(L-R): Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic unveiled its newest spaceship VSS Unity; after a five-year, 2.8 billion kilometre journey, NASA put a small, but mighty spacecraft into the closest orbit ever with Jupiter; the world’s highest base jump – a 90 second freefall from the sixth tallest peak in the world.

TORONTO (December 15, 2016) – From the hottest high-tech game changers to the high stakes race to fly tourists to space, Discovery’s flagship program DAILY PLANET hits rewind to revisit 2016 and bring viewers the brilliant and bizarre science and tech stories that made headlines with the one-hour special 2016: YEAR IN SCI-TECH, premiering Friday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. ET on Discovery.

Shifting focus from a look back to lightyears ahead, the world’s only nightly science series kicks off 2017 with a bold look to the future with “Future Tech Week”, beginning Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. ET through Friday, Jan. 9. Anchored by Ziya Tong from the 2017 International CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, and Dan Riskin in-studio from Toronto, DAILY PLANET takes viewers behind the scenes with unprecedented access to the masterminds behind the future-forward gadgets that could shape the future.

Data from Numeris confirms that during the 2015/16 broadcast year, “Future Tech Week” was the top DAILY PLANET theme week for total viewers and across all key adult demographics. Throughout the week (Jan. 4-8, 2016), the fan-favourite theme week reached more than 2 million viewers.

2016: YEAR IN SCI-TECH
Friday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. ET
In 2016, technology advanced faster and further than ever before. DAILY PLANET has canvassed the world in search of the best and most fascinating science and tech stories of the year for it’s year-end special, 2016: YEAR IN SCI-TECH. Over the course of the action-packed hour, Tong and Riskin revisit the year’s most amazing techological achievements and scientific breakthroughs, including sending a spacecraft into the heart of Jupiter, the race to fly tourists to space, the future of personal travel in a 1,000 kilometre-per-hour hyperloop, and teaching paralyzed monkeys to walk. 2016: YEAR IN SCI-TECH also showcases the hottest technologies, from self-driving cars to Snapchat Spectacles, the Pokemon craze, the coolest virtual reality headsets, as well as mind-blowing, world record breakers – from the highest base jump to the farthest hover board flight in history. Click here for a sneak peek.

DAILY PLANET’s “Future Tech Week”
Tuesday, Jan. 3 – Friday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. ET
Highlights from the future-forward week include:

“Furhat”

Furhat belongs to the world of the Jetsons – it’s a robot with character and personality. This computer is super lifelike – it smiles, frowns, and raises its eyebrows just like humans do during conversation…and with a sense of humour to boot! Furhat understands humans –  it knows when it’s being spoken to and when to join in on the conversation. Furhat is the next revolution in human-computer interaction –  and it can change voice and appearance from male to female. DAILY PLANET  learns how Furhat might just be the next generation of artificial intelligence receptionist, teacher, therapist, and entertainer.

“Drone Cafe”

Tessie Hartjes is replacing bartenders with drones. Seriously! Hartjes is a Dutch student and the co-founder of Bluejay – the world’s first ever pop-up drone café designed to give visitors a glance at the future. Drones buzz about, servicing customers who communicate their orders with a special colour-coded menu. Selections are then communicated to other drones designed to pick up the drink and deliver it to the table. Hartjes wants to make the system even more high tech by implementing obstacle avoidance, and DAILY PLANET  is there as she tests the new system.

“Food Ink”

Something brand new is taking aim at taste buds: 3D-printed food. It looks gorgeous, but how does it taste? DAILY PLANET takes its cameras to the world’s first restaurant where not only the tables, plates, and cutlery are 3D printed, but also everything on the menu.

“Glider Yachts”

It looks like something straight out of a James Bond film. The Glider Yacht is truly a catamaran designed for 007. The craft glides along the water using two 18-metre twin hulls and is powered by four 270-horsepower engines. The price tag? $900,000. DAILY PLANET climbs abourd during sea trials of the super-yacht prototype that’s about to revolutionize luxury sea travel.

“Lunar Rover”

The Google Lunar X Prize is a worldwide contest offering $20 Million U.S. to the first private space team to land a rover on the moon, traverse 500 metres, and send back HD imagery to Earth. DAILY PLANET is there as the Japanese team gets ready to give its brand new lunar rover its first lunar surface-like test.

“World Drones”

The Olympics of the unmanned aerial vehicles, the World Drone Racing Championship, gathered nearly 200 of the fastest drone pilots from around the world to battle it out last summer for the championship title, and DAILY PLANET was there as the winner was crowned.