its independence from the Capitol, but was cut off from the rest of the country, and thus unable to share its technology with the other districts.
Technology development is the primary industry of District 3; the citizens are highly adept at engineering, and the district contains factories that manufacture televisions, computers, and other electronic devices.
Upon arriving in District 13, Gale Hawthorne was granted a communicuff, a device resembling an oversized watch that received worded messages.[3] It was taken away from him at one point but later returned.[3][4]
During a training session, Beetee Latier mentioned to Katniss that he has developed a music chip small enough to be concealed in a flake of glitter, but that can hold hours of songs.[6]
In The Hunger Games film, the windows of Katniss' bedroom in the Training Center functioned like programmable screens; in addition to acting as normal windows, they could be fixed with a variety of images. These included a ground-level view of a Capitol street (complete with streaming of people and activity), a stretch of desert landscape, and forest scenery, the last of which Katniss briefly paused on before reverting to the normal window[7] (perhaps it reminded her of home, which quickly became too difficult to think about).
In The Hunger Games film, Katniss' interview dress was triggered to light up with artificial flames as the she twirled and to extinguish when she stopped. This was likely the same (or a similar) technology used for her Tribute Parade outfit, but modified to be activated by specific motion.[7]
District 1 possesses a machine that can turn graphite into diamonds. The resulting gems are used in jewelry and as decorations on clothing.[9]
Caesar Flickerman's interview suit was decorated with many tiny light bulbs that reminded Katniss of twinkling stars.[10]
Wiress and Beetee wore outfits studded with electric lights, representing District 3's industry of technology and electronics manufacture.[11]
The tributes from District 10 were dressed as cows and wearing flaming belts.[11] The latter may have been the same technology utilized by Cinna and Portia used the previous year.
Katniss and Peeta's outfits were equipped with an illumination system that made the ensemble glow as if coated in live embers. The black metal crowns they wore also glowed brilliant red.[11]
During a training session, Wiress mentioned to Katniss that she was developing a high-tech stitching device; it automatically senses the density of the fabric and selects the appropriate type of thread, thus eliminating human error.[6]
After getting her prep team released from custody in District 13, Katniss sees all of them in the district's drab, standardized clothing, and recalls that Octavia once sported a hairstyle that incorporated blinking lights shaped like mice.[12]
Katniss' mockingjay outfit, designed by Cinna, was equal parts fashion statement and bodily protection: the utilitarian design incorporated a breastplate, multiple layers of body armor, a collapsible mesh helmet, and white patches on the black sleeves that mimicked the patterns on a real mockingjay's wings.[13][14]
Food[]
Katniss' room in the Training Center contained a machine that, upon request, delivered freshly prepared food to the room's occupant in less than a minute.[9] Presumably the rooms of the other tributes contained identical machines.
Genetic engineering[]
Advanced technology allowed the Capitol to create entirely new species of animals, such as the muttations (jabberjays, tracker jackers, and various other creatures).[15]
Upon meeting President Snow face to face, Katniss noticed the overpowering perfume of the rose he wore in his jacket lapel, and mused that the scent must have been genetically enhanced.[16]
Medicine[]
During the 74th Hunger Games, the burn cream Katniss received in the Arena soothed her injuries instantly and significantly reduced her inflammation in a matter of hours.[17]
After being stabbed in the leg by Cato, Peeta's wound festered and he developed a dangerous fever and infection.[18] If not for the medicine Katniss obtained at the Feast, he would have died.
After Katniss emerged victorious from the 74th Hunger Games, she received a “full body polish” erasing not just the scars she acquired in the arena but the ones she acquired from years of hunting in District 12.[19]
The toxic fog used in the 75th Hunger Games arena caused severely painful burns and blisters upon contact with the skin, which Katniss and her allies suffered during their first night in the arena.[20] The next day, upon Katniss' irritable outcry to Haymitch, they received medicine from a sponsor that, with regular applications, soothed and eventually healed the scabs. It was described as "a thick, dark ointment with a pungent smell, a combination of tar and pine needles."[21]
Katniss suffered many burns after being caught on the periphery of President Coin's bomb drop. The subsequent medical treatment attempted to repair the burns with laboratory-grown skin cells grafted onto her own tissue.[22][23]
Security[]
Districts’ 11[1] and 12[24] are surrounded by electrified fences to keep the citizens from escaping. Although not specifically mentioned, other districts presumably employ similar measures.
Before the Reaping takes place, all eligible tributes sign in and are sorted by age (which also helps the Capitol keep tabs on each district's population).[1] In The Hunger Games film, Peacekeepers use needle-like electrical devices to take a blood sample from each person, and a scanning device to confirm identity.[7]
The roof of the Training Center and the edge of the Hunger Gamesarenas were encased by force fields that deflected any object they come in contact with, sometimes with intense strength.
Before each Hunger Games began, the tributes were injected with small tracking devices so the Gamemakers could monitor their position/status in the arena.[25]
The armory in District 13 contains multiple security checkpoints, including two where the entrant's DNA must be verified before they can proceed.
Transportation[]
The Capitol controls a high-speed train system that can cover the distance between District 12 and the Capitol itself (roughly from Appalachian Mountains to the Rocky Mountains) in less than 24 hours.[26]
Hovercrafts are a means of aerial transport. Some are designed for military use, while others are meant to transport passengers or carry cargo.[15]
Delivery[]
During the 10th Hunger Games, sponsor gifts were delivered to tributes via drone.[27] They used facial recognition to lock onto their targets, and delivered only one item at a time.[28] At some unknown point, these drones were replaced with silver parachutes.[29]
Weaponry[]
During the 10th Hunger Games, Teslee was able to hack a drone and block other drones' homing signals so they would all swarm Mizzen. This made him lose his balance and fall to his death.[30]
In The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes film, Coriolanus Snow sent Lucy Gray Baird sponsor gifts when she was cornered by another group of tributes, intentionally weaponizing the unpredictable drones against them.[2]
Scene where Katniss shoots the apples and blow up the supplies.
At the beginning of each Hunger Games, the tributes emerge into the arena on metal plates wired to landmines. If a tribute attempts to leave their plate before the sixty-second countdown is complete, the mines detonate, killing them on the spot.[31]
In the 74th Hunger Games, the male tribute from District 3 safely re-positioned the landmines from under the tribute plates around a pile of supplies and reactivated them, creating a protective obstacle around the pile.[32]
Before Bonnie and Twill escaped from District 8, they were able to acquire a Peacekeeper’s gun that converted solar energy into “rays of power” (presumably lasers), giving the weapon potentially unlimited ammunition.[33]
In his first Hunger Games, Beetee used wire to create an electrical trap that killed several tributes at once, earning him his victory.[12]
In the Catching Firefilm, several stations in the Training Center featured mobile, holographic targets shaped like humans, some wielding virtual weapons. This offered tributes a realistic environment for weapons practice- Cashmere, Gloss, Brutus, and Katniss all visited these stations.[34]
District 13's industry is nuclear technology, which is used to make bombs, explosives, and missiles. This arsenal of weaponry proved invaluable in securing 13's independence from the Capitol.
When Katniss agreed to become the face of the rebellion, Beetee furnished her with a custom-made, military grade bow and arrowss. The weapon fired razor-sharp, incendiary, and explosive projectiles, and allowed Katniss to accurately hit targets from one hundred yards away. The bow could also be deactivated by Katniss saying "good night", and reactivated by her own voice.[12]
Plutarch Heavensbee expresses his woe at not having access to the weapons of past centuries to fight Panem's civil war, suggesting that Panem's current level of technology is inferior to that of past civilizations.
Pods, which are obstacles made in the Capitol, are used to stop the rebels from advancing into the city.
