The day when your phone can automatically comfort you when you’re down is a long way off. But emotionally intelligent tech is on the rise, with Affectiva’s Affdex helping the likes of Unilever and CBS to gauge reactions to shows and adverts. Can algorithms judge emotions better than humans?

Product design has always considered touch – the ergonomics of a hand grip, texture of a surface, or the weight of material against skin. With the rise of digital, people are looking for more intuitive ways to interact. How is haptic tech changing the way we experience touch?

For the visually impaired, navigating social relationships can be just as hard as navigating the physical world around them. But researchers at Birmingham City University are attempting to address this issue with XploR, a smart cane that features facial recognition software.

Out of more than 12,000 intersections in New York City, fewer than 100 have audible signals to help the blind safely cross roads; a problem that's common in most major cities. SeeLight is an app hoping to solve this issue, using data from traffic lights to indicate when it’s safe to cross.