The idea, known as "vehicle-to-grid", is to have millions of drivers become mini electricity traders, charging up when rates are cheap and pumping energy back into the grid during peak hours or when the sun is not shining. We need storage to make better use of wind and solar power, and electric cars could provide it. Today, fewer than 1 per cent of the world's vehicles are electric, but by 2040 more than half of all new cars will be electric. The first company to offer a product that allows drivers to both buy and sell power is San Diego-based Nuvve, which has succeeded by focusing on business customers in Denmark. www.inkl.com/newsletters/morning-edition/news/cities-running-on-car-batteries-idea-so-crazy-it-might-just-work?

An Aeolus Robot can clean your home and even bring you a drink from your fridge. It can assign objects to specific individuals whose faces it has memorized, so that, for example, a child?s toy picked up off the floor doesn?t end up in an adult?s closet. It?s the first multi-functional robot that can act like a human being. Currently it?s like a child, but its capability will grow from a child to an adult with more use. Each robot will be connected to a network that allows it to share information using artificial intelligence to make it increasingly intelligent over time as it adapts to your home and your routines. www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2018/01/11/this-robotic-maid-takes-us-one-step-closer-to-the-jetson

Petit Pli creates advanced technical children?s clothing . Children grow 7 sizes in their first 2 years and this equates to wasted clothing. The versatile waterproof clothes made by Petit Pli are pleated in such a way that they can grow bi-directionally to custom fit a range of sizes. The continuous size adjustment is a new way of approaching garment design, one suitable to high growth rates and discrepancies in children?s sizes. Petit Pli uses technical materials that are ultra-lightweight, waterproof and breathable because children are very active. http://petitpli.com/

Last year 1.2 million plastic bottles were bought around the world every minute. Despite all efforts to date with recycling the majority end up in the ground, in our oceans or on island beaches. Pentatonic is using this trash to create beautiful ergonomically designed chairs and other furniture . https://www.pentatonic.com

With space at a premium, particularly by the water, this is a novel solution. A designer in Spain has built a minimalist office between the girders of a large, concrete bridge. At one end of the rails there are items that adorn a typical office -shelves, plants, framed pictures, a desk and a chair. Doors fold outward, giving you the option of opening up the office to the outside world. At night, the doors can be closed and bedding stored on the shelves above you to spend the night. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2017/09/08/this-man-created-a-mysterious-office-suspended-underneath-a-bridge/?

These trials are starting in Europe. They'll be testing public acceptance, the reliability of the technology and human reactions as well as transportation of hot food, cold food, parcels and groceries. The robot will have microphones, and speakers, so they can communicate with humans they meet. www.starship.xyz