The secret laboratory headed by Google (GOOG) co-founder Sergey Brin, which has birthed such projects as Google Glass and the company’s driverless car program, plans to unveil a new project “in the coming month.” Google’s Astro Teller, who holds the distinguished title “Captain of Moonshots,” shared details about the company’s secret X Lab facility at the South by Southwest conference in Austin this week. As reported by GigaOM, Teller notes that in order to solve difficult problems we must overcome society’s expectations and embrace risky ideas and failures.
“You have to have a group of people dedicated to throwing almost everything away,” he said.
Google’s X Lab and its estimated 100 employees generate hundreds of ideas each year, however many of them never see the light of day. The lab selects only one or two ideas each year and turns them into a reality. While some projects are as ambitious as driverless cars, others have been more simple such as the blue dot on Google Maps that shows your location inside a building.
Teller revealed that the lab is planning to announce its latest project “in the coming month,” however he refuted a recent report claiming the company was working on a “space elevator.”
