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Bumblebee Spaces, based in San Francisco, uses motorized modules to enable people to make use of the vacant space just below their ceilings. Via an app, customers can raise or lower storage containers, closets, desks, and even beds (!) depending on their needs at a given moment. Bumblee aims to double or triple a room’s storage capacity; in the words of founder Sankarshan Murthy, "You are already paying for all this air and ceiling space you are not using. We unlock that for you." The system also uses AI to ‘tag’ items that are stowed away, and lets users check them in or out (similar to a library), so they can be quickly retrieved.

There will be BIG opportunities in SMALL solutions, as sky-high real estate prices mean that millions of urbanites around the globe find themselves struggling to keep up. Hence the onslaught of tiny homes, O-Pods for space-deprived Asian millennials, and now, Bumblebee Spaces.

Not in real estate? Consider these broader innovation insights:

• Consumers don’t want compromise! The best innovations let consumers satisfy two (or more) seemingly conflicting needs and wants: in this case, users can enjoy convenience, materialistic consumerism and experience-rich city living all at once.

• Digital expectations are coming to all areas of the physical world. Customers won’t tolerate it if physical objects can’t be accessed on-demand, like digital assets. Why can’t everything be easily and quickly summoned via an app?

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