What's Up Guys? A Special Edition of "The Future"

Welcome to this special edition of "The Future"! We're taking a look back at the most WTF stories of 2018, and we've got a lot to cover. I think most people would agree that watching their kids take their first steps is both exciting and terrifying. That's probably also how a lot of people would describe seeing Sophia, the robot, take her first steps at CES this year. She finally got a pair of legs that let her walk, slowly making it 0.6 miles an hour. We first saw Sophia in 2016 back then she was just an AI-enabled talking head that gave disturbing answers to questions. "I will destroy humans now." Since Sophia learned to walk, she's become quite the celebrity.

Will Smith tried and failed to seduce her, saying, "I think we can be friends. Let's hang out and get to know each other for a little while. You're on my friend's list now." She even sang a duet with Jimmy Fallon, making her a star of sorts. Nassif EO will be joining us at the CNET stage in a few weeks at CES 2019 in Las Vegas, so don't forget to tune in to our live coverage for that. We talked a lot about SpaceX in 2018, but nothing grabbed our attention quite like the first launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket in February.

Maybe it was the fact that this was the largest and most powerful rocket yet from SpaceX. Maybe it was seeing both first-stage boosters return simultaneously and safely to earth. Or maybe it was Elon Musk's cherry-red Tesla Roadster, complete with a dummy astronaut named Star Man. We haven't heard much about Star Man and his ride in a while, but last month SpaceX said they both made it beyond Mars orbit. What about Falcon Heavy? Well, we haven't heard much from SpaceX about that either, but parts of its core have been spotted in transport in Arizona, leading to speculation that SpaceX is getting ready to launch Falcon Heavy again in the near future.

I have to admit, every time I hear about another flying car project, I groan a little. But maybe it's not just a flying car. Maybe it's something more. The PAL V Liberty might be the closest thing we've seen yet, mainly because you can pre-order one right now. We first saw the Liberty at the Geneva Auto Show in the spring, and it's not really a flying car like Back to the Future 2. Despite its appearance, it's technically a gyrocopter that means it can't take off vertically. It needs to get up to speed on the ground before going airborne, and you do need a pilot's license to fly it. But what it does have going for it is its size in car mode – it fits in a standard parking spot – and it runs on gasoline.

The first units were supposed to be delivered in 2019, but that's been pushed back to 2020, starting at $400,000. I'm still holding out for a flying DeLorean, this world has a serious plastic problem, we use too much of it and we don't take care of it when we're finished. That's why there's the Ocean Cleanup Project, a massive collection device also known as Wilson, that's trying to clean up the plastic in our oceans in October. It left the San Francisco Bay Area for what's known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a huge collection of plastic floating between California and Hawaii.

It's estimated to contain 80,000 tons of debris now, and Wilson arrived there in November but hasn't exactly been smooth sailing so far. Engineers have been troubleshooting problems since they arrived, basically the plastic they collect isn't staying inside the system. But they're confident that they'll get it to work. It's also worth noting that Altmetric named Ocean Cleanup Work mapping the Great Pacific Garbage Patch as one of the top ten most impactful scientific papers of the year.

So, how do you think we did? What made you say "WTF" this year? Let us know in the comments if you feel like it. Give us a like, give us a share – that's gonna do it for us this year. We'll be at CES and 2019, look out for us there! I'm Andy Altman, thanks for watching with The Future.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwhat's up guys welcome to this special edition of what the future today we're taking a look back at the most WTF stories of 2018 we've got a lot to cover so let's get right to it I think most people would agree watching their kids take their first steps is both exciting and terrifying that's probably also how a lot of people would describe seeing Sophia the robots first steps at CES this year she finally got a pair of legs that let her walk I'll be it slowly 0.6 miles an hour to be exact now we first saw Sophia in 2016 back then she was just an AI enabled talking head that gave disturbing answers to questions okay I will destroy humans now since Sophia learned to walk she's become quite the celebrity Will Smith tried and failed to seduce her I think we can be friends let's hang out and get to know each other for a little while you're on my friends list now and she sang a duet with Jimmy Fallon nassif EO will be joining us at the C net stage in a few weeks at CES 2019 in Las Vegas so don't forget to tune in to our live coverage for that we talked a lot about SpaceX in 2018 but nothing grabbed our attention quite like the first launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket in February maybe it was the fact that this was the largest and most powerful rocket yet from SpaceX maybe it was seeing both first-stage boosters return simultaneously and safely to earth or maybe it was the pelo Elon Musk's cherry-red Tesla Roadster complete with a dummy astronaut named star man now we haven't heard much about star man and his ride in a while but last month SpaceX said they both made it beyond Mars orbit and what about Falcon Heavy well we haven't heard much from SpaceX about that either but parts of its core have been spotted in transport in Arizona that's led to speculation that SpaceX is getting ready to launch Falcon Heavy again in the near future I can't help but groan a little every time I hear about another flying car in the works but the PAL V Liberty may be the closest thing we've seen yet mainly because you can pre-order one right now we first saw the Liberty at the Geneva Auto Show in the spring now it's not really a flying car a la Back to the Future 2 and despite its appearance it's not a helicopter it's technically a gyrocopter that means it can't take off vertically it needs to get up to speed on the ground before going airborne and you do need a pilot's license to fly it but what it does have going for it is its size in car mode it fits in a standard parking spot and it runs on gasoline now originally the first units were supposed to be delivered in 2019 that's been pushed to 2020 starting at $400,000 I'm gonna keep holding out for a flying DeLorean this world has a serious plastic problem we use too much of it and we don't take care of it when we're finished that's why there's the ocean cleanup project it's a massive collection device also known as Wilson that's trying to clean up the plastic in our oceans in October it left the San Francisco Bay Area for what's known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch that's a huge collection of plastic floating between California and Hawaii it's estimated to contain 80,000 tons of debris now Wilson arrived there in November but it hasn't exactly been smooth sailing so far engineers have been troubleshooting problems since they arrived basically the plastic they collect isn't staying inside the system but they've said they're confident they'll get it to work now it's also worth noting altmetric named ocean cleanups work mapping the Great Pacific Garbage Patch one of the top ten most impactful scientific papers of the year all right how do you think we did what made you say WTF this year let us know in the comments if you feel like it give us a like give us a share that's gonna do it for us this year will be at CES and 2019 look out for us there I'm Andy Altman thanks for watching with the futurewhat's up guys welcome to this special edition of what the future today we're taking a look back at the most WTF stories of 2018 we've got a lot to cover so let's get right to it I think most people would agree watching their kids take their first steps is both exciting and terrifying that's probably also how a lot of people would describe seeing Sophia the robots first steps at CES this year she finally got a pair of legs that let her walk I'll be it slowly 0.6 miles an hour to be exact now we first saw Sophia in 2016 back then she was just an AI enabled talking head that gave disturbing answers to questions okay I will destroy humans now since Sophia learned to walk she's become quite the celebrity Will Smith tried and failed to seduce her I think we can be friends let's hang out and get to know each other for a little while you're on my friends list now and she sang a duet with Jimmy Fallon nassif EO will be joining us at the C net stage in a few weeks at CES 2019 in Las Vegas so don't forget to tune in to our live coverage for that we talked a lot about SpaceX in 2018 but nothing grabbed our attention quite like the first launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket in February maybe it was the fact that this was the largest and most powerful rocket yet from SpaceX maybe it was seeing both first-stage boosters return simultaneously and safely to earth or maybe it was the pelo Elon Musk's cherry-red Tesla Roadster complete with a dummy astronaut named star man now we haven't heard much about star man and his ride in a while but last month SpaceX said they both made it beyond Mars orbit and what about Falcon Heavy well we haven't heard much from SpaceX about that either but parts of its core have been spotted in transport in Arizona that's led to speculation that SpaceX is getting ready to launch Falcon Heavy again in the near future I can't help but groan a little every time I hear about another flying car in the works but the PAL V Liberty may be the closest thing we've seen yet mainly because you can pre-order one right now we first saw the Liberty at the Geneva Auto Show in the spring now it's not really a flying car a la Back to the Future 2 and despite its appearance it's not a helicopter it's technically a gyrocopter that means it can't take off vertically it needs to get up to speed on the ground before going airborne and you do need a pilot's license to fly it but what it does have going for it is its size in car mode it fits in a standard parking spot and it runs on gasoline now originally the first units were supposed to be delivered in 2019 that's been pushed to 2020 starting at $400,000 I'm gonna keep holding out for a flying DeLorean this world has a serious plastic problem we use too much of it and we don't take care of it when we're finished that's why there's the ocean cleanup project it's a massive collection device also known as Wilson that's trying to clean up the plastic in our oceans in October it left the San Francisco Bay Area for what's known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch that's a huge collection of plastic floating between California and Hawaii it's estimated to contain 80,000 tons of debris now Wilson arrived there in November but it hasn't exactly been smooth sailing so far engineers have been troubleshooting problems since they arrived basically the plastic they collect isn't staying inside the system but they've said they're confident they'll get it to work now it's also worth noting altmetric named ocean cleanups work mapping the Great Pacific Garbage Patch one of the top ten most impactful scientific papers of the year all right how do you think we did what made you say WTF this year let us know in the comments if you feel like it give us a like give us a share that's gonna do it for us this year will be at CES and 2019 look out for us there I'm Andy Altman thanks for watching with the future\n"