Analysis essay on five google technologies

Google is one of the most prominent American multinational companies which specialize in internet-related products and services. Google was founded two decades ago, and since its establishment, it has exhibited a gradual but exponential growth. Google Company can be ranked as one of the most successful companies that have seen new technologies being invented and implemented with a short period. Through these technologies, the company now offers a variety of services designed to work and for productivity, for instance, sheets, Google Docs, and slides, emails among others.

In spite of the top quality and high performing status that the company enjoys more research and development is being lounged every day. While the company is best known for their advertising technologies and search, it is important to note that it has a multi-million dollar internet research and development unit or department that works on the cutting edge technologies. With the establishment and invention of more search companies, there is a need for the company to work tirelessly on the cutting edge and help establish a position in the market. Some of the new technologies that the company is working on include; self-driving automobiles, renewable energy, and Google glass among others. This essay is therefore aimed at investigating and analyzing five of the current Google technologies, describing the techniques, highlighting the challenges that Google could face while implementing, stating categorically the environmental impacts and what can be done to overcome negative implications, and analyzing the potential positive and negative effects of these technologies on the societies. The technologies that the essay will focus on include; self-driving automobiles, Google fiber, project loon, renewable energy, and sustainability solutions.

Self-Driving Automobile

Self-driving automobile technology is one of the significant current research and development technologies by Google. The technology has come about as a result of the need and suggestions by many researchers, drivers, and automobile companies to develop and include some drive assistance features. Due to the customer’s willingness to pay and the reduction in the cost or prices has contributed to the recent increased attention and proliferation of the technology. The Waymo Company in partnership with Google has equipped different cars with self-driving features, including the Audi, Toyota Prius, and Lexus. The Google has established and developed its custom automobile, which under the works of the Rush Enterprises and is using the equipment from Continental, ZF Lenksysteme, and Bosch. Of importance, is that the system works with a high definition of a precision map of the road or area on which the automobile is expected to use; this does not exclude the traffic lights rules and how to use them. The technology uses some computational program performed on the remote computer farms. The automobile is fitted with a laser on top which allows the vehicle to generate a comprehensive three-dimensional map of the surrounding environment. Notably, the car combines the generated 3D map with the high-resolution Google maps of the world to produce various types of data models which allows it to drive itself.

Some of the significant challenges that the technology faces include: the difficult in creating maps for self-driving cars – it has been found that many car automobiles are working towards improving their products, and this has created a real problem in the process of addressing the combination of the detailed maps as well as sensors that can spot or sense obstacles on the road. The maps and the sensors must be fitted to work together, and this has been a significant challenge that Google needs to overcome. Driving automobiles requires many other complex social interactions which are not easily realizable by the robots, is another great challenge that needs to overcome by the company. The process of driving involves intricate interactions with other cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers, which forms a far more difficulty hurdle to jump. Another challenge is driving in the bad weather which makes everything trickier – just like our eyes; cars sensors do not work well in the in fog, snow or rain. The last obstacle is the sophisticated process of designing regulations before knowing how safe self-driving automobiles are – the obstacle is not at all concerned with the safety of the automated cars on the road but rather a political question. The politicians are going to ask how safer the self-driving automobiles are and this will result in another hurdle of answering and proving the possibility of the car safety (Bailey, 2014).

There are several proven ways of overcoming the challenges which are: the difficult of self-driving automobile maps can be developed by ensuring that the employees manually drive the automobiles all over the streets to build vibrant and comprehensive three-dimensional maps using Lidar cameras. The obstacle of complex social interaction with other drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists can be overcome by piloting programs and making sure that, the automobiles are fitted with software that can recognize pedestrians, cyclists, and other vehicles and Google Company has been doing this for the last three years. The challenge of bad weather can be overcome by developing more technologies, and the self-driving automobiles will first be lounged in areas which experience fewer periods of bad weather. The obstacle of design regulations will be voided through consultative programs with the political class. Some of the benefits would include reduced road accidents, fast movement of people and goods from one place to another.  As per the article, I do not ascertain the presence of a moral imperative in replacement of human drivers with self-driving automobiles as this will render many jobless, invite new problems such as serious smuggling, police detections, and we will be accountable for our actions (“Forbes Welcome,” 2017).

Boost your grades with a new guide on A+ writing

Learn everything you need about academic writing for free!

Incorrect email. Please check it and try again.

Get it

By continuing, you agree to the Terms & conditions & Privacy policy

Time to excel in writing! The download will start within seconds.

Download

Google Fiber Technology

Google fiber forms a critical section of the Access division of Alphabet Inc. and provides fiber services, IPTV, and broadband internet to very many premises in the United States. Studies carried by Google Company indicated that, in the middle of 2016, Google fiber technology had more than 69,000 television subscribers and was approximated to have more than 450,000 broadband internet customers. Google fiber was started as an experiment project but was later in December 2012 announced a viable business model. The technology experienced an exponential expansion in 2013, and since then the Google Company uses the technology to provide internet services to a large population across the many continents. The Google fiber offers a variety of options depending on the nature of internet strength, quantity, and the location. The services afforded include internet services which are one terabyte of the Google drive and television services of two terabyte DVR. Notably, it has been found out that, the DVR is capable of recording close to nine live television shows at the same time. With the services provided, it is possible to stream live program content on the Android computers and iPad.

It is important to note that, just like any other fiber company, Google will face as many challenges as possible which can be disastrous for the profitability of the project since this would mean increased cost of production. One of the major problems is the issue of the government involved in the whole process of Google fiber implementation in which the company is forced to incur some more cost (government favoritism). The company may as well stop the implementation of the technology if the ordinance Google fiber draft is not passed by the government. The other challenge is the problems attached to the poles which seem to drag the whole process of deploying the internet services; it has been reported that the process of procurement, sinking the poles, and laying down the fibers takes too long. This challenge forms a dilemma for the company since the act of opting for wireless internet supply would be very expensive (Vaughan, 2017).

Notably, there are several ways of overcoming such challenges. Firstly, incorporating the government will and wish would prove way too suitable for Google fiber implementation. Another vital solution would be seeking partnership with other renowned companies to aid in relieving the burden of the cost involved. Lastly, for areas which are densely populated like urban areas, the company should use the broadband internet services which are less expensive. There are several positives that the technology will introduce or has introduced so far. Some of the straight benefits include; fast access to information, through Google fiber terabytes one can stream live program content in the televisions, and the increased generation revenue which would fasten economic growth and development both in the Google Company and the areas where it is installed. The negatives attached to this technology would be increased erosion of morals among the youths who spend most of their free time in the internet, laziness in the working environment, and lack of personal interactions since people are communicating and chatting through video chats and messages. Despite these challenges, if the fiber technology is implemented successfully, the technology will help future managers in the making the administrative and management processes easier by creating websites from formal communication, corrections and submissions will be made (Wakabayashi, 2017).

Renewable Energy and Sustainable solutions

Importantly, the issue of global warming and climate change has been discussed at length with a major focus on nonrenewable and renewable sources of energy. To contain the challenges introduced by the climate change and the resource efficiency requirements, Google Company has come up with renewable energy Google technology to create a more sustainable environment. In spite of the absence of clean energy sources in the data center sites, the company is willing to purchase 100% renewable energy to match the consumption rate for the worldwide operations which include data offices and centers. The act of purchasing renewable sources of energy form the solar and wind systems; the company is adding clean power to the data centers and communities. The owners have worked tirelessly to ensure that the operations of the company the surrounding environment are free from harmful chemicals and carbon substances. The Geo team is now using cloud computing and machine learning to establish or build a living, and breathing dashboard for the planet.  The question of sustainability is fundamental on the matters of energy; this can be ensured by conducting sustainability audit on the renewable energy products to ensure efficient performance in the department. The company has been involved in coming up with sustainability programs in the blog posts, white papers, and on the websites. Through this technology, the Company is now devoted to environment than ever before and believes that all the stakeholders including business organizations, governments, and all citizens have a critical role to play to ensure that we live in an environment that clean and rewarding (“Google engineers,” 2014).

The following are a variety of challenges that the Google Company will face in the implementation process of the technology: firstly, locational mismatch – this implies that the regions with the best renewable power potentiality may not form the best places where data centers operate efficiently and reliably. Secondly, space constraints may form another challenge because the massive amounts of renewable sources of energy plants may require a significant amount of suitable land, which may not be available near the data centers. Lastly, the challenge of intermittency – it is clear that, the data centers operate through the days but this may not be very possible with the renewable sources of energy, and given the complexities of the large-scale energy availability and storage nowadays, it would be impractical to keep the Google’s services and products online.

Some of the economic benefits of using the renewable energy are; creating of thousands of new jobs in the company, the revenue generated by the renewable energy companies is crucial for the growth of many economies, the countries remain committed to tackling the issue of global warming and climate change, improvement of the global welfare, and increase in the global gross domestic income product among others. The technology will result to the closure of very many other companies that specialize with both nonrenewable and renewable energy generation, a quite number of jobs will be lost, and increased competition for the renewable sources of energy. If the technology is implemented successfully, future managers will be able to apply the same knowledge to obtain renewable energy and consequently contribute to the sustainable development (Mearian, 2017).

Project Loon

Project Loon entails a research and development project which is being undertaken by Google with the aim of offering internet services accessible to remote and rural areas. This current technology uses high-altitude balloons to create an aerial wireless network with a range of 3 – 4G speeds. The Google Company with the partnership of engineers plans to place these balloons in the stratosphere at an altitude of approximately 19km. These balloons will be maneuvered by changing their altitude in the stratosphere by considering the wind layer with the most desirable speed and direction using the information and data derived from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The technology users will connect to the network provided by the balloons using special antennae connected to the buildings. The internet services are interconnected and travel from one balloon to then next, and later to a group-based station related to internet service provider (ISP), and later to the world internet.  The technology aims to provide internet access to poorly served areas by the existing provisions, and consequently improve the communications in the events of natural disasters (“Google Funds Technologies,” 2016).

One of significant challenge the Google face in the process of implementing the project loon is political. The success of the project is deeply embedded on how the Google will work out the wakes and the morass of the global international relations. Since Google wants to build a project that knows no borders, there is much to be desired before the project is completed. Another challenge is that project wing may face a ban from various countries, and this could be a big blow to the company. Some researchers say that it is possible for some individuals to restrict the wing internet based on their locations causing accidents. Google wing technology is too sophisticated, and the cost incurred in the process of establishing well functional balloon with fitted internet systems is unbearable. Another issue of concern is increased workforce; the company will be forced to hire more people to increase the labor force needed during the time of implementation.

There are several ways in which Google can overcome this challenges; one could be through establishing clear talks with all governments and stakeholders involved. There are some benefits from the project including; secure communications in areas which are not covered by the present provisions, disaster management improvement, and creation of job opportunities among others. The negatives attached to the project include; increased internet bullying, restriction of access to information, and also the YouTube users may be restricted depending on their locations. The success of the project can be made possible by involving a couple of stakeholders (SPIE, 2015).

Project Wing

Project wing is the proponent that aims at quick delivering of the products from one city to the next using flying vehicles and borrows the idea from the Amazon Prime Air concept. Google announced the project in 2014, but it was started secretly two years ago with full-scale testing procured in Australia. The flying vehicles have been made to take off vertically, then assume a horizontal position to fly around (Toh, 2017). To ensure delivery of the products, it is fitted with sensors that detect when it touches the ground, and detaches from the delivery, and is pulled back into the body of the vehicle. The most current drones that have been developed can now fly close to 115 kilometers per hour, and they are made to take off and land vertically with the help of the dozen or rotors. It is important to note that the drone itself does not touch the ground, so it is constructed in a way to allow the delivery be at a relatively lower position. The technology is being piloted in Australia though the company has not disclosed the size of the drones.

Some of the challenges that Google will still need to overcome include; the safety of taking and landing of the flying vehicles, the issue of moving around the buildings and obstacles without causing accidents remains questionable, another challenge is that project wing may face ban from various countries, and this could be a big blow to the company. Some researchers say that it is possible for some individuals to restrict the wing internet based on their locations causing accidents. There are several ways through which Google can overcome this challenges; one could be through establishing clear talks with all governments and stakeholders involved (Bort, 2017).

Some of the positives that come with technology include; the use of flying vehicles could cut both fuels used, and pollutants emitted in the atmosphere, decreased road accidents, efficiency in transport systems, and fast growth and development. A variety of negatives have been spotted with the technology; massive loss of employment to the human drivers, the rate of smuggling may rise, and in case severe weather, movement of people and goods will be delayed. Also of importance to note it the fact that, these drones as currently constituted do not have the power to travel for long distances and hence cannot transfer goods from one country or region to another but preferably, they are constituted to operate with cities in a given region. The project would become important to the societies only if reliable approaches and methods are applied to ensure the safety of the flying vehicles. Last one thing to consider is the issue of security, what measures the company is willing to put in place to ensure that the drones are secure and that people’s property arrives safely every time the flying vehicle takes off. This forms some of the questions that the company needs to answer to arrive at the successful implementation of the project.

Conclusion

Notably, the company’s exponential and rapid growth has led to the birth of a chain of products, partnerships, and acquisitions beyond the Google’s core Google search. With the aim of improving people’s lives, the company has coherently relied on both the missions and visions to come up with new technologies through extensive researches and development. Of importance to note is that the company has utilized and is further applying more resources both concerning human labor, material, and financial resources to establish a more prominent empire from which people’s lives will be made easier than before. For instance, through continuous research and development in the company, it is now possible to take photos of an object or objects that are many kilometers away from one’s living room. Through Google it is currently possible to schedule and ensure time management by use of Google calendars, cloud storage, social networking, instant messaging, language translation, video sharing, turn by turn navigation, note taking, mapping, and video chatting.