Google’s Sidewalk Labs targets smart cities
Based in New York, Sidewalk Labs will be focused on improving efforts in areas like cost of living, housing, energy, transportation and government. The "urban innovation" company will be led by CEO Dan Doctoroff, former CEO of Bloomberg LP and Deputy Mayor of Economic Development and Rebuilding for the City of New York.
On announcing the new company, Doctoroff said, "We are at the beginning of a historic transformation in cities. At a time when the concerns about urban equity, costs, health and the environment are intensifying, unprecedented technological change is going to enable cities to be more efficient, responsive, flexible and resilient. We hope that Sidewalk will play a major role in developing technology products, platforms and advanced infrastructure that can be implemented at scale in cities around the world."
The company sees new technologies like ubiquitous connectivity, the Internet of Things, and building automation as offering the potential to enable cities to deal with problems in real time. Specifically, the company hopes to help address challenges such as making transportation more efficient, lowering the cost of living, reducing energy usage, and helping government operate more efficiently.
Google’s CEO Larry Page described Google’s investment in the new company as "relatively modest," but expects it to have a significant impact on people’s live. Page compared Sidewalk Labs to Google’s research Lab, Google X, and to Calico, a Google-funded R&D company focused on using advanced technologies to combat aging and related diseases.
Sidewalk Labs: www.sidewalkinc.com
Calico Labs: www.calicolabs.com
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