Google wants to have self driving cars populating the streets, Google Glass on everyone’s face, and modular phones in everyone’s pockets. Cofounder Larry Page writes on G+ that Sidewalk Labs intends to tackle cost of living, transportation efficiency and energy usage by creating and fostering what he calls urban technologies.
The former head of Bloomberg LP and New York City’s Deputy Mayor of Economic Development Dan Doctoroff is leading the project as CEO, from New York. The project wants to make bike lanes safer, help build better public transport, and help build more green space in cities. This could be spurred by San Francisco and the housing crunch and high prices that the city is experiencing.
Google could use it Nest products to make cities safer by being more connected through Nest Protect and Nest Thermostat. By being able to monitoring energy usage with the nest thermostat communities could better plan when to cut back on energy usage and when it’s a better idea to run the washing machine. The Nest Protect could make apartments and houses safer by sending alerts to not only you but also emergency services. These are just some possibilities that Google could do with the technologies and services that already own.
Tell us in the comments below what you think about Google’s Sidewalk Labs.