Google's Search for the Future
Google is reportedly planning to launch a
ride-sharing service, most likely in its driverless cars, to take on the likes
of Uber, in which it is an investor, and Lyft. The company with a $364-billion market
cap, which is synonymous with its search engine and Android mobile operating
system, has been dabbling in various interesting "moonshot" projects,
at its semi-secretive Google X lab, and has even got flak from investors for
doing too many things. ET Magazine shines a light on some of them:
PROJECT
LOON
One of Google’s most ambitious projects, Project
Loon began with a pilot test in New Zealand’s South Island in June 2013. The
project aims to connect inhabitants of the world’s remote and rural areas to
the internet through balloons. Yes, you heard that right! Balloons are floated
20 km above the earth’s surface and they use telecom companies’ spectrum to
provide connectivity using long-term evolution (LTE) technology. Each balloon
can provide connectivity to a ground area about 40 km in diameter
SMART
CONTACT LENS
Google announced in January 2014 that it was
developing a contact lens with a wireless chip and a tiny
sensor to measure glucose levels in tears once a second. The company is also
working on putting LED on the lens, which will blink when the blood sugar level
is high or low. A few months after the announcement, pharma company Novartis
joined hands with Google to develop products based on Google’s smart lens
technology
BASELINE STUDY
As part of the
project Google plans to collect anonymous genetic and molecular information of
175 people initially — and many more later — to find patterns or biomarkers in the
information, which will help doctors detect diseases earlier. Theproject is
part of the growing life sciences division of Google X. In September last year,
Google bought Lift Labs, which makes spoons and forks that make eating easier
for people with tremors due to Parkinson’s Disease or other motion disorders
PROJECT TANGO
Mobile cameras
today can only capture what fits within the screen, which is what Project Tango
hopes to change. Google wants mobile devices to capture your environment in 3D,
making a quarter million 3D measurements every second. What this means is a
visually challenged person can walk unhindered in a new building and you can
avoid physical measurements and just walk around your house with your phone
before you shop for furniture. While Google has already released Project Tango
tablet and phone prototypes to developers, consumers are expected to get a
taste of the tablet this year
CANCER-DETECTING BRACELET
In what could only
be termed futuristic, Google is developing a fitness band-like bracelet which
will help identify cancer cells when they first appear. The wearer of the
bracelet will have to take a pill which has nanoparticles which circulate in
the body looking for cancer cells. Once they find cancer cells, the particles
attach to them and the cells light up. The combo then makes it way underneath
the bracelet which has a magnet that attracts nanoparticles. Google is also
developing synthetic human skin for its tests
SELF-DRIVING CAR
Probably Google’s
most famous project along with the Glass, the car could well be a reality on
roads soon. While Google had been testing its technology in regular cars, in
May 2014 the company unveiled a prototype it had developed, with two seats, no
steering wheel and a top speed of km per hour. Google co-founder Sergey Brin,
who heads Google X, has said self-driving cars will be available for consumers
by 2017. Germany recently created laws for driverless cars. In the US,
Washington DC, Nevada, Florida and California have regulations, too
GOOGLE GLASS
Announced with
much fanfare in 2012, Google Glass had an uneventful run before the sale of its
test units to consumers was halted by the company last month. A device that
would not be out of place in a sci-fi movie, it helps the wearer make and
answer calls, send messages, take pictures and videos, get directions and
video-chat, among other asic functions. The device’s exorbitant price ($1,500),
limited apps, and privacy concerns generated a lukewarm response to it. Google
has said it plans to reboot the wearable computer, which has been moved out of
Google X and into a mainstream products division, before bringing it to the
market again
G
SEETHARAMAN ETM8FEB15
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