7 ms·

Inside Google's Secret Lab

98 points by tonez 13y ago

andrewlynch 13y ago
The awesome things you can do when your key product masquerades as a mint.
rdl 13y ago
The UAV or aerostat balloon broadband relay thing heavily hinted at in this article is one of the more amazing ideas. Totally feasible with current technology and highly beneficial; it seems like an obvious thing to do even now. I guess I'd care about it more for disaster or conflict zone operations vs. ongoing operations in poor countries (since vastly more money is available in the short term in the first case), but it would probably make sense everywhere. At 50k feet, you can cover a pretty large area with spot beams, and probably do aerostat to aerostat relays. Combined with undersea fiber, you could do a good job of providing high speed communications services to some underserved markets. I assume you'd use high altitude aerostats to provide low bandwidth coverage to large areas, and then local, lower altitude balloons or uavs, fed by the high altitude stuff, in areas of high user density.
- cinquemb 13y ago
  Another use case I see is their potential use at sporting arenas for high profile events, cause you know people get bored/distracted at their football games and congest the network with massive traffic.
  - rdl 13y ago
    Or even more usefully, in random places which have concerts/festivals only infrequently. You'd think a sports stadium could have permanent RF reinforcement gear installed (and just turned on sometimes).
    - cinquemb 13y ago
      Possibly, but maybe it would be cheaper for them to pay for the service from google or whomever (depending on how frequent their network is overly congested) and not have to worry about having special staff on hand to manage something themselves (maybe even the not having to worry about it is enough to shell out cash in itself).
- aristus 13y ago
  psst: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratellite http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratellite
o0-0o 13y ago
Here's hoping the lab is NOT ONLINE. Because maybe it seems that China might possibly want to kind of hack it.
- smallhands 13y ago
  come on google glass in china ! so that the cizitens will photograph and video all the abuse that they are subjected to with the world in real time . i do not think so
  - DigitalTurk 13y ago
    they already have cellphones, you know :)
- evan_ 13y ago
  It's all going to be made in China eventually.
losethos 13y ago
I got a time machine. I forgot, God, how are the moral lessons of Charlie and the Chocolate factory? God says... 18:17 He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him. 18:18 The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty. 18:19 A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle. 18:20 A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. 18:22 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD. 18:23 The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly. --- I wuv You, God. :-) God says... awful do_you_like_it adjusted_for_inflation you_are_my_sunshine how_about_those_yankees one_small_step that's_no_fun threads fortitude I'm_done I'm_not_sure and_then_what no_more_tears
ChuckMcM 13y ago
Perhaps it is just late and I'm cynical but this screamed "hey we're still cool, c'mon see?" There were a series of articles about Microsoft's research projects that had the same vibe. Perhaps it is the BusinessWeek lens. Hard to say. I cringe though on that title, if its a "secret" lab then you wouldn't know about it, so it isn't secret, so what is it?
- ignostic 13y ago
  It's OK - browsing HN all day can make a lot of people cynical. I'm cynical when it comes to cynicism. You don't need to analyze tone and phrasing here. Just look at the facts. Google has employed some of the most diverse and qualified people in the world to work in a lab with funding that most researcher-builders could only dream of. That alone should excite the mind to think of the possibilities. We know the lab continues to develop self-driving cars, and that they've already put a bunch of miles on them. I don't care how cynical you are - that is AMAZING! Self-driving cars will change the world. Even if we can cut the death rate in half, that's over 17,000[1] loved ones who will return home each day rather than dying unexpectedly and without warning. That thought should at least inspire us! This is to say nothing of preventing minor wasteful accidents and injuries so common we measure them in millions.[1] The lab itself might not be secret, but its projects are. Let's not argue meaningless semantics. Judging by the people who have gone into the lab, and the things that have come out so far, there's some pretty awesome stuff happening inside. I for one am thrilled to see what they come up with. [1] http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s1103.pdf http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s1103.p...
  - ChuckMcM 13y ago
    I certainly agree that its great that Google is willing to invest in this stuff, and that reminds me of Xerox PARC from the 1980's. Thus anyone who is looking to research really "out there" sorts of ideas should seek to join Google. I also think that Google should think about the PR tone (which I know they do on many things) for this sort of article too, caveat you really don't get a huge amount of control on how someone is going to use the information you give them, once they get it.
- 13y ago
julianpye 13y ago
I am reminded of my former company's CTO who once told me that true and disruptive R&D can only be done by a company with a monopoly power, so they can hide their true margins in blue-sky work. I for one hope they can do this as long as possible, since I love Google and I love Google X and I worked for two great R&D departments that were cut short on all long-term projects by controllers looking to post higher margins in competitive environments.
michaelochurch 13y ago
Here's an honest question: how do the unluckier 90 percent, who face calibration scores and Perf and closed allocation, not find themselves in revolt when they learn that others work in a blue-sky environment on challenging problems that will build their careers? How is the fact that most people at Google won't get to work on stuff like this not a gigantic HR issue?
- invalidOrTaken 13y ago
  There's your one. Now stay off until tomorrow.
- jnazario 13y ago
  it's usually a mix of things. first, while you may be drawn to that type of work, not everyone is. some people really enjoy the work they do in other parts of the company. second, if you're drawn to it, you need to identify the path to it and the needed qualifications. if you don't make the cut, then you know why. that keeps it from being an exclusive "clique" with no obvious merit-based way in, which helps keep the resentment others may feel (that you bring up) down.
  - seiji 13y ago
    second, if you're drawn to it, you need to identify the path to it and the needed qualifications. if you don't make the cut, then you know why. That's a very Big Corp way of thinking. We don't believe in that. Nobody here starts off in the mailroom and works their way up to CEO in 30 years. You start off as a CEO at 21, say to hell with "experience" and "qualifications" — I'll just learn by doing and figure it out as we go along. Not enough companies have a "learn by doing" on-boarding mentality. Nobody knows what they're doing without the chance to actually do it. (the worst programmers tend to be fresh CS graduates with no real world experience)
    - yuhong 13y ago
      >You start off as a CEO at 21, say to hell with "experience" and "qualifications" — I'll just learn by doing and figure it out as we go along. This reminds me that IMO hiring CEOs based on previous experience at the same job is fundamentally flawed because it creates a paradox.
gregparadee 13y ago
This sounds like something straight out of Wayne Enterprises. I wish more companies could do things like this and see what can be created and achieved. An area that I could see being able to do something like this without having to face Shareholders, management, etc. that most companies have to do is Universities. University students should be able to take advantage of the resources that universities have and universities should encourage this. They could essentially have a new flock of minds every year to help innovate projects. I believe Georgia Tech started something like this a few years ago.

98 points by tonez 13y ago

The awesome things you can do when your key product masquerades as a mint.

rdl 13y ago

The UAV or aerostat balloon broadband relay thing heavily hinted at in this article is one of the more amazing ideas. Totally feasible with current technology and highly beneficial; it seems like an obvious thing to do even now. I guess I'd care about it more for disaster or conflict zone operations vs. ongoing operations in poor countries (since vastly more money is available in the short term in the first case), but it would probably make sense everywhere. At 50k feet, you can cover a pretty large area with spot beams, and probably do aerostat to aerostat relays. Combined with undersea fiber, you could do a good job of providing high speed communications services to some underserved markets. I assume you'd use high altitude aerostats to provide low bandwidth coverage to large areas, and then local, lower altitude balloons or uavs, fed by the high altitude stuff, in areas of high user density.

cinquemb 13y ago
Another use case I see is their potential use at sporting arenas for high profile events, cause you know people get bored/distracted at their football games and congest the network with massive traffic.
- rdl 13y ago
  Or even more usefully, in random places which have concerts/festivals only infrequently. You'd think a sports stadium could have permanent RF reinforcement gear installed (and just turned on sometimes).
  - cinquemb 13y ago
    Possibly, but maybe it would be cheaper for them to pay for the service from google or whomever (depending on how frequent their network is overly congested) and not have to worry about having special staff on hand to manage something themselves (maybe even the not having to worry about it is enough to shell out cash in itself).
aristus 13y ago
psst: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratellite http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratellite

o0-0o 13y ago

Here's hoping the lab is NOT ONLINE. Because maybe it seems that China might possibly want to kind of hack it.

smallhands 13y ago
come on google glass in china ! so that the cizitens will photograph and video all the abuse that they are subjected to with the world in real time . i do not think so
- DigitalTurk 13y ago
  they already have cellphones, you know :)
evan_ 13y ago
It's all going to be made in China eventually.

losethos 13y ago

I got a time machine. I forgot, God, how are the moral lessons of Charlie and the Chocolate factory? God says... 18:17 He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him. 18:18 The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty. 18:19 A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle. 18:20 A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. 18:22 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD. 18:23 The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly. --- I wuv You, God. :-) God says... awful do_you_like_it adjusted_for_inflation you_are_my_sunshine how_about_those_yankees one_small_step that's_no_fun threads fortitude I'm_done I'm_not_sure and_then_what no_more_tears

ChuckMcM 13y ago

Perhaps it is just late and I'm cynical but this screamed "hey we're still cool, c'mon see?" There were a series of articles about Microsoft's research projects that had the same vibe. Perhaps it is the BusinessWeek lens. Hard to say. I cringe though on that title, if its a "secret" lab then you wouldn't know about it, so it isn't secret, so what is it?

ignostic 13y ago
It's OK - browsing HN all day can make a lot of people cynical. I'm cynical when it comes to cynicism. You don't need to analyze tone and phrasing here. Just look at the facts. Google has employed some of the most diverse and qualified people in the world to work in a lab with funding that most researcher-builders could only dream of. That alone should excite the mind to think of the possibilities. We know the lab continues to develop self-driving cars, and that they've already put a bunch of miles on them. I don't care how cynical you are - that is AMAZING! Self-driving cars will change the world. Even if we can cut the death rate in half, that's over 17,000[1] loved ones who will return home each day rather than dying unexpectedly and without warning. That thought should at least inspire us! This is to say nothing of preventing minor wasteful accidents and injuries so common we measure them in millions.[1] The lab itself might not be secret, but its projects are. Let's not argue meaningless semantics. Judging by the people who have gone into the lab, and the things that have come out so far, there's some pretty awesome stuff happening inside. I for one am thrilled to see what they come up with. [1] http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s1103.pdf http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s1103.p...
- ChuckMcM 13y ago
  I certainly agree that its great that Google is willing to invest in this stuff, and that reminds me of Xerox PARC from the 1980's. Thus anyone who is looking to research really "out there" sorts of ideas should seek to join Google. I also think that Google should think about the PR tone (which I know they do on many things) for this sort of article too, caveat you really don't get a huge amount of control on how someone is going to use the information you give them, once they get it.
13y ago

julianpye 13y ago

I am reminded of my former company's CTO who once told me that true and disruptive R&D can only be done by a company with a monopoly power, so they can hide their true margins in blue-sky work. I for one hope they can do this as long as possible, since I love Google and I love Google X and I worked for two great R&D departments that were cut short on all long-term projects by controllers looking to post higher margins in competitive environments.

michaelochurch 13y ago

Here's an honest question: how do the unluckier 90 percent, who face calibration scores and Perf and closed allocation, not find themselves in revolt when they learn that others work in a blue-sky environment on challenging problems that will build their careers? How is the fact that most people at Google won't get to work on stuff like this not a gigantic HR issue?

invalidOrTaken 13y ago
There's your one. Now stay off until tomorrow.
jnazario 13y ago
it's usually a mix of things. first, while you may be drawn to that type of work, not everyone is. some people really enjoy the work they do in other parts of the company. second, if you're drawn to it, you need to identify the path to it and the needed qualifications. if you don't make the cut, then you know why. that keeps it from being an exclusive "clique" with no obvious merit-based way in, which helps keep the resentment others may feel (that you bring up) down.
- seiji 13y ago
  second, if you're drawn to it, you need to identify the path to it and the needed qualifications. if you don't make the cut, then you know why. That's a very Big Corp way of thinking. We don't believe in that. Nobody here starts off in the mailroom and works their way up to CEO in 30 years. You start off as a CEO at 21, say to hell with "experience" and "qualifications" — I'll just learn by doing and figure it out as we go along. Not enough companies have a "learn by doing" on-boarding mentality. Nobody knows what they're doing without the chance to actually do it. (the worst programmers tend to be fresh CS graduates with no real world experience)
  - yuhong 13y ago
    >You start off as a CEO at 21, say to hell with "experience" and "qualifications" — I'll just learn by doing and figure it out as we go along. This reminds me that IMO hiring CEOs based on previous experience at the same job is fundamentally flawed because it creates a paradox.

gregparadee 13y ago

This sounds like something straight out of Wayne Enterprises. I wish more companies could do things like this and see what can be created and achieved. An area that I could see being able to do something like this without having to face Shareholders, management, etc. that most companies have to do is Universities. University students should be able to take advantage of the resources that universities have and universities should encourage this. They could essentially have a new flock of minds every year to help innovate projects. I believe Georgia Tech started something like this a few years ago.