Alphabet's 15 most ambitious

moonshot projects
Projects that weren't part of Google's core business (Google search
engine and Android) were spun out into separate Alphabet
companies with their own CEO. All of these "moonshot" projects
cover everything from making smarter homes to creating robots that
can work alongside humans.
But even Google proper, which now falls under Alphabet, still has
oversight over some of these futuristic projects.
It can be a lot to keep track of, so we compiled the 15 most
ambitious moonshot projects under Alphabet and what they hope to
accomplish:

Google Fiber
Google Fiber provides super high-speed internet and more than 150
TV channels. You can record up to eight show at once on the Google
Fiber DVR, and control the TV using an app on an Android or iOS
device.
Google Fiber, which provides an internet connection that's up to
1,000 megabits per second, is one of the fastest U.S. internet
providers (along with Verizon FiOS).
It's currently only available in: Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Kansas City,
Nashville, Raleigh-Durham, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, and Provo,
Utah. But it has plans to expand to cities like Tampa and Portland.

Fiber falls under the Access and Energy company under Alphabet.

Nest
Nest shows Alphabet's plan to get involved in smart home
technology.
Most people know Nest from its smart thermostat, which will learn
owners' behaviors and adjust the temperature according to their
preference and to safe money. You can also control the thermostat
remotely via its app.
But Nest makes other smart home products as well, like a smart fire
detector and a smart home security camera.
Nest, which was acquired for $3.2 billion in 2014, is its own company
under Alphabet.

Driverless cars
Google is one of the forerunners in the driverless car race.
As of the end of November 2015, Google's driverless cars had
racked up more than 1.3 million miles in autonomous mode,
according to a Google report filed with the Department of Motor
Vehicles.
A December report released by Juniper Research, a mobile and
digital market research firm, declared Google was most likely to
bring driverless cars to consumers first. This makes sense,
considering Googles self-driving car software has gained more than
90 years worth of collective driving experience.
Google's driverless car project is run by the Google X company
under Alphabet.

Delivery drones

Project Wing is Alphabet's desire to replace your mailman with flying

drones.
A patent filed October 2014 gave us better insight as to how the
project would work. The drone will lower a package using a winch to
tiny robots on the ground. Those robots will then wheel the package
to a safe holding location.
Alphabet plans on releasing the drone delivery service to the public
in 2017. Project Wing is run by the Google X company under
Alphabet.

Smart contact lenses

Alphabet is pursuing smart contact lenses that are solar powered
and collect biological data about the wearer. Sensors embedded in
the contacts could collect information like body temperature and
blood-alcohol content.
The tech giant also announced in 2014 that it was pursuing contact
lenses that would use tiny glucose sensors to measure sugar levels
in your tears.
The project is run by Alphabet's Verily company, which was originally
named Google Life Sciences.

Devices that counteract Parkinson's Disease

The spoon allows people suffering from tremors due to Parkinson's
Disease to eat without spilling their food. It reduces shaking by 76%
on average.
The spoon was designed by Lift Labs, which Google bought in
September 2014, and is now run under Google X.

Renewable energy from wind turbines

Before it was Alphabet, Google bought Makani Power in 2013, which
makes an airborne device called an "energy kite" to create
renewable energy.
An energy kite is a plane-like device equipped with rotors. The rotors
help lift the kite off the ground, and once its in flight the wind forces
the rotors to act like individual turbines.But Makani claims the
system generates 50% more energy than traditional turbines and
uses 90% less materials.
The project is now under the control of Google X.

Internet-beaming hot air balloons

Project Loon is Alphabet's desire to bring internet to two-thirds of the
world's population using internet-beaming hot air balloons.
The project has been in the works since 2011, about two years
before it was unveiled to the public. The solar powered balloons fly
at high altitudes to provide broadband to areas without internet
access. Project Loon is run under Google X.

A wearable that tracks your health for clinical trials

The wristband can measure health rhythm, pulse, and skin
temperature. It can also track outside factors like noise and light.
The device wouldn't be sold as a consumer product, but used as a
medical device that is prescribed to patients or used for clinical trials.
The wristband is being developed under Google X.
Dr. Thomas Insel, who served as the director of the National Institute
of Mental Health for 13 years, was brought in to lead a mental health

division as part of Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences) under

Alphabet.
One of his ideas is to create a wearable that uses sensors to
objectively track your mood. Although this may still be in the idea
phase, it's possible we could see this rolled into the wearable
Alphabet is developing.

Robots!
Google-turned Alphabet acquired a ton of robotic companies in
2013. One that stands out is Boston Dynamics.
Boston Dynamics creates a number of robots inspired by animals to
aid in military use. One of them is the Cheetah Robot, and it's the
fastest legged robot in the world. The Cheetah Robot can get to a
speed of 29 miles per hour, crushing a 13.1 mile-per-hour speed
record set by MIT in 1989.
All robot projects are run as part of Replicant, which is controlled by
Google X.

Free WiFi in New York City

New Yorkers, have you seen some of those hubs popping up around
the city? If so, you can thank Alphabet.
Google announced its plan to fund free WiFi in New York City in
June 2015, and we are already starting to see the results.
Called LinkNYC, the project is converting old New York City
payphones into WiFi hotspots with USB charging ports.
LinkNYC is run as part of Sidewalk Labs under Alphabet.

A giant genomics storing service

Google will store your genome in the cloud for $25, and the storage
system could have a major impact on the scientific community.
The hope is to collect millions of genomes to aid in scientific
research. As MIT Review reports, the system could aid in collecting
"cancer genome clouds" that would allow scientists to share
information and run virtual experiments.
The project is run under Google X.

Artificial Intelligence
DeepMind, which is the company's AI research firm, falls under
Google as a traditional product.
Google has made massive strides with refining its AI. In
January,Google's AI beat a human at the complex game of Go for
the very first time.
Google's AI was also capable of learning to play and win Atari 2600
games without any prior instructions in 2015. More recently, the
company's AI system was able to successfully navigate a maze on a
computer game the same way a human would.

Virtual reality
It seems like virtual reality will be the next big project for the tech
giant.
The company opened up a new virtual reality division under Google
in early January, Re/code reported. There are also reports that the
company is working on updating its cheaper virtual reality set,
Google Cardboard, to make it more powerful.

The ability to control objects in the virtual world.

In what seems straight out of science fiction, Project Soli is the tech
giant's mission to allow people to control objects in the virtual world.
The project uses radar waves to detect precise finger movements or
finger "micromotions." This would allow people to control virtual
objects or navigate through their phone without touching the actual
screen.
The project is run under ATAP, which stands for Advanced
Technology and Projects. ATAP is considered a Google company.