A UK-based company D30 has developed a gel with amazing shock-absorbing abilities. The gel reacts to impacts by turning from soft and flexible material to hard protective armour. The technology is already utilised in several industries from sports to defence to help people avoid severe injuries.

Maas Global's Whim and Tuup are apps that combine public and private transport options to offer consumers ease of mobility. The mobility-as-a-Service market is expected to grow rapidly and create new opportunities for different transport business models.

Festo presents OctopusGribber, a robotic “hand” which mimics the multi suction cup tentacle of the octopus. How Industrial robots grab objects with “pliers” or single suction cups has prevented them from replacing human hands some tasks on production lines. Biomimicry in engineering may bring forward new innovations that enable robots to bypass manual touch.

For over a decade website visitors needed to prove being a human by clicking a checkbox or solving simple challenges called Captchas. Google’s evolved service, invisible reCAPTCHA, can now perform the check-up automatically by recognising humans based on their online behaviour. This is yet another algorithmic surveillance we wilfully submit to.

How will an entire generation shift impact the future? The Millennials seem to have different views on how they want to consume, work and live. Integrating their views into your organisation’s plans and culture can generate real value for customers and make your working life compatible with 2020.

Drones and self-driving cars may get the most headlines, but autonomous cargo ships and big data may revolutionize how goods get transported around the world. AI Captains, Artificial Intelligence-based navigation software can drive ships without staff in the future. They may generate new wave of piracy, or be rather difficult to take over.

Bill Gates proposed recently that robots should be taxed like human workers, based on the value of their work. His initiative stirred up a flow of pros and counter-arguments in the global media. Obviously, something needs to be done proactively, but is robot tax the best solution?

SolarCoin is a blockchain-based virtual currency which was initiated by SolarCoin Foundation to speed up the global renewable energy transition. Private and commercial solar owners registered in the SolarCoin network can claim one SolarCoin for every MWh of energy they produce. Generators of solar energy may receive SolarCoin grants.

Fake News appears as a red stamp on a Russian state website suggesting that many Western news items are `fake´. President Donald Trump claims that several news printed, aired or released online by well-established American news media are fake. The label `fake´ is used by those in power to undermine news media that do not support their political agenda or may have critical views.

Owning an autonomous vehicle makes little or no sense in the future unless you run a taxi or delivery service. Self-driving cars will be constantly available all around our cities. They run without cease and only stop for recharging or servicing. People may own vehicles for some off-purposes, but the roles of owned vehicles will be much alike those of horses today.

4D printing adds a new dimension to 3D printing: time. An object changes its shape or quality as it encounters some external stimuli, such as temperature shifts or contact with water. Currently, research in several laboratories, 4D printing may add programmability to materials and objects.

UNU is a platform utilising a combination of AI algorithms and collective human intelligence. So far, it’s been able to do surprisingly accurate forecasts all the way from Oscar winners to presidential elections. Will an efficient combination of algorithms and human swarms be the solution to finding answers to our tricky future problems?