Google X: Leveraging data and algorithms for self-driving cars
Is Google X going to win in the self-driving car space? Are Waze and Google Maps their secret weapons? How does Google X's Waymo project leverage the power of data and analytics?
Google Maps
Google Maps – the most expansive data machine
Over the years Google Maps have collected Billion of bytes of data to map the entire world. Increasing penetration of GPS-enabled smartphone has fueled Google’s appetite for data even further and it is putting all that data to good use.
Waze: “Help[ing] people create local driving communities that work together to improve the quality of everyone’s daily driving”
The mission statement of Waze, founded in Israel in 2009, is to “help people create local driving communities that work together to improve the quality of everyone's daily driving”. By updating maps in real time with crowdsourced information from drivers, Waze provides its users with “the best route, every day, with real-time help from other drivers”.
Google Maps Doubles Down on Network Effects to Stave Off Formidable Competition
Google Maps has evolved into a platform boasting powerful direct and indirect network effects.