(ECNS) - The World Economic Forum, held in northeast China's coastal city of Dalian, has released a list of this year’s top 10 emerging technologies. Topping the list are Bioplastics for a Circular Economy, Social Robots, and Tiny Lenses for Miniature Devices.
The innovations on the list were selected by members of the Forum’s Expert Network against a number of criteria, such as promising major benefits to societies and economies. They must also be disruptive, attractive to investors and researchers, and expected to achieve considerable scale within five years.
Other technologies that made the list were Disordered Proteins as Drug Targets, Smarter Fertilizers That Can Reduce Environmental Contamination, Collaborative Telepresence, Advanced Food Tracking and Packaging, Safer Nuclear Reactors, DNA Data Storage, and Utility-Scale Storage of Renewable Energy.
Mariette DiChristina, editor-in-chief of the Scientific American, said technologies that are emerging today will soon be shaping the world tomorrow and well into the future.
“It’s critical that we discuss and ensure that humanity is served by these new innovations so that we can continue to prosper,” she said.
Jeremy Jurgens, chief technology officer at the World Economic Forum, said technology will play a critical role in finding solutions to many of the challenges our world faces today, from income inequality to climate change.
The 2019 Summer Davos Forum was held from July 1-3. Established by the World Economic Forum in 2007, the forum is held annually in China, alternating between the two port cities of Dalian and Tianjin.
