With people growing accustomed to the idea of having a digital assistant in their pockets, Google Now is trying to position itself as the most useful tool. By contextualising information on Calendar and Gmail, Google Now can remind people when their bills are due.

From ramen shops to sushi stands, there’s no doubt that eating out is big business in Japan. But authentic, local dining is off-limits to many foreigners due to the formidable language barrier that persists outside major cities. Could an app get tourists to pick up the chopsticks?

In an age where immediate assistance is always just a tap away, waiting for a sales assistant to finish dealing with another customer can lead some to leave a shop. Could Benebot – a shop assistant robot designed by Ecovacs Robotics – solve this familiar inconvenience?

What will the stores of the future look like? Japanese mobile provider Softbank thinks robot assistants are the way to go, and have announced that 'Pepper' – the "world's first personal robot with emotions" – will be staffing two Tokyo branches on a trial basis.