The TV industry is steadily embracing digital as people consume more live, linear, and on-demand content across all screens. This presents both exciting opportunities and interesting challenges as we navigate this new space and build for the future of the TV experience. As part of this shift, we recently announced Google Ad Manager’s advanced TV solutions to help our partners deliver seamless, personalized, and measurable commercial experiences everywhere audiences are watching.
This fall, alongside several of our partners, we’re participating in two events to share how we’re bringing the power of digital to advanced TV: the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show in New York and TV Week New York City. These forums are some of the best places to learn about industry trends, new technologies, and how to provide high-quality experiences as the TV landscape evolves.
We hope you’ll join us at these events to learn more about how we’re reimagining the commercial break and taking television into the future with our partners.
National Association of Broadcasters Show:
The NAB comes to the Javits Convention Center in New York City from October 17 - 18 and features three Google Ad Manager sessions at its Streaming Summit.
TV Week returns to New York City on October 29 - November 1, bringing together leaders across broadcast, cable, advertising and technology to discuss emerging trends in the TV industry. You can find Google Ad Manager sessions at the Advanced Advertising Summit and Next TV Summit.
Thursday, November 1 - Advanced Advertising Summit
We’re excited to share insights into the future of advanced TV at these events, and we hope to see you there. Learn more about the NAB Show NY and NYC TV Week.
Electricity is the fuel that allows our data centers to deliver billions of Google searches, YouTube views, and much more—every single day, around the clock. Our commitment to carbon-free energy should be around the clock too.
Today we published an inside look at the sources of Google's electricity around the globe, to gauge how we're tracking toward our long-term aspiration of sourcing carbon-free energy on a truly 24x7 basis. Our new discussion paper highlights how some of our data centers—like the one in Hamina, Finland—are already performing remarkably well on this front. The paper shares location-specific “Carbon Heat Maps” to visualize how well a data center is matched with carbon-free energy on an hour-by-hour basis. For Hamina, a heat map shows that 97 percent of the facility’s electricity use last year was matched with carbon-free sources.
Last year, 97 percent of our Finland data center’s electricity use was matched on an hourly basis with carbon-free sources.
The predominance of carbon-free energy at our Finland data center is partly due to Google’s purchases of wind energy in the Nordic region. Indeed, our large-scale procurement of wind and solar power worldwide is a cornerstone of our sustainability efforts, and has made Google the world’s largest corporate buyer of renewable energy. Last year we matched 100 percent of our annual electricity consumption with renewable energy purchases, and will continue to do so as we grow.
In many cases, we’ve partnered with local utilities and governments to increase the supply of renewable energy in the regions where we operate. For example, near our data center in Lenoir, NC, we worked with our local electricity supplier to establish one of the first utility solar purchase programs in the U.S. Solar alone, however, is unable to provide electricity around the clock. When the sun is shining, our Lenoir data center is quite carbon-free (indicated by the midday green ribbon in the Carbon Heat Map below), but at nighttime it’s more carbon-intensive; we plan to tackle this issue in the coming years by procuring additional types of carbon-free energy.
Last year, 67 percent of our North Carolina data center’s electricity use was matched on an hourly basis with carbon-free sources.
The Carbon Heat Maps demonstrate that there are times and places where our electricity profile is not yet fully carbon-free. They suggest that our 100 percent renewable energy purchasing goal—which relies on buying surplus renewable energy when it’s sunny and windy, to offset the lack of renewable energy supply in other situations—is an important first step toward achieving a fully carbon-free future. Ultimately, we aspire to source carbon-free energy for our operations in all places, at all times.
Creating a carbon-free future will be no easy feat, but the urgency of climate change demands bold solutions. Our discussion paper identifies several key actions that we and the rest of the world must take—including doubling down on renewable energy purchases in a greater number of regions—to achieve 24x7 carbon-free energy. We have our work cut out for us and couldn’t be more excited to push forward.
Editor’s note:TensorFlow, our open source machine learning platform, is just that—open to anyone. Companies, nonprofits, researchers and developers have used TensorFlow in some pretty cool ways and at Google, we're always looking to do the same. Here's one of those stories.
Chinese shadow puppetry—which uses silhouette figures and music to tell a story—is an ancient Chinese art form that’s been used by generations to charm communities and pass along cultural history. At Google, we’re always experimenting with how we can connect culture with AI and make it fun, which got us thinking: can AI help put on a shadow puppet show?
So we created ShadowPlay, an interactive installation that celebrates the shadow puppetry art form. The installation, built using TensorFlow and TPUs, uses AI to recognize a person’s hand gestures and then magically transform the shadow figure into digital animations representing the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac and in an interactive show.
Attendees use their hands to make shadow figures, which transform into animated characters and creates.
We debuted ShadowPlay at the World AI Conference and Google Developers Day in Shanghai in September. To build the experience, we developed a custom machine learning model that was trained on a dataset made up of lots of examples of people’s hand shadows, which could eventually recognize the shadow and match it to the corresponding animal. “In order to bring this project to life, we asked Googlers to help us train the model by making a lot of fun hand gestures. Once we saw the reaction of users seeing their hand shadows morph into characters, it was impossible not to smile!”, says Miguel de Andres-Clavera, Project Lead at Google. To make sure the experience could guess what animal people were making with high accuracy, we trained the model using TPUs, our custom machine learning hardware accelerators.
Shadowplay_AI_3.jpg
An attendee uses her hand to make a shadow figure, which the machine learning system recognizes as a dragon.
Shadowplay_AI_2.jpg
A user can make shadow puppets from the Chinese zodiac, like this tiger, which the AI will recognize and turn it into an animated figure.
Shadowplay_AI_4.jpg
An attendee’s shadow figure, recognized by the machine learning system, transforms into an animated silhouette
Shadowplay_AI.gif
The ShadowPlay installation brings to life Chinese shadow puppetry with AI
We had so much fun building ShadowPlay (almost as much fun as practicing our shadow puppets … ), that we’ll be bringing it to more events around the world soon!
The She Word is a Keyword series all about dynamic and creative women at Google, and we recently spoke to two women behind the design of the new Chromecast, which hit shelves this week. Diana Chang and Katie Morgenroth are industrial designers tasked with designing hardware that fits naturally into your home. Below, we share how they tackle that challenge, as well as what’s in store for our favorite macaron-sized Made by Google device.
Elisabeth: How do you explain your job at a dinner party?
Diana: I make tech less intimidating, more approachable, and easier to use—building a bridge between the consumer and the technology they’re using.
Katie: These days, I’m focused on creating the conditions to help our amazing design team feel inspired and supported to do their best work. Framing design sprints, working closely with engineers to unblock challenging constraints and collaborating with the team to ensure our products are harmonious and beautiful are all in a day's work.
Diana (left) and Katie (right) in their office at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View.
What are you most excited about with the new Chromecast? How is it different than what we’ve seen before?
D: Chromecast was our first-ever Made by Google product, and the foundation of our Cast technology. It was created way before our other hardware products, so we’ve updated the new Chromecast to make it look and feel more a part of the Google hardware family. It’s a small device, and the biggest improvements are actually in the tiny details. And those details can say a lot about a brand and how much we care about the people who use our products.
K: The new design of Chromecast is all about simplicity; it looks like a little macaron. And it’s coming out in two new colors—Chalk and Charcoal—to match other devices in the Made by Google family. With all of our hardware devices, we want to make sure that they feel like they’re a part of your home.
D: And because of the low cost (it’s still $35!), Chromecast remains an easy entry point for people to experience the power of smart home entertainment.
Here it is! The new Chromecast is now available in the U.S., Canada, U.K., the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Singapore, with more regions to come. In the U.S., you can buy it for $35 at the Google Store, Best Buy, Target, Walmart and even more retailers.
What sets Chromecast (and Made by Google products) apart from other devices?
D: The design language: it’s the reason I wanted to join Google. We’re making tech that is approachable, human-centric and easily blends in with other things in your house.
K: Echo Diana. Our aesthetic is taking a counter stance to what we traditionally think about when we imagine technology. We are carefully designing our products to look beautiful as a family or individually.
How would you describe Made by Google design aesthetic in one word?
K: Can I have two? Approachable and optimistic.
D: I would love to hear our customers describe it as sincere and honest.
What’s a challenge you face as an industrial designer?
D: Design is a form of art—unlike math, there’s no way to quantify if design is good or bad, right or wrong. And sometimes, it’s hard to explain a design decision to logical thinkers.
Do you do other types of art too?
D: Yes, art is a stress release for me—you don’t have to worry about specs or cost or whether people will like it. I love ceramics because every piece is unique. Clay has its own personality–you can’t really control it like plastic, rather, respect, understand and work together.
What’s one habit that makes you successful?
D: Hmm, well it’s hard to evaluate what “successful” means, but I’ll tell you what makes me different: my background. Growing up, I moved a lot and lived in different countries. Industrial design is a highly diverse field, and each of us brings a bit of our culture and background to the table. I make it a point to go to one new country every year—it helps me get a different perspective and think outside the box.
K: This is a more boring than Diana’s answer, but I am an avid notetaker. I’m always distracted by something and I need to take notes to keep my inspiration and ideas organized. My wrist is a common spot for quick thoughts and I couldn’t live without Google Keep. I also sleep with a notebook beside my bed, just in case an idea pops up in a dream.
Do you have any advice for aspiring designers?
K: Struggle through the uncomfortable time until it makes sense.
Was there a time that you had to apply that lesson while designing Chromecast?
K: Oh, definitely. We had to work through a lot of tricky requirements in order to keep the size compact and form simple. As often happens, our original intent evolved a bit, but we love the final result. As designers, we pride ourselves on our ability to keep an open mind and meet challenges with opportunities.
The She Word is a Keyword series all about dynamic and creative women at Google, and we recently spoke to two women behind the design of the new Chromecast, which hit shelves this week. Diana Chang and Katie Morgenroth are industrial designers tasked with designing hardware that fits naturally into your home. Below, we share how they tackle that challenge, as well as what’s in store for our favorite macaron-sized Made by Google device.
Elisabeth: How do you explain your job at a dinner party?
Diana: I make tech less intimidating, more approachable, and easier to use—building a bridge between the consumer and the technology they’re using.
Katie: These days, I’m focused on creating the conditions to help our amazing design team feel inspired and supported to do their best work. Framing design sprints, working closely with engineers to unblock challenging constraints and collaborating with the team to ensure our products are harmonious and beautiful are all in a day's work.
Diana (left) and Katie (right) in their office at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View.
What are you most excited about with the new Chromecast? How is it different than what we’ve seen before?
D: Chromecast was our first-ever Made by Google product, and the foundation of our Cast technology. It was created way before our other hardware products, so we’ve updated the new Chromecast to make it look and feel more a part of the Google hardware family. It’s a small device, and the biggest improvements are actually in the tiny details. And those details can say a lot about a brand and how much we care about the people who use our products.
K: The new design of Chromecast is all about simplicity; it looks like a little macaron. And it’s coming out in two new colors—Chalk and Charcoal—to match other devices in the Made by Google family. With all of our hardware devices, we want to make sure that they feel like they’re a part of your home.
D: And because of the low cost (it’s still $35!), Chromecast remains an easy entry point for people to experience the power of smart home entertainment.
Here it is! The new Chromecast is now available in the U.S., Canada, U.K., the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Singapore, with more regions to come. In the U.S., you can buy it for $35 at the Google Store, Best Buy, Target, Walmart and even more retailers.
What sets Chromecast (and Made by Google products) apart from other devices?
D: The design language: it’s the reason I wanted to join Google. We’re making tech that is approachable, human-centric and easily blends in with other things in your house.
K: Echo Diana. Our aesthetic is taking a counter stance to what we traditionally think about when we imagine technology. We are carefully designing our products to look beautiful as a family or individually.
How would you describe Made by Google design aesthetic in one word?
K: Can I have two? Approachable and optimistic.
D: I would love to hear our customers describe it as sincere and honest.
What’s a challenge you face as an industrial designer?
D: Design is a form of art—unlike math, there’s no way to quantify if design is good or bad, right or wrong. And sometimes, it’s hard to explain a design decision to logical thinkers.
Do you do other types of art too?
D: Yes, art is a stress release for me—you don’t have to worry about specs or cost or whether people will like it. I love ceramics because every piece is unique. Clay has its own personality–you can’t really control it like plastic, rather, respect, understand and work together.
What’s one habit that makes you successful?
D: Hmm, well it’s hard to evaluate what “successful” means, but I’ll tell you what makes me different: my background. Growing up, I moved a lot and lived in different countries. Industrial design is a highly diverse field, and each of us brings a bit of our culture and background to the table. I make it a point to go to one new country every year—it helps me get a different perspective and think outside the box.
K: This is a more boring than Diana’s answer, but I am an avid notetaker. I’m always distracted by something and I need to take notes to keep my inspiration and ideas organized. My wrist is a common spot for quick thoughts and I couldn’t live without Google Keep. I also sleep with a notebook beside my bed, just in case an idea pops up in a dream.
Do you have any advice for aspiring designers?
K: Struggle through the uncomfortable time until it makes sense.
Was there a time that you had to apply that lesson while designing Chromecast?
K: Oh, definitely. We had to work through a lot of tricky requirements in order to keep the size compact and form simple. As often happens, our original intent evolved a bit, but we love the final result. As designers, we pride ourselves on our ability to keep an open mind and meet challenges with opportunities.
Editor’s Note: Today’s post comes from guest author, director of the Ilona Kish, Director of the Public Libraries 2020 Program in Europe.
When you think of your local library, you may recall the memory of getting lost in a good book , or even using a computer for the first time. Today people think of computers and smartphones as ubiquitous–always charged and at their fingertips. But for too many, computers are—to excuse a librarian’s pun—a closed book. For those unable to access or use a computer or smartphone–a whole world is shut off, limiting their access to information and opportunities.
Particularly in Europe, where 44 percent of Europeans lack basic digital skills, libraries are key to providing local tools and programs that teach those foundational skills. To help libraries provide welcoming spaces where people feel safe to learn, Public Libraries 2020 has partnered with Grow with Google in Europe, an initiative that has already helped over 4 million people Europeans grow their skills, and this year further pledged to help 1 million Europeans to find a job or grow their business by 2020.
Now, the Public Libraries 2020/Grow with Google partnership will help Europeans, from students to pensioners learn about digital skills, online safety and computer science. The digital toolkit titled “Libraries Lead with Digital” features ideas for how to run sessions on digital skills, online safety and computer science, and it’s currently in a pilot phase with ten libraries across the UK and Ireland. By helping librarians share ideas and resources with one another, public libraries will be able to run effective sessions that encourage participation from people who would be otherwise hard to reach.
From youngsters to pensioners: Stockton Central Library hosts sessions on digital skills, online safety and coding utilizing resources from the Libraries Lead with Digital toolkit.
Library staff members in the pilot are helping residents respond to their local challenges. For example, they’re delivering extra trainings in rural areas like Norfolk; while in South Dublin there’s a drive to get more young people into STEM careers, making resources on coding particularly useful. The toolkit will help librarians share their knowledge with their colleagues, taking inspiration from the Google partnership already running with the American Library Association.
We’ve already gotten some inspiring feedback from those ten libraries leading the way in the UK and Ireland. In Stockton, librarian Katherine McDonagh said, “We’re reaching people who wouldn’t usually attend our regular sessions and most importantly showing people that your public library is just as relevant as ever.”
Author Neil Gaiman once described libraries as the “gates to the future.” With this new toolkit, Google and Public Libraries 2020 can help more people learn the digital skills and knowledge to feel confident as they step into that future, whatever it holds for them.
Our phone’s camera has become an important part of our lives. We use it to capture moments that matter to us, like memories with our families, and the small things we don’t want to forget, like handwritten notes or parking tickets. And now, thanks to advancements in computer vision, our camera can understand our world and help in new ways.
Today we introduced our most helpful camera yet on Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, so you can turn your world into a playground and do more with what you see.
Introducing Playground, a new way to create and play
From reenacting scenes in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” to hanging out with Eleven from “Stranger Things,” you’re already having fun with AR Stickers. Today, we’re taking a big step forward by introducing Playground, a new mode in the Pixel camera to create and play with the world around you. It helps you bring more of your imagination to a scene with cameos from your favorite superheroes, stickers that animate around you and fun captions that put words where the action is.
Playground brings you more powerful AR experiences and uses AI to recommend content for expressing yourself in the moment. You can make your photos and videos come to life with Playmoji—characters that react to each other and to you—and tell a richer story by adding fun captions or animated stickers you’ll recognize from Gboard.
You can snap photos on the back camera (left) or take selfies with Playmoji that respond to your facial expressions (right).
Playground also works in selfie mode, so now you can up your selfie game by standing next to characters you love, like Iron Man from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. New packs for Weather, Pets, Sports and Signs let you have everyday fun, and coming later this year, you'll be able to sharpen your dance skills with moves from Childish Gambino.
Marvel Studios’ Avengers
And for those moments when you aren’t quite sure where to start, Playground makes real-time suggestions to recommend content based on the scene you’re in. Are you walking your dog? Cooking in the kitchen? Gardening in the backyard? Playground uses advanced computer vision and machine learning to recommend relevant Playmoji, stickers and captions to populate the scene.
Scene suggestions
Once you’ve got your perfect shot, sharing with Playground is easy—with just a few taps straight from the camera.
Do more with what you see with Google Lens
Last year with Pixel 2, we introduced Google Lens to help you do more with what you see, whether its finding an outfit you like, copying and searching text, or identifying that cute dog in the park. This year, we’ve integrated Lens even more into Pixel 3 for a faster, more helpful experience.
Lens Suggestions
Lens is already a great way to quickly call a number, visit a URL, scan a QR code, and add an email address to your contacts. On Pixel 3, we’re introducing Lens Suggestions to bring these common actions right into the main Pixel camera. Simply point your camera, and with a single tap, call or save a phone number on a takeout menu, send an email right from a flyer, or open an address in Google Maps. This is all done on-device and takes advantage of Pixel Visual Core, so it doesn’t require an internet connection.
We’ve also made it even easier to get to the full Lens experience on Pixel 3—just long press in the camera. It’s a fast and convenient new way to access Lens.
Lens from recent apps screen on Pixel 3
Finally, we’re making Lens accessible from the recent apps screen on Pixel 3, so regardless of the app you’re in, Lens can help. Just drag up from the home button and long press on an image. It’s great for when you see an outfit you like while browsing the web or scrolling through an app.
With Google Lens and Playground, Pixel 3’s camera lets you do more with what you see and have fun with the world around you. Google Lens is available on all Pixel devices, with Playground on Pixel 3 first and coming to Pixel 1 and 2 soon. Preorder Pixel 3 or learn more on the Google Store.
In May, we introduced Smart Compose in Gmail on the web, which uses machine learning to help you draft emails faster. It has already saved people from typing over 1 billion characters each week and now it can help you write emails even faster while you’re on the go. We’re bringing Smart Compose to the Gmail mobile app, starting with Pixel 3. Smart Compose will offer writing suggestions as you type and if you like what you see, just swipe right to use it.
Smart Compose has already rolled out globally in English. In the coming months, we’ll bring the experience to four new languages: Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese. We’ll also bring it to more mobile devices beginning in 2019.
desktop_smart_compose_ES.gif
desktop_smart_compose_fr-FR.gif
desktop_smart_compose_IT.gif
desktop_smart_compose_pt-PT.gif
We’re excited to bring Smart Compose to more places and more languages to help you do more with Gmail—faster. Want to make it even better? Keep the feedback coming using the “Help & feedback” link on the web or mobile app.
Many of us share the same photos with the same people over and over, whether it’s photos of your children to their grandparents, or cute pics of your pup to your best friend. Every time, we have to find the photos, select the ones we want to share and send them to the right people. And that’s if we even remember to share them at all.
That’s why we made live albums, a new and easy way to share more of your memories from Google Photos. You can turn any album into a live album. Just choose the people (and pets) you want to see, and Google Photos will automatically add photos of them to your album as you take them. Then, you can share your album with family and friends so they can be a part of special moments as they happen—no manual updates needed. Live albums are rolling out now in a number of countries on Android, iOS and the web.
A better photo frame that's always up to date
Digital photo frames have been around for years, but they are hard to set up, the photos get old fast, and you can’t pull up a specific memory when you want it. Now, there’s a new and easier way to enjoy more of your memories at home with Google Photos on the new Google Home Hub.
You don’t need a memory card or any gear to turn your display into a photo frame, and with live albums, you and your loved ones will always have the latest photos front and center. Plus you can say things like “Hey Google, show my pictures from Chicago” and they’ll pop up on the display. Google Home Hub also adjusts the screen brightness and color temperature based on its surroundings, so your photos fit more naturally into your space.
And, you can turn your Pixel 3 into the same type of photo frame with the new Pixel Stand, bringing more of your memories into your home, office, or wherever you’re wirelessly charging your phone.
Top Shot and depth editing
With Google Photos, we're also making it faster and easier to capture the perfect photo and give you editing tools to make your portraits pop.
Top Shot on Pixel 3 makes sure you always get the best shot—you know, the selfie where everyone actually has their eyes open. When you take a motion photo, Top Shot automatically captures alternate shots in HDR+, then recommends the best one—even if it’s not exactly when you hit the shutter. You can view the recommendation in your Google Photos app and scroll back and forth to see all the other frames. When you're ready, hit save.
Google Photos can also help you create the perfect portrait without fancy camera equipment or lots of time spent editing. With our new depth editor, you can adjust the background blur and change the focus of your portrait photos in just a few taps. You can also make the subject of your photo pop by leaving them in color, while changing the background to black and white.
These new editing features will be available on Pixel 3 and other phones that support portrait photos including Pixel 2 and Motorola phones such as the Moto G6.
With these updates to Google Photos, you can spend less time editing and sharing memories, and more time enjoying them.
We’ve spent the last year working with partners to bring thousands of new devices on board to work with the Google Assistant. As of today, there are more than 200 million devices in people’s homes, made up of over 10,000 smart devices from over 1,000 brands—including Nest, LG, ADT, August, Simplisafe, Vivnt and VIZIO—that work with the Google Assistant. We’ve also expanded our offerings in categories like home security and entertainment, so that almost anyone with a TV can make their home smarter with the Google Assistant. In fact, you probably have the devices you need already.
A thoughtful home should work with all types of devices, giving you the flexibility to set your home up in a way that works best for your family. Millions of TVs, set top boxes and security systems that are in homes today can be controlled with the Assistant. And with home view on Google Home Hub, we’re putting more control at your fingertips, so you can manage all of your connected devices from a single screen. Now you can control smart lights, pause the TV, monitor Nest camera feeds, adjust thermostats and more—all on one screen.* And with the redesigned Google Home app, you can control any of your connected devices while you’re on the go.
Here are some more ways that we’ve improved the smart home experience:
Lighting: Hundreds of smart lights work with the Google Assistant on Google Home, and now you can start your smart home with our newest bright idea: the Smart Light Starter Kit. The starter kit includes Google Home Mini and GE’s C-Life bulb. They come pre-linked, simplifying the setup process. The kit is yours for $55, and you can find it at the Google Store, Best Buy, Target, Lowes and Walmart.com. Additional C-Life and C-Sleep bulbs can also be easily added. It’s our way of making the smart home accessible for everyone—the kit is affordable, a breeze to set up, and the perfect addition to any home.
Entertainment:Chromecast, our very first Made by Google product, makes it possible to stream your favorite shows, music and movies from more than 2,000 apps. But you probably have more than one brand of devices in your living room, so now we’re making everything work together—you can control your VIZIO TV, DISH Hopper DVR and more, from your Google Home, Mini, Max and Hub. With DISH, you can play, pause and record content, search for shows or actors, change channels and control the volume without lifting a finger.
Energy: Nest thermostats have saved over 24 billion kilowatt hours of energy in millions of homes worldwide since we launched the Nest Learning Thermostat in 2011. Now we’re bringing you the Nest Learning Thermostat in three new finishes: mirror black, brass and polished steel. There are now seven color options to choose from in total, so you can find the one that matches your personal style best.
Home security: With security products from Nest, August, ADT, Simplisafe, Vivint Smart Home and more, you can have peace of mind whether you’re at home or on the road. You can even see your Nest Cam’s feed right in the new Google Home app, just in case you hear something go bump in the night.
Household chores: We’ve added even more appliances from GE, iRobot and other brands that can help you take care of everything from starting the washer to vacuuming your home. And with Google Home Hub, cleaning is as easy as, “Hey Google, clean the kitchen.” Your Roomba will take off and tidy up for you.
Fun:To bring more fun to the home, we partnered with Disney and OtterBox to create a custom base accessory for Google Home Mini in celebration of Mickey Mouse’s 90th anniversary. Plus, anyone with a Google Home Mini can have fun with a growing list of Disney experiences—just say, “Hey Google, play Mickey Mouse Adventure” to get started.
Now, when I say “Hey Google, good night” my doors lock, selected lights turn off, my alarm system arms, my heat sets to 66 degrees, and the Google Home Hub quietly plays cricket sounds to lull us off to sleep. That’s the difference between a smart home and a thoughtful home. And that’s the kind of home we want you to have.
We launched our first Chromecast in 2013 with the aim to make it easy to get your favorite content right from your phone to your TV. With thousands of compatible apps to cast from, people are tapping the Cast button more than ever. And since Chromecast, the Made by Google family of products has continued to grow, bringing the best of hardware, software and AI together. So for this fifth year of Chromecast, we wanted to share five reasons we’re excited about our newest Chromecast:
Fits right in.With a new design and two colors—Chalk and Charcoal—Chromecast blends in with your decor and the rest of the Made by Google family.
Same size, but even more powerful.Thanks to a 15 percent improvement in hardware speed, our newest Chromecast supports smooth streaming in 1080p at 60 frames per second, giving you a more lifelike image. So when you’re watching the game, it will feel even more like you’re there.
Stream hands-free. Chromecast and Google Home work seamlessly together. Just say what you want to watch from compatible services, like YouTube or Netflix, and control your TV just by asking. Try, “Hey Google, play Cobra Kai from YouTube,” or “Hey Google, play Lost in Space from Netflix.” (You’ll need a Netflix subscription to get started.)
More than a screen—it’s a canvas.When you’re not streaming, you can personalize your TV with new Live Albums from Google Photos. Enjoy a constantly updating stream of photos of the people and pets you care about and skip blurry ones and duplicates—all without lifting a finger. Plus, new photos will show up automatically on your TV.
Your tunes in every room.Whether you’re listening to your favorites on YouTube Music or Spotify, there’s nothing better than hearing on all your speakers—including your high-quality speakers connected to your TV. Later this year, you'll be able to add Chromecast to speaker groups, so you can listen to your music in sync throughout the house.
And, of course, Chromecast is still just $35. So it’s an affordable way to upgrade your TV at home or the perfect gift this upcoming holiday season for the streamer in your life.
The new Chromecast is available from the Google Store starting today in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Great Britain, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, and the U.S., with even more countries to follow in 2019.
If you’re like me and have more than a few connected devices at home, then you’re probably constantly fumbling in and out of lots of different apps, with way too many passwords, and you’re the only one in the house that can make your home work.It can feel overwhelming and more than a little complicated. We get it. And we’ve got you covered.
We’ve redesigned the Google Home App so that you can control all of your compatible smart devices from one place, saving you from a few headaches along the way. Here’s what’s new:
All devices in one view: You can keep track of everything in one place without needing to flip between apps. The new app organizes your devices by room so that you can easily control your speakers, lights, cameras, TVs and more than 10,000 connected devices that work with your Google Assistant. That means there are more than 200 million devices in the U.S. that can be controlled with your voice, many of them already in your home. Just note that controlling devices like a thermostat or lights requires smart thermostats or smart lights.
Quick actions to get things done: The new Google Home app now automatically generates quick actions for important features across your home with immediate access to key experiences like turning on and off smart lights, viewing your cameras, and broadcasting messages to your other Google Home devices and more.*
Check in from anywhere:You’re even in control while you’re away from home—simply open the Google Home app to check in your home and make sure things are the way you want them—like making sure your thermostat is set to the right temperature when you get home.* Now you can have convenience and peace of mind, no matter where you are.
Access for everyone in your home:Now, everyone under the same roof can control smart devices in your home, they just need the Google Home app on their phone. That means one app to get it all done—add, remove and control devices. We also added a feature for those of us who are on call to answer tech questions for our less-savvy family members that lets you control multiple homes. That means you can manage your parents’ home or help that cousin who’s having trouble setting up their smart home.
Access the Google Assistant right in the app: The Google Assistant is easily accessible, right from the app. Go ahead, tap the mic and say, “Hey Google, dim the lights.”
So, whether you’re trying to change the temperature in your home, quickly put on some music, check-in on your backyard camera or turn off the lights as you head to bed, it’s all just a few taps away in the Google Home app.*
The updated Home app will be rolling out to iOS and Android users this week. And if you’re new to the Google Home family, you can download it on Google Play and in the App Store.
There's a lot of new hardware from Google coming your way, and so are new accessories to go along with them. We're launching a variety of beautiful and useful accessories make charging your phone, listening to your favorite song, and looking stylish with your device better than ever.
From our signature fabric cases, to smart bulbs connected to your Google Assistant, we’ve created lots of compatible accessories designed to pair perfectly with your Google devices and help you put your personal stamp on your devices.
Wireless charging, redefined: meet Pixel Stand
Ever tried to use your phone while it’s plugged into a wall charging? Us too. It can be a mess. With Pixel Stand, we’re solving that problem by tilting the angle of the screen to give you the info you need while your Pixel 3 or Pixel 3XL phone is charging.
Pixel Stand makes it easier to receive notifications, listen to music and access the web with help from the Google Assistant while your Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are charging. Features include:
An enhanced music experience on your Pixel 3. See your favorite artists' album covers on display while listening to their music.
While docked, turn your phone into a digital photo frame with Google Photos and relive your favorite moments with family and friends.
Quick access to your Google Assistantso you can get a rundown of your day, the traffic for your commute and listen to your favorite podcast just by saying “Hey Google, good morning.”
Smart home integrations to help you manage your home. If you have a Nest Hello video doorbell, you can get a live feed on your Pixel screen when docked.
A gentle wake-up with Pixel Stand’s Sunrise Alarm, which mimics a sunrise on your screen over the course of 15 minutes, brightening your room so you can get on with your day.
Rich digital audio, and the Google Assistant in your ear
Last year, we introduced Pixel Buds—wireless headphones that give you instant access to the best features available from the Google Assistant. This year, we’ve included a pair of wired Pixel USB-C Earbuds in the box with Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL—the first wired USB-C headphones to include access to the Google Assistant. These not only provide rich audio quality, but also allow the Google Assistant read notifications, give in-ear directions, and provide real-time translation through Google Translate, optimized for Pixel users. You’ll also get a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter, so you can use any other 3.5mm compatible headphones with your Pixel 3.
Protect your Pixel, just in case
We’ve updated our line of fabric cases with stylish new colors, or you can customize your own My Case with a personal photo, curated design, or stylized map. Perfectly made for your phone, our cases work with Qi wireless charging and Active Edge™.
0301-0117--Blackbird_Comp_v05_SIMP.jpg
Pixel 3 Fabric Cases.jpg
My Case Images.jpg
Pixel 3 Not Pink, Pink Moon Case & My Case.jpg
Something for everyone
Our Made for Google line of accessories includes more than 400 compatible add-ons for your Pixel, Pixelbook, Pixel Slate and Google Home Mini, from more than 40 popular brands, including:
Cases by brands like Bellroy, Incipio, Speck, Nomad, Otterbox and Sonix so your Pixel and Pixel Slate are covered for any occasion.
A wide variety of audio products, from Libratone's USB-C earbuds to Skullcandy’s on-ear cans. All of these sound great and look even better.
To see more of our Made by Google and Made for Google accessories, head over to the Google Store.
Today, we told you about what’s coming in our latest family of #MadebyGoogle products. But what's a line-up of shiny new products without a plethora of ways for the world to experience, try and buy them? As we continue to build products for everyone, we’re exploring helpful new ways to get our products to everyone.
The Google Hardware Store pop-ups
Starting on October 18, New Yorkers and Chicagoans can try out and buy our new products at a pop-up shop in each city—the only place you can shop Google products in a fully Google-made experiential space. Our pop ups will be open October 18 through December 31, so if you’re in Chicago (Bucktown at 1704 N. Damen) or NYC (SoHo at 131 Green Street), come visit us.
The Google Store and Enjoy
You can now pre-order and shop all of our products via the online Google Store, including the Pixel 3 / 3XL (that works with all major carriers). And as of October 18, folks in the Bay Area can buy the new Pixel 3 / 3XL and get it delivered as soon as three hours and expertly set up via the Enjoy service. You can also get the Pixel 2XL, Pixelbook and Google Home Max via Enjoy delivery now. We’re bringing the Google Store to you!
Google Store + Enjoy bring the expertise of the Google Store to you.
b8ta
Made by Google products are part of an interactive shopping experience in five b8ta stores across the country, including Austin, Corte Madera, Houston, San Francisco, Tysons Corner, and will be available in two new b8ta stores in Short Hills, NJ and Scottsdale, AZ opening later this year. As a part of the unique in-store experience, customers can test out and shop Google’s Home products in interactive home-like vignettes. Visit a store and demo products with one of b8ta’s experts.
Made by Google products are now part of a new interactive shopping experience in b8ta.
goop
goop is joining forces with Made by Google products to offer the Google Home smart speaker family across the U.S. in permanent goop Lab stores and goop GIFT pop-ups this holiday season. Abroad, customers can shop at the goop London pop-up which opened this past September. Keep an eye out for more information from goop + Made by Google later this month.
And as for the future...
It’s a bird, it’s a plane. It’s Google Home Mini being delivered by drone! You read that right—along with Wing (an Alphabet company), we’re pushing the boundaries of conventional delivery. As a part of a small, localized test, Google Home Minis were recently dropped off at customers’ homes only 10 minutes after ordering. Although not a reality today, imagine the possibilities in years to come…
Today we’re introducing Pixel 3 and Pixel 3XL, the new smartphones from Google. Pixel brings you the best of Google in a phone, powered by AI to deliver more helpful, thoughtful and enjoyable experiences. That means a phone that answers for you when a telemarketer calls, a camera that uses AI to make sure you never miss the shot, and a more helpful visual and audio experience while charging, powered by the Google Assistant.
Brilliant photos every time and super-charged selfies
We’re taking more photos on our phones than ever before, but we still often miss the perfect moment. Pixel 3 helps you get that perfect shot on the first try.
Pixel3_Photo_1.jpg
Pixel3_Photo_2.jpg
Pixel3_Photo_3.jpg
Pixel3_Photo_4.jpg
Pixel3_Photo_5.jpg
Pixel3_Photo_6.jpg
Here’s how the best camera gets even better with Pixel 3:
Capture smiles, not blinks:A feature we call Top Shot uses AI to help you capture the perfect photo every time. When you take a motion photo, it captures alternate shots in HDR+, then recommends the best one—even if it’s not exactly when you hit the shutter—looking for those where everyone is smiling, with eyes open, and facing the camera.
Get better zoom:When you zoom in on a phone camera, the image looks grainy. Super Res Zoom is a computational photography technique, traditionally used for astronomy and scientific imaging, that produces sharp details when you zoom.
No light; no problem:Pixel 3 lets you take natural-looking photos in dark surroundings, all without a flash. With Night Sight, coming soon to Pixel 3, you can take bright, detailed, colorful shots around the campfire, in a moonlit forest, or after you close out the bar.
No selfie stick required:Get everyone in the picture with Group Selfie, which gives you 184 percent more room in your photo for friends and scenery.
Look … no hands! Photobooth mode uses AI to recognize that when you’re smiling or making a funny expression, you’re ready for a selfie. It snaps the photo on its own so you don’t need to reach for the shutter button—a good option for candids.
Even more stunning portraits, front and back:When you take photos in Portrait Mode, you can change the blurriness of the background, or change the part of the picture in focus, after the fact. Google Photos can also make the subject of your photo pop by leaving them in color, while changing the background to black and white.
Create and play:In Playground, you can make photos, selfies and videos come to life by adding your favorite superheroes, animated stickers and fun captions. In celebration of Marvel Studios’ 10 Year Anniversary, you’ll enjoy seeing the characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (exclusively on Pixel) react to each other and to you. New packs for Weather, Pets, Sports and Signs let you have everyday fun, and coming later this year, you'll be able to sharpen your dance skills with moves from Childish Gambino.
Super smooth video:When you want to capture something that won’t stop moving—think an adorable toddler or your new puppy—Motion Auto Focus will make sure your Pixel 3 camera stays in sharp focus automatically, as you record. And if you happen to be taking a selfie video while walking or moving around, Pixel 3 brings you front-facing video stabilization.
Unlimited storage for all of your photos and videos
With Pixel 3, you can save all your favorite moments with free, unlimited photo and video storage in original resolution*. It’s hassle-free, you don’t have to think about back-ups. Come back to Google Photos later and search for the beach photos you took on your Pixel 3, and they’ll pop right up.
Your AI-powered sidekick
AI in Pixel 3 enables new features that make your day-to-day actions simpler and easier.
If you want to know more about something you’re looking at, use Google Lens, built right into the Pixel 3 camera. To scan and translate text, find similar styles of clothing, or identify popular plants and animals, you can now long press in the Pixel 3 camera to easily open Lens. When you point your camera at information you want to remember or don’t feel like typing in—like a URL or QR code on a flyer or an email address on a business card—Google Lens suggests what to do next, like creating a new contact.
You can count on even more help across other apps too, including Gmail’s Smart Compose, now available for mobile on Pixel 3. Smart Compose suggests phrases in your emails so that you can draft them faster, on the go. Gboard, the keyboard built into your Pixel 3, will recommend GIFs, stickers and more, to make your conversations fun and engaging. Both are available first in English.
The Google Assistant is also baked into Pixel 3 to help you find answers and control your phone and compatible smart home devices—all with a simple squeeze or by using your voice. This year we have two new Assistant features coming to Pixel.
First, starting out in English in the U.S., Pixel 3’s on-device AI helps you screen phone calls and avoid spam calls. Imagine you’re at dinner with family or in a meeting at work and a call from an unknown caller comes in. Just tap on “Screen call” to find out who's calling and why, as well as other information (as prompted by you). You'll immediately see a transcript of the caller's responses so that you can then decide whether to pick up, respond by tapping a quick reply (e.g., “I’ll call you back later”), or mark the call as spam and dismiss. Processing the call details on-device means these experiences are fast, private to you, and use up less battery.
Second, Pixel users in the U.S. will be the first to get access to an experimental new Google Assistant feature, powered by Duplex technology, which helps you complete real-world tasks over the phone, like calling a restaurant to book a table. This feature will initially be available later this year in New York, Atlanta, Phoenix and the San Francisco Bay Area to help people book restaurant reservations and will roll out to other U.S. cities in the future.
As we develop new calling technologies, we believe it’s critical that we help people understand the context of the conversation. We’ll disclose to businesses receiving the call that they're speaking to an automated system, and we have developed controls to protect against spam and abuse, as well as the ability for a business to opt out of receiving calls. For Call Screen, we will also let the caller know that a screening service is being used.
Digital Wellbeing
Our phones, while probably the most important tech in our lives, shouldn’t control our lives. So Digital Wellbeing, a suite of tools to help you find your own balance with technology, is built into Pixel 3. It includes a dashboard to help you understand how you spend time on your phone, the ability to set time limits on specific apps, and a new Wind Down mode to help you get to sleep at night by gently transitioning your display to a grayscale screen. When you don’t want to be bothered by rings or notifications, just flip to Shhh—an easy gesture that turns on Do Not Disturb and minimizes distractions.
Fast and wireless charging
Pixel 3 comes with an 18 Watt fast charger in the box, which can give you seven hours of use in 15 minutes of charging. With our AI-powered Adaptive Battery technique, Pixel 3 prioritizes battery power for your most important apps to make your phone last all day.
Alongside Pixel 3, we’re also introducing Pixel Stand, our new, Qi compliant wireless charger (sold separately). While charging in the Pixel Stand, your phone turns into a smart visual and audio experience powered by the Google Assistant, similar to Google Home Hub. It answers your questions, plays music, helps you control smart home devices, transitions into a photo frame when idle, and much more. If you set an alarm, your screen will gently brighten over 15 minutes before your alarm goes off, mimicking the sunrise and helping you wake up naturally. Pixel 3 also comes with dual front-firing speakers tuned by a GRAMMY®-winning music producer to turn your phone into a powerful speaker. Customers who activate a Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL by December 31, 2018 can get six months of free YouTube Music Premium.
Pixel 3 is IP68 water- and dust-resistant and has a security chip custom-designed by Google called Titan M, making it the most secure phone we've built yet. Titan M enhances mobile security by protecting your unlock credentials, disk encryption, app data, and the integrity of the operating system code itself. Powered by Android 9 Pie, Pixel 3 comes with the latest Android operating system.
Pixel 3 is available for pre-order now from Verizon, Project Fi, and the Google Store unlocked.
*Free, unlimited online original-quality storage for photos/videos uploaded from Pixel 3 to Google Photos through 1/31/2022, and those photos/videos will remain free at original quality. g.co/help/photostorage
Google Home Hub is the newest member of the Google Home family, bringing you help at a glance. With the Google Assistant built-in, you can use your voice to get the best of Google—Search, YouTube, Google Photos, Calendar, Maps and more—right on Google Home Hub’s display.
Thoughtfully designed for any room
The first thing you’ll notice about Google Home Hub is its beautiful design. We made this display to fit right into your home, and we hope you’ll consider it not just functional, but part of your decor. The 7” screen is like a floating display, the right size to fit on any surface and big enough to enjoy your photos from across the room. With its soft rounded corners, Google Home Hub fits naturally on any surface. My favorite places are my kitchen counter and nightstand. With four colors to choose from—Chalk, Charcoal, Aqua and Sand—it’s right for just about any room.
We consciously decided to not include a camera on Google Home Hub, so you feel comfortable placing it in the private spaces of your home, like the bedroom. On the top of the device you’ll find the Ambient EQ light sensor. It allows the screen to automatically adjust to match the lighting in the room, so photos on Google Home Hub will blend in with the room, too. That means no glowing screen—it fits seamlessly into your home. When it's time for bed, Hub knows to dim the screen for a good night’s sleep.
Jumpstart your morning routine
I think I speak for most parents when I say mornings at home are hectic. From the time we wake up until we’re racing out the door, every minute counts. With Routines, Hub can provide you and your family with useful info about the day ahead. Just say “Hey Google, good morning” for a personalized, visual overview of your family’s activities from Google Calendar, your commute from Google Maps, your latest reminders, the weather forecast, and more. And with Voice Match, up to six people in the home can get their own personalized Routine. And I can also get easy how-to help from YouTube videos: “Hey Google, how do you make cold-brew coffee?”
Simplify your connected home
You can control 10,000+ types of smart home devices from 1,000+ popular brands. That means there are more than 200 million devices in the U.S. that are compatible with Google Home Hub, many of them already in your home. With Google Home Hub, everyone in the family can see and control your devices from a single dashboard—no more switching between apps. Just swipe down to reveal your home view: Dim your Phillps Hue lights, adjust the temperature on your Nest thermostat, turn up the volume on the TV with Vizio, lock the front door with August, monitor smart cameras, and see the front door with the Nest Hello video doorbell.
Relive the moment with Google Photos
Google Home Hub is also a photo frame, but not your average one: it's easy to set up, automatically refreshes the photos that are displayed and features your best shots. With live albums, a new feature from Google Photos, I can relive recent memories with family and friends even while Google Home Hub is not in use. Google Photos will automatically add new photos of my son and our dog to my album, avoiding duplicates and blurry shots. I can also share our live album with my mom, so when she sets up her Google Home Hub, she’ll see photos of her grandson. Plus, you can say goodbye to endless scrolling on your phone to find photos you’re looking for. Google Home Hub makes it easy: “Hey Google, show my pictures from the Grand Canyon,” and just like that, I'm taken back to my vacation.
Get hands-free help in the kitchen
My family spends a lot of time in our kitchen, and Google Home Hub helps us prepare recipes like a top chef. I can use my voice to browse millions of recipes and start cooking, all hands-free. We teamed up with Tasty to bring their fun, family-friendly recipe videos to Google Home Hub. Check out the pineapple upside-down pancakes recipe, it’s delicious!
Google Home Hub helps you turn the music up, then wind down
At my house, Fridays are family night, and sometimes that means a dance-off. YouTube Music gets lots of use on those nights. When you buy Hub, you’ll get six months of YouTube Premium on us, so you can enjoy not just YouTube Music, but all of YouTube ad-free. You can also enjoy music from Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio and other popular music services (you may need a subscription). Google Home Hub’s full-range speaker means crisp, clear sound every time.
When you’re ready for bed, just say, “Hey Google, good night” to set an alarm, turn off compatible lights and TVs, lock the front door (as long as you have a supported lock) and fall asleep to soothing music. For busy working parents like me, every day is hectic—so these features are truly game-changing when I have my hands full or I’m strapped for time.
I know you’ll love getting help and enjoying family time with Google Home Hub, just like my family does. You can buy Hub for $149, and starting today, you can pre-order from the Google Store. You’ll find Google Home Hub on shelves on October 22 at Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and other retailers.
Once you set up Google Home Hub, just say, “Hey Google, what can you do” to get started.
This year marks Google’s 20th anniversary—for two decades we’ve been working toward our mission to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful for everybody. Delivering information has always been in our DNA. It’s why we exist. From searching the world, to translating it, to getting a great photo of it, when we see an opportunity to help people, we’ll go the extra mile. We love working on really hard problems that make life easier for people, in big and small ways.
There’s a clear line from the technology we were working on 20 years ago to the technology we’re developing today—and the big breakthroughs come at the intersection of AI, software and hardware, working together. This approach is what makes the Google hardware experience so unique, and it unlocks all kinds of helpful benefits. When we think about artificial intelligence in the context of consumer hardware, it isn’t artificial at all—it’s helping you get real things done, every day. A shorter route to work. A gorgeous vacation photo. A faster email response.
So today, we’re introducing our third-generation family of consumer hardware products, all made by Google:
For life on the go, we’re introducing the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL—designed from the inside out to be the smartest, most helpful device in your life. It’s a phone that can answer itself, a camera that won’t miss a shot, and a helpful Assistant even while it’s charging.
For life at work and at play, we’re bringing the power and productivity of a desktop to a gorgeous tablet called Pixel Slate. This Chrome OS device is both a powerful workstation at the office, and a home theater you can hold in your hands.
And for life at home we designed Google Home Hub, which lets you hear and see the info you need, and manage your connected home from a single screen. With its radically helpful smart display, Google Home Hub lays the foundation for a truly thoughtful home.
The new Google devices fit perfectly with the rest of our family of products, including Nest, which joined the Google hardware family at the beginning of this year. Together with Nest, we’re pursuing our shared vision of a thoughtfulhome that isn’t just smart, it’s also helpful and simple enough for everyone to set up and use. It's technology designed for the way you live.
Our goal with these new products, as always, is to create something that serves a purpose in people’s lives—products that are so useful they make people wonder how they ever lived without them. The simple yet beautiful design of these new devices continues to bring the smarts of the technology to the forefront, while providing people with a bold piece of hardware.
Our guiding principle
Google's guiding principle is the same as it’s been for 20 years—to respect our users and put them first. We feel a deep responsibility to provide you with a helpful, personal Google experience, and that guides the work we do in three very specific ways:
First, we want to provide you with an experience that is unique to you. Just like Google is organizing the world’s information, the combination of AI, software and hardware can organize your information—and help out with the things you want to get done. The Google Assistant is the best expression of this, and it’s always available when, where, and however you need it.
Second, we’re committed to the security of our users. We need to offer simple, powerful ways to safeguard your devices. We’ve integrated Titan™ Security, the system we built for Google, into our new mobile devices. Titan™ Security protects your most sensitive on-device data by securing your lock screen and strengthening disk encryption.
Third, we want to make sure you’re in control of your digital wellbeing. From our research, 72 percent of our users are concerned about the amount of time people spend using tech. We take this very seriously and have developed new tools that make people’s lives easier and cut back on distractions.
With these Made by Google devices, our goal is to provide radically helpful solutions. While it’s early in the journey, we’re taking an end-to-end approach to consumer technology that merges our most innovative AI with intuitive software and powerful hardware. Ultimately, we want to help you do more with your days while doing less with your tech—so you can focus on what matters most.
Oktoberfest, stilettos or tea leaves—do Europeans have a common way to party, dress, or even look into the future? What hobbies, celebrations or beliefs do they share?
Google Arts & Culture has always been focused on making culture from all over the world accessible to people everywhere. Over the last seven years we’ve partnered with hundreds of European cultural institutions to bring their heritage online. Now we’ve brought together collections from across the continent—from masterpieces to iconic monuments to traditional costumes—all to celebrate the European Year of Cultural Heritage. This year-long initiative from the European Commission highlights European heritage and celebrates cultures across the continent.
Together we created “The culture that connects us,” a unique digital experience that lets everyone dive into centuries of European arts and culture, highlighting the stories, masterpieces and places that connect us beyond our national differences.
Tibor Navracsics, EU Commissioner for Education, Youth and Sport, says of the exhibit: “The European Year of Cultural Heritage in 2018 is a celebration that has already captured the imagination of more than 3.6 million people in 36 countries. I am delighted to see the support, interest and enthusiasm that the Year is generating. Its purpose is to encourage more people to come together to discover and experience Europe's rich cultural heritage. I hope that the launch of this video and project page today will inspire even more people—especially young people—to preserve our cultural heritage and use it as a basis to express their own creativity. After all, the future of our shared heritage is in the hands of the younger generations, as they are the guardians of this exceptional and irreplaceable wealth.”
The exhibit is not only a visual experience. We challenged seven European YouTube creators to hunt for sounds that expressed their culture and their heritage. While Polish Krzysztof Gonciarz went for the typical “beep” of public transport, Jonna Jinton from Sweden performed a mesmerizing traditional herding call. The pop of a wine bottle and the crackle of bread came from French Revues du Monde, while Cane Secco collected the sound of buzzing Italian Piazza di Trevi. We combined this collection of sounds to form a single music track that encapsulates the sound of Europe.
We’re proud to have worked with the European Commission and our partners to highlight European heritage and celebrate the many cultures that thrive in Europe today. Find your connections during the European Year of Cultural Heritage at g.co/europeforculture.
Healthy cities are important to everyone. And from a mother of an asthmatic child looking for the best way to get to the playground, to bike commuters and outdoor athletes finding the healthiest route for their trip, to city planners working to reduce unhealthy emissions, air quality information is crucial to making decisions in our daily lives. More detailed air quality insights are the goal of Project Air View, which kicked off today in Copenhagen, Denmark, in a partnership between the City of Copenhagen and Google.
Denmark’s National Center for Environment and Energy has estimated that around 550 Copenhageners die prematurely every year from pollution, and an even larger number suffer from related diseases; the yearly societal cost is estimated around 600 million euros.
Project Air View can help Copenhagen tackle this problem. It uses Google Street View vehicles equipped with scientific instruments that measure air quality at the street level. This creates a dataset which can map hyperlocal, block-by-block emissions and particle pollution. These measurements will be shared with scientists, the City Council, and ultimately, the public via interactive maps, all in an effort to tackle this well-known—and harmful—problem in big cities.
Today, Copenhagen has three stationary measuring points for air quality. We hope to complement the measurements from these fixed locations with our mobile Street View cars, enabling the City to measure air pollution in the City in significantly more detail. The air quality sensors measure nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, and ultrafine particulate matter.
We’ve enlisted the help of scientists from the University of Utrecht in The Netherlands to equip the car with the air quality equipment. They will also play an integral part in data validation and analysis. Aarhus University in Denmark will also contribute.
Equipping Street View cars with sensors to measure air quality
This is the next phase of our efforts to map air quality, after first mapping the City of Oakland and other California cities since 2015. We’ve also mapped high-resolution air quality data in London, and recently announced that we’re expanding to more places around the globe.
Project Air View is an example of how we can extend Google’s mission to air quality information, helping to reduce pollution and meaningfully impact people’s quality of life. And it’s one of several efforts aimed at applying technology to the world’s most pressing problems. We’re thrilled that Copenhagen is one of the first cities in Europe with a Street View car on the road measuring air quality. It speaks to Copenhagen’s forward-thinking approach to climate and environment, and we’re happy to contribute to that effort.
