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No one can predict how the future will shake out, but we can make some educated guesses. Global design and strategy firm frog has released its 2017 forecasts for the technologies that will define the upcoming year. Last year, the firm correctly predicted that virtual reality would explode in popularity and that sensors in things like appliances and thermometers would continue to shrink in size. Around the world, large companies are leading the way in building solar-powered offices that don't rely on fossil fuels. Frog strategist Agnes Pyrchla expects the trend to continue in 2017. "Taking a nod from natural patterns," she writes, "material scientists and architects have developed bricks with bacteria, made cement that captures carbon dioxide, and created building cooling systems using nothing but the available wind and our vibrant sun." Business bots are going to be huge.