This bike path in Bruce, Canberra, Australia looks like it's covered in thick sandpaper. This surface was made from materials that absorb sunlight to provide eight or more hours of illumination. Places such as parks and nature reserves don't have street lighting due to the impact on native fauna and high costs. This new technology, which allows the path to emit a soft glow at night, is a great alternative. It boosts safety for pedestrians and cyclists at night and has less of a negative impact on nocturnal animals than street lights. Other similar paths are in Gosford, Australia and Nuenen, Netherlands, the latter inspired by Van Gogh's Starry Night.

Travelmate isn't a normal suitcase - it's an autonomous robot companion that follows you wherever you go and is designed to make traveling easier. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/travelmate-a-fully-autonomous-suitcase-and-robot-technology--2#/

This robotic laundry folding machine from FoldiMate says it can can fold, de-wrinkle, and spray your clothes with perfume all in just 10 seconds. www.foldimate.com

Scottish startup MacRebur has one simple, clever invention to solve three world challenges: using millions of tons of waste plastic that sit in our landfill sites; reducing the millions spent on new roads, maintenance, and pothole repair; making our roads stronger and longer lasting. They launched in January 2016 and their new product has already been laid on roads in Cumbria and Dumfriesshire in the UK, as well as on a runway at Carlisle Airport. www.macrebur.com

A dexterous multi-fingered robot has been created at the University of California. It practiced using virtual objects in a simulated world and learned what kind of grip should work for different items by studying a vast data set of 3-D shapes and suitable grasps. When a new object is placed in front of it, the robot?s deep-learning system quickly figures out what grasp the arm should use. The creation of this robot shows how machine learning and the cloud could revolutionise manual work where precision and consistency are key. https://www.technologyreview.com/s/607931/meet-the-most-nimble-fingered-robot-yet/