The search engine giant is yet again diversifying its products. Android Central announced that Google has co-created a startup that focuses on “developing innovative technologies to improve cities.”
The startup is called Sidewalk Labs, and Dan Doctoroff, former CEO of Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor of Economic Development and Rebuilding for the City of New York, will be its CEO.
"We are at the beginning of a historic transformation in cities,” Doctoroff said in a statement. “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."
Google CEO Larry Page believes that focusing on innovation for cities is an opportunity to improve the lives of billions of people around the world.
“With Sidewalk, we want to supercharge existing efforts in areas such as housing, energy, transportation, and government to solve real problems that city-dwellers face every day,” Page said in a statement. “Every time I talk with Dan I feel an amazing sense of opportunity because of his passion for all the ways technology can help transform cities to be more livable, flexible and vibrant. And when you combine that with his experience as an investor, in NYC government, and as CEO of the large information company Bloomberg LP, I can't imagine a better person to lead these efforts."
Related Stories
Sponsored | BIM and Information Technology | Sep 19, 2017
BIM vs VDC…how the US and the UK differ in approaching digital project delivery
In this four-part series, Bluebeam VP Sasha Reed sat down with industry experts to examine the need for defining and understanding digital workflows and data management throughout the design and construction project lifecycle.
Sponsored | BIM and Information Technology | Aug 28, 2017
3D scanning solution brought in to beat the heat on challenging fuel pipe demolition and replacement project
Acensium is an engineering consulting services firm with a focus on material handling retrofit projects and 3D scanning for as-built reality capture.
AEC Tech | Aug 25, 2017
Software cornucopia: Jacksonville Jaguars’ new practice facility showcases the power of computational design
The project team employed Revit, Rhino, Grasshopper, Kangaroo, and a host of other software applications to design and build this uber-complex sports and entertainment facility.
Office Buildings | Jul 20, 2017
SGA uses virtual design and construction technology to redevelop N.Y. building into modern offices
287 Park Avenue South is a nine-story Classical Revival building previously known as the United Charities Building.
Accelerate Live! | Jul 6, 2017
Watch all 20 Accelerate Live! talks on demand
BD+C’s inaugural AEC innovation conference, Accelerate Live! (May 11, Chicago), featured talks on machine learning, AI, gaming in construction, maker culture, and health-generating buildings.
Sponsored | BIM and Information Technology | Jun 13, 2017
Project information management for dummies
| Jun 13, 2017
Accelerate Live! talk: Is the road to the future the path of least resistance? Sasha Reed, Bluebeam (sponsored)
Bluebeam’s Sasha Reed discusses why AEC leaders should give their teams permission to responsibly break things and create ecosystems of people, process, and technology.
| Jun 13, 2017
Accelerate Live! talk: Incubating innovation through R&D and product development, Jonatan Schumacher, Thornton Tomasetti
Thornton Tomasetti’s Jonatan Schumacher presents the firm’s business model for developing, incubating, and delivering cutting-edge tools and solutions for the firm, and the greater AEC market.
| Jun 13, 2017
Accelerate Live! talk: The future of computational design, Ben Juckes, Yazdani Studio of CannonDesign
Yazdani’s Ben Juckes discusses the firm’s tech-centric culture, where scripting has become an every-project occurrence and each designer regularly works with computational tools as part of their basic toolset.
