Google Unveils Autonomous Car, Wind Farms Search Giant Reorganizes for Location and Out-of-Box Ventures

Google has long been known as a company very much under the influence of its heavily engineering-oriented workforce. In its dominant business area, Internet search, this engineering approach has faired Google well, as it now commands about two-thirds of the net search market and more of the advertising revenues that can be gained from search. Now, as the company takes advantage of a reorganization to focus on location-based search and search advertising opportunities, some of the other sides of Google’s engineering orientation are coming into public view. This month, Google unveiled two ambitious projects:

• an autonomous car, one that can drive, on “its” own, down a crowded Interstate highway without error; and,
• investment in a business venture that aims to supply energy to the East Coast of the United States from offshore wind farms.