From the steam engine in 1712 to the first ever iPhone in 2007, each year sees the birth of ever more incredible inventions. And after a year of mind-boggling tech, it's clear that 2024 has been no exception to the rule. The last 12 months have seen brilliant minds from around the world creating some mind-blowing and potentially world-changing breakthroughs. With 2024 almost at its end, MailOnline has taken a look back at some of this year's coolest gadgets and most exciting innovations. From an AI for designing proteins to a real-life pair of Wallace and Gromit's'techno trousers', these inventions are a glimpse of how we all might be living in the future. And when it comes to big breakthroughs, this year has been a resounding success for billionaire Elon Musk.

Netflix and the BBC have released an all-too-brief look at Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. A clip from the stop-motion animated movie features Wallace proudly revealing his latest invention, a "smart gnome" called Norbot. The robot aggressively shakes Gromit's paw while introducing itself to the pooch, hinting at trouble ahead. The concept of a smart gnome as a riff on the smart home is funny by itself and it perfectly matches the type of humor the Wallace and Gromit series is known for. Wallace encouraging Gromit to put the voice-activated Norbot through its paces is a great touch too, considering that the beagle is famously silent.

It's been 30 years since beloved British duo Wallace and Gromit embarked on probably their best loved adventure in'The Wrong Trousers'. In the classic 1993 stop motion film by Nick Park, Gromit receives a pair of'ex-NASA' robotic techno trousers from Wallace for his birthday. They prove extremely useful when Gromit redecorates his bedroom, but lead to trouble when they fall into the clutches of the villainous penguin, Feathers McGraw. Although for now consigned to the fictional world of the loveable duo, experts think they could be built – and conceivably let a wearer walk on walls and even ceilings. Dr Katie Raymer, a physicist and PhD graduate from the University of Leicester, said a real-life pair would use powerful vacuum suction at the soles, just like in the film. In the classic film, Gromit receives a pair of ex-NASA robotic'techno trousers' from Wallace for his birthday, which allows the wearer to walk on walls and even ceilings.

One of the UK's earliest humanoid robots has been unearthed after spending 45 years stored in a garage. The robot's creator, Tony Sale, talks about how George came about. Rationing during and after World War II gave rise to the make do and mend ethos that saw many people exercise their ingenuity to feed and clothe themselves. Some, such as Tony Sale, took the scavenging attitude far beyond simply unravelling woollen socks to help patch a pullover. In 1950 Mr Sale, then aged 19, created a robot named George out of scrap metal that came from a crashed Wellington bomber. Pilot Officer Sale, as he was then, was stationed at RAF Debden where he was employed to teach pilots how to use radar.