Your next vacation may be virtual

The ageing of affluent societies is both inhibiting physical travel and creating demand for alternative ways to experience the world and stay connected to others. — Bloomberg

Japan's biggest airline is betting that the future of travel isn't travelling at all. For the last month, a married couple in Oita Prefecture has been interacting with a robot – called an Avatar – that's controlled by their daughter hundreds of miles away in Tokyo.

Made by ANA Holdings Inc, it looks like a vacuum cleaner with an iPad attached. But the screen displays the daughter’s face as they chat, and its wheels let her trundle about the house as though she’s really there, and even join her parents at the dinner table.