Top 10 Technologies Google is working on.

Source Link: http://www.businessinsider.com/mind-blowing-google-products-on-the-way-2013-7?op=1

Everyone knows Google isn't just a search company.

Besides developing the Android smartphone software and Chromebook Pixel laptops, Google has a ton of other projects and services in the works.

These products are being developed by Google's secret skunkworks group, Google X.

Google X is tasked with building products and services that make the world a better place for everyone. Take for example, blimps that fly high in the sky and provide rural areas with wireless Internet, or the development of new drugs that help doctors to better diagnose patients.

And those are just the tip of the iceberg. Check out the other things Google is hard a work at through Google X and its various other product divisions. 

The Driverless Car Program will one day allow us to drive safer.Google Press ImagesGoogle Glass is already changing how we interact with our smartphones.
Matthew Sumner/Getty ImagesAndroid@Home wants to fully automate our homes.
GoogleAn elevator to space, while unlikely, would change space travel.
Don't PanicGoogle is already developing an Android-powered smartwatch to compete with Apple.
Screenshot/T3Google has stakes in companies that are developing investible sensors to help diagnose illnesses.
Flickr/keri.Google is working to develop blimps that would blanket the world in wireless Internet.
GoogleAn Android-based video game console
Steve Kovach, Business InsiderThe next-generation Google smartphone is on the way, developed by Motorola.
TechBeatGoogle's acquisition of a renewable energy startup would put wind turbines in the sky.
Makani Power
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Google's Driverless car program has been in the works for a few years now. The company has been working with lawmakers to allow testing of autonomous cars on public roads. Google has approval for the project in two states, California and Nevada.

Google has a test fleet of at least ten vehicles that can drive themselves. As of August 2012, the team completed more than 300,000 autonomous-driving miles.

There is no word on when this technology will be commercially available.

Google Glass is a wearable computer that lets you read your tweets, check calendar appointments, the weather, and a ton of other things without pulling your smartphone out. The screen rests right above your field of vision making it easy to glance up to get info.

The gadget is ushering in a new wave of wearable technology for the masses. So far, only a few thousand developers and journalists have access to an early version of Google Glass.

Google is expected to release a consumer version of Glass next year.

Android@Home is Google's home automation technology. It aims to connect your entire house to the internet like something out of a sci-fi movie.

Imagine a day when your refrigerator can order milk for you when you're running low. This is the type of technology that Android@Home will offer.

It also includes connected light bulbs, coffee pots, and other household items.

In 2011, Time Magazine reported that Google added a space elevator project to Google X's list of what-if technologies. 

The space elevator is exactly what the name suggests, a elevator that would ferry riders from earth to space.

We don't expect to see this one anytime soon but its still very interesting that Google has this project on its wish-list.

Note: It's since been pointed out that this space elevator is a myth ... but that could just be Google's way of throwing us off its tracks.

Concept

Reports came out just last week that Google has a smartwatch in the works. The smartwatch will run Google's Android operating system and compete directly with Apple's rumored smartwatch.

We could see this product as early as this year or early next year.

Google has a stake in Adimab, which is a company that creates an integrated antibody discovery and optimization platform. Adimab is taking antibody discovery to a new level by integrating a ton of different technologies to help diagnose and fix health issues by ingesting sensors.

Another Google company, iPierian, uses a technique called "cellular reprogramming" to create new drugs that attack diseases by modifying them.

Google wants to provide the entire world with wireless Internet. Most recently, the company announced plans to develop blimps that would fly above rural regions in Africa and other parts of the world. 

If the effort proves successful, Google would be able to help bring another 1 billion people online.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Google is developing its own Android-based video game system. The game console would compete with Apple's rumored Apple TV, and will let you play Android games on your TV.

Google's smartphone company, Motorola is nearing a release for its first smartphone. The Moto X smartphone will be packed with the latest features and specs. It'll also run Google's mobile operating system Android.

Earlier this year, Google bought wind-turbine startup Makani Power.

The company has its pulse on renewable energy, especially in the wind and solar power space. Google previously invested in the company but since acquiring it, the search giant has pulled Makani into Google X.

Makani most famously was in the process of developing high-altitude wind turbines that fly at heights between 800 and 1,950 feet to generate power.