Many young South Africans suffer from acute emotional and psychological stress, which can manifest itself in anti-social or high-risk behaviour. Waves For Change is an organisation that is harnessing the therapeutic power of surfing to improve young people’s mental health.

People love surfing; it is an $8 billion industry and is practiced wherever there are waves. But it can also be a frustrating sport: fickle conditions mean that surfers often spend more time checking forecasts and chasing swells than actually surfing. Man-made wave pools are set to change that.

Mayfield Robotics’ Kuri is a friendly robot that can patrol one’s abode, play music, and capture priceless moments without taking families out of them. But can this adorable automaton win over the hearts of a population that is still apprehensive about the idea of smart machines in their homes?

Robots are taking up residence in all parts of our lives, from helping us vacuum to making our coffee to keeping us company in old age. And new research has revealed that Germans have a soft spot for the tech – they’d even be happy to go under the knife at the hands of a robot.