Google has some of the most promising technologies in development, including driverless cars, delivery drones, wearable technology including smart glasses and contact lenses as well as smart clothing, stratospheric Internet, home automation, space elevators, and advanced robotics. While many of these projects “do not see the light of day” because they do not make it past the initial research phase, some certainly will (“10 Projects Showing Google Has The Future Figured Out,” n.d., p. 1). Driverless cars are on the brink of mass production and implementation, but several other Google technologies are worth researching for my final case studies because of their feasibility. The other four Google projects I would like to research include the delivery drones, modular phones, wearable tech, smart medicine, and Internet balloons.
Delivery drones are nothing new; Amazon has been toying with the idea for years (Ingham, 2014). However, Google Project Wing is not just about delivering packages to consumers. According to Ingham (2014), Google Project Wing develops its drones not just for commerce but also for humanitarian purposes: such as providing emergency relief supplies. The technology is surprisingly a long way away from being implemented due to regulations related to airspace and safety, but this technology...
The concept of Project Ara is to turn the ordinary smartphone into a modular device, which some have described as being similar to Lego (“10 Projects Showing Google Has The Future Figured Out,” n.d.). With a Project Ara device, the user can, for example, upgrade the entire camera, install a new battery easily, or add new speakers (Chokkatu, 2016).
Project Jacquard takes wearable tech to a whole new level. Particularly suited to people who run or cycle regularly, wearable clothing may be the wave of the future. With special threads woven into the fabric, users can interface with technology rather than having to carry around their devices (Chokkatu, 2016). The technology allows the fabrics to be machine-washable, and the technology can be controlled with gestures, which links this project with other hands-free gestural controls that comprise Project Soli (Chokkatu, 2016).
Google’s foray into biotech does not receive as much media attention as fun gadgets, but could become the most important innovations yet. According to Mack (2011), Google has at least one medical company using advanced technology such as “cellular reprogramming,” and speeding up…
