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It's a neat idea, and one I think people won't be able to appreciate until the killer app hits, possibly in fitness or high-end suits. As far as I'm concerned,

It's a neat idea, and one I think people won't be able to appreciate until the killer app hits, possibly in fitness or high-end suits. As far as I'm concerned, it's just neat research being backed by Google with no obvious ulterior motive, and that works fine for me.

freyr 11y ago
Google's business is targeted advertising. Its competitive advantage is knowing more about you than other advertisers. Obviously, embedding clothing sensors could collect and deliver tremendous amounts of information about a person and their habits. It's aligned with Google's interests in an obvious way, and it would be naive to think this is lost on the decision makers at Google. That's not to say it's bad. Google's ATAP program is modeled on DARPA, which has funded many military-oriented research programs that have delivered advancements that extend beyond military applications. Yet all DARPA programs have some obvious or non-obvious military value. I imagine ATAP works the same way, funding ambitious projects that have high potential value for Google's primary business, but also have potential for broader impact.
- Navarr 11y ago
  I'm not sure there's any sort of technology that does not somehow benefit Google's model. Perhaps Encryption? Then why does ATAP have Project Vault?
  - MichaelGG 11y ago
    Strong, usable end to end crypto is probably not very feasible. But doing user friendly crypto makes people feel secure and gets them sharing more online. The NSA stuff could only have hurt Google, so it's obviously in their own interest to make sure they control the connection fully to the end user.
- btian 11y ago
  That's bullshit and you know it. Google is a large company with many businesses. How is Google Cloud Platform related to advertising? Nest? Liftware? Google Docs? Fact is advertising is cyclical, and Google is aggressively diversifying away from it.
  - freyr 11y ago
    > Google is a large company with many businesses. Yes, many tiny, unprofitable "businesses" that contribute little to nothing to Google's bottom line, except through direct or indirect support of the advertising business that generates the vast majority of its revenue.
    - cromwellian 11y ago
      You have it exactly backwards. Google's Ads business throws off massive amounts of cash to spend on R&D diversifying away from Ads. The Ads business is maxing out, you cant generate 20% revenue growth per year by continuing to have a 97% ads business model. This "oh, but they're going to use it for ads" meme is pure lazy and sloppy thinking.
      - deleted 11y ago
        [deleted]
ngoel36 11y ago
A start for fitness is already here - it might not be the "killer app", but it has the potential to become so one day - liveathos.com

freyr 11y ago

Google's business is targeted advertising. Its competitive advantage is knowing more about you than other advertisers. Obviously, embedding clothing sensors could collect and deliver tremendous amounts of information about a person and their habits. It's aligned with Google's interests in an obvious way, and it would be naive to think this is lost on the decision makers at Google. That's not to say it's bad. Google's ATAP program is modeled on DARPA, which has funded many military-oriented research programs that have delivered advancements that extend beyond military applications. Yet all DARPA programs have some obvious or non-obvious military value. I imagine ATAP works the same way, funding ambitious projects that have high potential value for Google's primary business, but also have potential for broader impact.

Navarr 11y ago
I'm not sure there's any sort of technology that does not somehow benefit Google's model. Perhaps Encryption? Then why does ATAP have Project Vault?
- MichaelGG 11y ago
  Strong, usable end to end crypto is probably not very feasible. But doing user friendly crypto makes people feel secure and gets them sharing more online. The NSA stuff could only have hurt Google, so it's obviously in their own interest to make sure they control the connection fully to the end user.
btian 11y ago
That's bullshit and you know it. Google is a large company with many businesses. How is Google Cloud Platform related to advertising? Nest? Liftware? Google Docs? Fact is advertising is cyclical, and Google is aggressively diversifying away from it.
- freyr 11y ago
  > Google is a large company with many businesses. Yes, many tiny, unprofitable "businesses" that contribute little to nothing to Google's bottom line, except through direct or indirect support of the advertising business that generates the vast majority of its revenue.
  - cromwellian 11y ago
    You have it exactly backwards. Google's Ads business throws off massive amounts of cash to spend on R&D diversifying away from Ads. The Ads business is maxing out, you cant generate 20% revenue growth per year by continuing to have a 97% ads business model. This "oh, but they're going to use it for ads" meme is pure lazy and sloppy thinking.
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]

ngoel36 11y ago

A start for fitness is already here - it might not be the "killer app", but it has the potential to become so one day - liveathos.com