3 Issues I did not anticipate to see at expo 2025 in Osaka

Sure, Expo 2025 is full of futuristic robots and flashy tech, however a number of the actual standouts are those you’d by no means anticipate. From hydrogen-powered merchandising machines to on a regular basis devices with a twist, listed below are three surprises that absolutely caught me off guard.

Gadget Flow readers, I’ve traded my toy-and-book-strewn house workplace for someplace much more unique (for me, anyway): Osaka, Japan! It’s scorching, it’s sticky… and it’s nearly unnervingly clear. So why am I right here as a substitute of glued to my desktop? To cowl the futuristic tech on show at Expo 2025.

World Expos have been taking place since 1851, they usually’ve principally been the launchpad for most of the home equipment we now take with no consideration—assume TVs, washing machines, even ketchup. Yep, life-changing stuff.

What’s on at Expo 2025 Osaka?

Osaka final hosted again in 1970, and this 12 months town is taking up the problem once more. Since opening in April, Expo 2025 has already pulled in over 15 million guests. The occasion runs for six months with an formidable theme: Designing Future Societies for Our Lives. More than 150 nations are showcasing their visions of tomorrow—every little thing from synthetic hearts to quadruped private autos.

Honestly? Walking round seems like moving into 2050. Imagine lighting your house with algae-powered lamps or zipping to work on a journey that walks as a substitute of rolls. The concepts are daring, generally fairly on the market, however isn’t that what makes expos enjoyable? So, listed below are the good issues I didn’t anticipate to see as we speak at Expo 2025.

SkyDrive: A Flying Taxi

Flying vehicles all the time felt like one thing out of The Jetsons, however Japan’s SkyDrive is proving they’re nearer than we expect. At Expo 2025, I got here face-to-face with the SD-05, a compact, futuristic automobile in regards to the dimension of a helicopter—however quieter, sleeker, and powered completely by electrical energy. With area for one pilot and two passengers, it seemed like sci-fi made actual.

What actually impressed me was SkyDrive’s imaginative and prescient for what’s subsequent. They’re already planning to broaden seating to a few passengers and add absolutely autonomous piloting, pushing the thought of private air journey from fantasy into the close to future. Standing there, it felt much less like taking a look at a prototype and extra like catching a glimpse of how we’ll commute within the many years forward. I’m all for it; metropolis visitors is a nightmare!

The firm says this one can be prepared in 2028!

The AI Suitcase: A Navigation Robot for Visually Impaired People

I’m all the time impressed by tech that helps folks with disabilities dwell extra independently, so I used to be excited to come back throughout the AI Suitcase at the Expo 2025 Robotics Pavilion. At first look, it seems like a modern titanium carry-on, however inside it’s full of robotics and AI that information visually impaired customers safely to their vacation spot. Just set your vacation spot with a voice command, and the suitcase finds the most secure route. Tactile buttons allow you to pause, flip left or proper, or get a fast spoken description of your environment—it’s designed to be easy, intuitive, and empowering.

Under the hood, the suitcase makes use of LiDAR sensors (principally lasers that “see” partitions and obstacles), depth cameras, and image-recognition AI to map the setting and detect transferring pedestrians. Outdoors, the place there are fewer partitions to bounce alerts off of, it provides satellite-based real-time positioning for accuracy. In different phrases, it’s combining a number of the most superior navigation tech out there and placing it within the deal with of a suitcase. The result’s a life-changing mobility software—and I adore it.

A hydrogen-powered merchandising machine, by Coca-Cola

The displays I noticed as we speak have been actually cool, however what actually shocked me was how the Expo’s theme, Designing Future Society of Our Lives, stretched past the pavilions and into the on a regular basis particulars across the park. Case in level: the merchandising machines within the Expo’s Grand Ring weren’t your normal beverage dispensers—they have been hydrogen-powered and designed by Coca-Cola.

Here’s how they work: as a substitute of plugging into an influence outlet, each vending machine runs on replaceable hydrogen cartridges. Those cartridges gas a chemical response between hydrogen and oxygen inside a facet generator module, producing electrical energy that’s saved in an inside battery. The setup means the machines are self-sufficient and clear, with solely water as a byproduct. Coca-Cola is rolling out 58 of those on the Expo, and every one even comes with a show panel breaking down the science for guests. It’s a small however important instance of how sustainable tech can reshape probably the most acquainted elements of each day life.

Last Thoughts

Walking by means of Expo 2025 in Osaka as we speak, what struck me most wasn’t simply the massive, futuristic showpieces—the flying vehicles, the AI-driven robots, and so on.—however how these concepts are woven into an on a regular basis context. If the previous World Expos gave us TVs, washing machines, and even ketchup, perhaps the devices and ideas right here in Osaka will develop into simply as bizarre in 20 or 30 years. That offers me loads of hope for the longer term.

But that’s not all! I’m nonetheless in Japan for the Expo, so keep tuned for extra cool, future-facing tech!