"Things that were, things that are… and some things that have not yet come to pass." I wish I had Galadriel's dramatic voice telling what the future will look like, as we are rapidly entering a time that still felt like a distant scenario not long ago. In the last few years, artificial intelligence, robots and connected devices have expanded into a whole new context: our everyday lives. They've also started making the headlines. We read how the Go-playing AI AlphaGo beat the world-class Go player Sedol by 5–1, and how toy robots like Pleo and social robots like Jibo and Pepper are coming to our homes.

Moreover, it is fantasy to suggest that the accelerating development and deployment of technologies that taken together are considered to be A.I. will be stopped or limited, either by regulation or even by national legislation. A.I. is increasingly critical to competitive performance in most economic sectors, whether manufacturing or services; it is a significantly valued consumer product (how many people rely on softly spoken directions from their cellphone when they are driving?); and in some sectors in which it is highly prized, such as pornography and cybercrime, regulations are unlikely to be effective. And it is not just economics driving a more cognitive future: Every major military organization in the world knows that one way or another cognition in integrated techno-human systems--A.I. in one form or another--will be critical for military competence and national security in an increasingly complex and uncertain geopolitical environment. If the U.S. wants to stop military A.I. research, it is a dangerous whimsy to think that China, Russia, and others, public, private, and nongovernmental, necessarily will follow its lead.

SpaceX has made good on a high-priority delivery - the world's first inflatable room for astronauts. A SpaceX Dragon cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday, two days after launching from Cape Canaveral, and astronauts used a robot arm to capture the capsule. The Dragon holds 7,000lbs of freight, including the soft-sided compartment built by Bigelow Aerospace. A SpaceX Dragon cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday, two days after launching from Cape Canaveral and astronauts used a robot arm to capture the capsule. The pioneering pod, packed tightly for launch, should swell to the size of a small bedroom once filled with air next month.

A Japanese robotics firm has shown that when it comes to walking, two-legged robots don't necessarily need to follow humans. Looking a little like an under-dressed R2-D2, the bipedal robot was unveiled by Schaft - owned by Google's parent company Alphabet - at the recent New Economic Summit in Tokyo. Co-founder and boss of Schaft, Yuto Nakanishi, introduced the as-yet unnamed robot as it waddled on stage, stiff-legged and self-assured, demonstrating its locomotion without bending its leg joints. Alphabet-owned Japanese robotics firm Schaft unveiled its new two-legged robot in Tokyo on Friday. The as-yet unnamed prototype walks without bending its leg joints and is reportedly aimed at helping society by carrying heavy loads.

SpaceX has delivered an inflatable bedroom for astronauts to the International Space Station. The soft compartment is the first of its kind to go into space. But it could be far from the last: its makers hope that it will allow for inflatable habits on Mars, revolutionising the way that astronauts live on space. The company that made the small room, Bigelow Aerospace, hopes that within four years it can launch inflatable space stations made with the same technology that can then be leased out to commercial companies. The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module -- BEAM for short -- is able to be packed into much smaller spaces than traditional habitats.

Drones are opening up a world of new possibilities for consumers. They may have started off as aerial cameras, but now, as the technology has matured, they're finding applications far outside the realm of photography. Nowadays we've got drones that deliver goods, fight deforestation, and even patrol our coastlines to warn swimmers of nearby sharks -- but this is just the beginning. In the not so distant future, drones will also be used to save lives. Staring very soon, DJI, the world's largest drone manufacturer, will be supplying drones to the European Emergency Number Association for use in high-impact situations like rescue missions -- a deal that could fundamentally change the way first responders operate.

Chat applications are becoming a mainstream trend and our preferred way of interacting with colleagues, friends and family. From the early days of SMS to the favorite snaps of our children, real-time online conversations are everywhere and here to stay. The acquisition of WhatAapp by Facebook in 2014 for a hefty 22 Billion price tag made it clear and promising asTechCrunch noticed it one year later. But although TechCrunch saw messaging apps as the future of mobile portal, they remained more or less next to the Internet, without a direct impact, except their increasing audience. The recent surge of interest in Bots and AI is changing the game and we'll be witnessing the second major fragmentation of the Internet.

CHIBA – The government and companies started a trial of a drone home delivery service in Chiba Prefecture on Monday, with drones loaded with packages flying between condominiums, commercial facilities and adjacent parks. The joint project involving the central government, the city of Chiba, research institutions and companies including e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc. is the first drone delivery trial in an urban area. The city of Chiba has been designated as a special deregulation zone to conduct the trial. In the next stage of the trial, drones will pick up packages from a warehouse located beside Tokyo Bay and deliver them to Chiba's Mihama Ward, about 10 km away. The city aims to start the drone home delivery service by 2020, when Tokyo will host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and plans to ask real estate developers scheduled to construct high-rise condominiums in Mihama to set up landing areas for the craft on each unit's balcony.

Chat applications are becoming a mainstream trend and our preferred way of interacting with colleagues, friends and family. From the early days of SMS to the favorite snaps of our children, real-time online conversations are everywhere and here to stay. The acquisition of WhatAapp by Facebook in 2014 for a hefty 22 Billion price tag made it clear and promising as TechCrunch noticed it one year later. But although TechCrunch saw messaging apps as the future of mobile portal, they remained more or less next to the Internet, without a direct impact, except their increasing audience. The recent surge of interest in Bots and AI is changing the game and we'll be witnessing the second major fragmentation of the Internet.

Employing robots and artificial intelligence in Chinese restaurants has turned out to be not such a smart idea after all, with restaurants in Guangzhou either closing down or firing their mechanical staff. According to Workers' Daily, two restaurants which made use of robotic waiters have closed down and a third which remains open has given all but one of the robots the sack. Their human counterparts at the restaurant were full of complaints about their former colleagues. "The robots weren't able to carry soup or other food steady and they would frequently break down. The boss has decided never to use them again," said one employee. Another waiter remarked that the robots were only able to perform a small number of tasks.