Home Automation
For years we've been hearing about a refrigerator that orders milk for
you when you're running low, but Google wants to expand the idea to the
entire home. Its Android @Home
platform already has connected light bulbs, coffee pots, and more in
the works. On top of that, Google has its
eye on moving beyond the home, to a much broader "Internet of Things."
At the company's most recent developer conference, it rolled out its
open accessory development kit for Android, inviting makers
everywhere to get busy connecting anything from small gadgets to big
machines.
Robots
Google is reportedly running a secret division dubbed "Google X," which
includes a lab in an undisclosed location where robots rule the
roost, according to the New York Times. There's no evidence of an
army of T-1000s being built somewhere underground in Silicon Valley,
however. Apparently Google is trying to build bots to perform all sorts
of mundane tasks around the home and office (such as making coffee or
copies), which will give humans greater flexibility to work remotely and
focus on higher-level duties.
Driverless Cars
At
Google, cars aren't just a means of transportation--they're also an
engineering problem to be solved with piles of data and cash. It just
makes
sense that the company that provides directions and street-level data
for all locations should make the cars to take you to them as well. The
New
York Times reports that part of Google's plan could be to show
passengers location-based ads for the businesses the self-driving cars
whiz past.
Elevators to Space
Believe it or not, Google is just one of a number of organizations and
individuals interested in setting up the infrastructure to leave Earth's
atmosphere without the use of rocket propulsion. Space elevators
are reportedly another
project on the Google X agenda (see previous slide). The idea is to run a
ribbon from Earth to a counterweight in orbit that allows easy access
to
space for all kinds of scientific experimentation and other ventures.
Many people believe that we could have such lifts operational in less
than a
decade.
Clean Energy
Developing renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and geothermal
power is one of the main goals of Google's nonprofit arm, Google.org.
The project concentrates on solar-powered turbine
engines to create electricity, as well as on low-cost heliostats, which
are mirrors that track the sun and concentrate solar energy. Google also
supports efforts to map the world's potential geothermal
energy sources. The
goal is to create renewable sources that are cheaper than burning coal,
which currently generates most of the power in the United States.
New Drugs
Google is interested in investing in new ways to fight disease. Its
investment portfolio includes a stake in Adimab, which uses a novel
approach involving yeast cells to speed up the
discovery of new antibodies. Another Google company, iPierian, uses a
technique called
"cellular reprogramming" to create new drugs that attack diseases by
modifying them.
Climate Change Insurance
A number of Google's investments in companies through its Google
Ventures
wing also have an eye toward the future. One of the companies in the
portfolio is The Climate
Corporation, which sells weather insurance for farmers to protect their
businesses from increasingly unpredictable conditions and extreme
weather.
Smart Thermostats
A Google future seems to involve making everything smarter, from drugs
to cars and even home thermostats. This idea is one of the driving
forces behind NEST,
the sci-fi climate-control system that learns the best way to keep your
home comfortable--while also saving on energy bills. NEST has already
rolled out to some customers, and a waiting list has formed for the next
batch.
Cancer Treatment
Fighting cancer fits perfectly with the do-good theme present in many of
Google's investments. Google Ventures put some money into Foundation
Medicine, which combines genomic and molecular data to create a new
approach to cancer care. Perhaps curing cancer is just another
engineering problem.
Predicting the Future
Google is so committed to the future, it should come as no surprise that
the company is even interested in predicting it. Another Google
investment is in Recorded Future, a company that seeks to parse the universe of
information available online for clues about what's to come.
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