Read about the world's tallest building, the longest bicycle, the most modern tractor and a discovered time capsule that cannot be opened until the year 2957. Shoe manufacturer New Balance is stepping onto the 3-D printing platform with a new running shoe that incorporates a 3-D printed midsole that can be customized to each runner. New Balance is making the shoe available for the first time in Boston in April, 2016 -- timed to coincide with the Boston Marathon. It's difficult to believe that with all of the unrest in Iraq, a company such as AMBS Architects would propose building a skyscraper to rival Dubai's Burj Khalifa, which stands 830-meters high. But here it is: the 1,152-meter-tall Bride's tower.

We've seen Lego robots that do Sudoku puzzles, solve Rubik's Cube, and mimic the human hand. Well, this Lego robot builds Lego models--so far. How long until it starts building other robots out of Lego? Hobbyist Will Gorman built his Lego Mindstorms NXT MakerLegoBot for the ongoing Lego World 2010 expo in Zwolle, the Netherlands. Inspired by the open-source 3D printer MakerBot, the machine is made of more than 2,400 bricks and runs on three NXT Intelligent Bricks and nine NXT motors. A PC running the MLCad Lego design system sends instructions to the printer via USB, and it then starts selecting bricks from its large-capacity feeder system.

While every single book in this list is provided for free, if you find any particularly helpful consider purchasing the printed version.

Among emerging technologies, IT professionals expect Internet of Things (IoT) devices and artificial intelligence (AI) technology to have the biggest impact in the workplace, according to a new report from online IT professionals community Spiceworks. The study, "Future of IT: Hype vs. Reality," examines organizations' adoption plans for technologies such as virtual reality (VR), 3D printing, IoT and AI. While survey respondents don't expect mass adoption to take off for VR and 3D printers, some industries have significantly higher adoption rates than the industry average, the report notes. Of the 566 IT professionals surveyed worldwide in October 2016, 80 percent said IoT devices will be useful to their business practices in three to five years, and nearly 60 percent said the same for AI. Over the next five years 60 percent of companies plan to adopt machine learning and 72 percent plan to deploy business analytics with AI.

"INDUSTRIE 4.0 connects embedded system production technologies and smart production processes to pave the way to a new technological age which will radically transform industry and production value chains and business models." Advanced manufacturing--in the form of additive manufacturing, advanced materials, smart, automated machines, and other technologies--is ushering in a new age of physical production.2 At the same time, increased connectivity and ever more sophisticated data-gathering and analytics capabilities enabled by the Internet of Things (IoT) have led to a shift toward an information-based economy. With the IoT, data, in addition to physical objects, are a source of value--and connectivity makes it possible to build smarter supply chains, manufacturing processes, and even end-to-end ecosystems.3 As these waves of change continue to shape the competitive landscape, manufacturers must decide how and where to invest in new technologies, and identify which ones will drive the most benefit for their organizations. In addition to accurately assessing their current strategic positions, successful manufacturers need a clear articulation of their business objectives, identifying where to play in newly emerging technology ecosystems and (as important) what are the technologies, both physical and digital, that they will deploy in pursuit of decisions they make about how to win.4 The charge is perhaps easier to execute in theory than in practice.

Despite some significant arrivals, 2016 also failed to deliver some long-awaited technologies. And some of what we eagerly ripped the wrapping paper off proved to be a letdown. Here's a rundown of the gifts IT didn't get in 2016. If you want to print out a stand for your phone or a model for a new product, you can easily find a 3D printer for the office that can do that -- as long as you want to print them out in plastic. You can spend more and get a 3D printer that can UV cure resin and make small objects like custom-fit earplugs in about 10 minutes (I watched my ACS Custom in-ear monitor headphones get printed from digital scans of my ear canals earlier this year). Even HP's $140,000 Multi Jet Fusion printers -- promised for this year and offering multi-color printing -- only just went on sale, and they still only print nylon.

Despite some significant arrivals, 2016 also failed to deliver some long-awaited technologies. And some of what we eagerly ripped the wrapping paper off proved to be a letdown. Here's a rundown of the gifts IT didn't get in 2016. If you want to print out a stand for your phone or a model for a new product, you can easily find a 3D printer for the office that can do that -- as long as you want to print them out in plastic. You can spend more and get a 3D printer that can UV cure resin and make small objects like custom-fit earplugs in about 10 minutes (I watched my ACS Custom in-ear monitor headphones get printed from digital scans of my ear canals earlier this year).

Medical science is seeing a significant boost from 3D printing. New startups in the 3D manufacturing realm are creating better prosthetics and customisable medical devices that are worlds more advanced than what came before. For example two startups – Bioniks and Voodoo Manufacturing – are creating unique prosthetics for patients. Bioniks, a bio-medical printing startup based in Pakistan, has now created a total of 25 bionic arms. These are advanced prosthetics like those of the Bioniks'Robotic Arm' prosthetic that includes motorised joints as well as custom fitting through 3D printing, says Bharathidasan Moorthi, a digital marketing manager representing the company.

The study "Future of IT: Hype vs. Reality" revealed that while these emerging technologies have potential in the workplace, IT professionals are grappling with budget and security concerns as they evaluate the impact these technologies can offer today versus in the future. The results show that among emerging technologies covered in the survey, IT professionals in Europe, the Middle East and Africa expect IoT devices and AI technology to have the biggest impact in the workplace, and VR to have the least impact. In fact, 79 percent of IT professionals in the region said IoT devices will be useful to their business practices in three to five years and 55 percent said the same for AI. Although most IT professionals don't expect mass adoption to take off in the workplace for VR and 3D printers, some industries have significantly higher adoption rates than the industry average. "Despite recent innovations in VR and 3D printing, the majority of IT professionals across EMEA are struggling to find viable use cases for the technology in their organisations," said John Webb, general manager of Europe at Spiceworks. "As a result, many can't justify the investment as opposed to AI and IoT that offer tangible benefits for the workplace today.

A London-based startup has combined some of today's most disruptive technologies in a bid to change the way we'll build the future. By retrofitting industrial robots with 3D printing guns and artificial intelligence algorithms, Ai Build has constructed machines that can see, create, and even learn from their mistakes. When CEO and founder Daghan Cam was studying architecture, he noticed a disconnect between small-scale manufacturing and large-scale construction. "On one side we have a fully automated production pipeline," Cam explained at a recent conference in London. With the emergence of more efficient printing technologies, he thought there must be a better way.