Google floats sea-powered data centre patent

Hello, sailor. A phrase that might be internet giant Google’s corporate greeting in the future, if it’s latest plans are anything to go by.

Spotted in a filing on the US Patent and Trademark Office’s website is a patent submitted by Google last February for a wave-powered floating data centre.

There are various possible implementations of such a system outlined in the patent but essentially the wave-powered data centres would be housed in shipping containers several miles offshore.

More from the patent:

“The sea-powered electrical generator may comprise a wave-powered generator system, and may further include a plurality of motion-powered machines arranged in a grid and wired together. The wave-powered electrical generator system may likewise comprise one or more Pelamis machines.”

Google says these offshore data centres could help distribute computing power and internet connectivity closer to users over shorter regional links. It could also be used, for example, if military presence is needed in an area or in the case of a natural disaster, where there is a need for computing and telecoms until the local natural infrastructure can be repaired or rebuilt.

The patent goes into much more detail and has a bunch of drawings. Check it out for yourself here.