Google Takes Aim at the Internet of Things

Google intends to be the center of the connected home with its new “internet of things” operating system, Brillo. Google Brillo is designed to run on and connect multiple low-power devices, connecting anything from a washing machine to a rubbish bin and linking in with existing Google technologies. The move is an expansion of the company’s Android mobile operating system, which powers more than half of the world’s smartphones, and the recent acquisition of Nest – a smart-device company with a learning thermostat and smoke alarm. Brillo is designed to be a bare-bones system that allows easy connection between devices. It would give Google a beachhead into the expanding connected device ecosystem.