Google Now has been selected as the Popular Science Innovation of the Year at the 25th awards ceremony.
“We’re honoured by this award and humbled to be in the company of such incredible inventions over the last 25 years like the fluorescent lamp, Mosaic web browser, Large Hadron Collider, and Mars Curiosity,” said Hugo Barra, Product Management Director for Android at Google.
Google Now is an assistant application that navigates the user’s experience through tracking the patterns in searches, event loggings and travel destinations. All information is synthesised accordingly and supplied via notifications to provide the best useful bits at own convenience. The application is powered by Android Jelly Bean 4.1.
Ward said the main reason for this choice is that it crosses a line of expectations. He described it as a “milestone in history”, referring to the relationship between humans and devices. Awarding Google serves as acknowledgement for Popular Science as a signpost in revolutionary development.
“Google Now is waiting for you over there. It’s the first virtual assistant that truly anticipates your needs. All you have to do is opt in,” Jacob Ward from Popsci writes.
The application is free to all Android-based devices.
“With Google Now, you don’t pull the phone out when an idea occurs to you. You pull it out when an idea occurs to it,” the product introduction reads.
Other recipients of awards granted by Popular Science includes the Tesla Model S in the auto category, Sandflea as security technology and Biolight Camp Stove as a green innovation. Further categories of note are, among others, entertainment, gadgets, engineering and aerospace.
