Introduction
In this fast changing world of technology and engineering, companies that have exceled in innovation have done better than others. Either one needs to come up with a product technically far superior to the competitors or come up with a product concept that is novel. The likes of Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo and Google have shown that capability time and again to beat its competition. The story does not end there. There is more than just one time innovation required to remain on the top of the market for a long time or else the success would be a short time phenomenon like Xerox which people will forget with the passage of time. Google seems to be heading in the right direction to remain on the top of the pile in terms of leading the market in innovation and revenue generation. In this essay we will discuss how Google is trying to change the future for all of us and by doing that creating a strong future for itself.
Google already is synonymous with search engine. It also leads the market in mobile operating system. It has the biggest email user base in the world. Google is already a giant in technology space but Google leadership understands that to remain ahead of competition they need to innovate continuously or else they may face some stern challenges like Yahoo in the coming days. Some of its revolutionary products are still in the pipeline. Google is investing its resources in developing technologies that would revolutionize our life. Below goes a list of the technologies that Google will be launching in future.
Google Glass
Google Glass is a revolutionary project underway which if becomes a reality would change the way we see the world. Google Glass is a wearable computer designed in the shape of a sunglass with an inbuilt optical head-mounted display. It would process information and interact with the internet by voice commands of the user. With this device one would be able to do texting, use social media, navigate through GPS, take photos and videos and share them with friends.
Google Driverless Car
Google Driverless Car is another innovation we would be seeing in future. This car would be controlled by artificial intelligence which would process the information received from the video cameras installed inside the car, radar and sensors positioned at different places of the car. This car would give independence and flexibility to those unable to drive cars all by themselves. Though this car is not commercially available now, it has driven 1609 kms successfully without human commands (Falcon).
Google Home Automation System
Another technology Google is expected to launch within few years from now on is home automation through Android@Home which would allow the operating system to connect to every device at home that is powered by electricity such as bulbs, refrigerator, TV, coffee machines, washing machine and so on. With this technology in service, one doesn't need to get into the kitchen to run coffee machine. He can order for coffee right from sitting in the bed.
Biometric Pattern Recognition
Google has recently acquired a company called Behavio. This company specializes in analysis of behavior based on different input criterion. Google is planning to put some devices to collect data about people and their surroundings which may be fitted into their laptops or mobile phones or tablets. It records all the behavioral patterns of the user and stores it. After some time if the user asks the Google search device about why he is having a headache today then it may come up with an answer based on the user’s previous headache patterns. It may suggest that whenever the user talks to someone specific or sleeps late at night he gets a headache. Google is developing it to collect data for individuals and even a group.
Other Innovations
Google’s nerve center is its innovation center in California called Google X. In this lab Google is nurturing hundreds of ideas. For example, sending an elevator to space, sending a robot to cover up for you in office, automatically place an order online based on the inventory situation in the refrigerator, robots which would do all the mundane tasks like making coffee or bread omelet for us, production of renewable sources of energy and so on.
In near future Google is going to offer a delivery service that would enable people order items from different local stores on the internet and receive them at the comfort of their homes and office within a day. This service would come in a package that would allow people to give payment through cellphones by using Google Wallet, daily deal offers from Google and applications which would showcase location based product information for local stores. This delivery service would make the online shopping experience easier when people could easily buy products from a local retailer or local branches of different chains of market and get the items delivered at their preferred destination by Google (Miller).
Conclusion
We can clearly see that Google does not lack in product innovations. It is all geared up to introduce products which will be market beaters. However, Google needs to be cautious about over-engineering a product. Sometimes a product may be excellent in features but may not be commercially viable. Google in this mad rush of innovation should not lose focus on the balance between creativity and marketability. If that can be done properly nobody in the recent future will be more successful than Google.
Works Cited
Miller, Claire Cain. A New Google Venture, and Another Web Boundary Line Is Nudged, New York Times. 1 December 2011. Web. 25 June 2013 <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/02/technology/companies/a-new-google-venture-nudges-web-boundaries.html>
Falcon, Alvaris. 10 Upcoming Technology That May Change The World, Hongkiat.com. Web. 25 June 2013 http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/revolutionary-products/
Jackson, Christopher. Is Google the most innovative tech company on the planet?. TNW, The Next Web. 8 Sep 2012. Web. 25 June 2013
