Google algorithms tweaking electric car-smart grid communication


Google's interest in everything everywhere things green has apparently been deeper than we knew. The solar car ports, the $2.75 million investment in companies (like Aptera) and the whole RechargeIT program are old news. What's thus far been under the radar is that Google is working on software to better integrate plug-in vehicles with the coming smart grid. Reuters says that Google is trying to write software that allows a lot of plug-ins connected at the same time without causing problems anywhere along the line. The software is the latest part of Google's "pretty intense" PHEV testing that has been going on for the last few years.

The basic idea seems to be to let individual drivers make their own arrangements with the utilities to have their cars not suck down electrons – or even provide power from the battery – during peak times. This isn't the only attempt to get a system like this up and running, but Google has a pretty good history of taking ideas that are already out there and making them better. Still, let's hope it's more google.com than G1, if you know what we're saying.

[Source: Reuters via Engadget]

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