Fewer refrigerants = healthier planet. Under the historic ozone treaty, the use of heat trapping hydrofluorocarbons will be sharply cut and could reduce the projected emissions by 88% over the 21st century.

Smart cities = better traffic. US company Sidewalk Labs will help mid-size cities get "smart" ready with Flow transportation platform that helps traffic data identify bottlnecks and other traffic issues.

Big data = less crime. Patterns in crime data mimic the spread of disease and earthquake aftershocks, making predictive policing possible.

Longest internet cable = highest capacity. Facebook and Google are building the Pacific Light Cable Network — PLCN — that will stretch 8,000 miles from Los Angeles to Hong Kong with an estimated capacity of 120 terabits-per-second.

Driverless cars = easier travel. Uber, Google, Tesla and potentially Apple, along with mainstream automakers, are racing to put a safe driverless car on the road by 2020, taking artificial intelligence and robotics to a new level.