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Google looks to be following up the addition of its Google Chart Tools with a neat addition to Google Labs - the Public Data Explorer . The purpose of the new tool, Google says on the new lab's page, is to make "large datasets easy to explore, visualize and communicate". Google, with its access to an immense assortment of information, is in the perfect position to help us with ways to display this information. Sponsor Just as with the Chart Tools , Google's Public Data Explorer will allow users to directly embed charts and other visual tools onto their websites. The charts will be dynamically created, so if the data updates, so will the chart. Google first got into the public data game about a year ago and has been including this type of data in its search results . Right now, there are 13 datasets available, ranging from something as specific as Education Statistics of California to World Development Indicators from the World Bank . Google has just added five new public data sources: the U.S. Center for Disease Control (think Google's Flu Trends ), the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Eurostat, the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development, and the California Department of Education. There are four choices for visualization styles - bar graph, line graph, map or bubble, and each has its advantage. After choosing a visual style, you can select what data points you would like to see and set variables such as time period. Just as with the chart tools, we look forward to seeing how useful a tool like this can be for all those smaller organizations that don't have the resources to hire a full-time web design team, but want to visually display data to help visualize trends. This could be a great tool for smaller journalistic organizations to compete with some of the big dogs. Discuss
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Google Opens Public Data Explorer Lab
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The Internet of Things , the growth and bringing online of sensor data to create a foundation for innovation, is expected to be a big trend in 2010. ReadWriteWeb has been covering it extensively and we offer below the three top stories in Internet of Things over the last 24 hours, from around the web. A new report on airport satisfaction points to opportunities for more sensors. RFID to track interactions between prisoners and guards? It's happening now. And a hospital that will use sensors to alert staff of the location and medical histories of patients in crisis, on a big electronic whiteboard centrally located. Those are our three top stories for today. (Editorial selection assisted by OneSpot .) Sponsor It's Time for Better Technology in Airports A Smarter Planet Blog IBM's Steve Hamm discusses J.D. Power's newest report on customer satisfaction with airports. "There have been some important technology advances in airports, such as near-ubiquitous wi-fi access and plenty of check-in kiosks, but it seems like two of the biggest headaches could use some more technology help. Those frustrations, of course, are baggage handling and security checkpoints." I feel an iPhone app or two coming along in the future, don't you? RFID wristbands used to monitor guard, prisoner interactions RFID News RFID News reports on a system to be implemented by an Illinois prison that will interface between "read/write technology" for "real-time, electronic recordkeeping, tracking, and reporting." Accountability for guards sounds good. Lossless RFID tags in prisons sounds like the end of believable jail-break movies though, doesn't it? Versus RTLS to Support Ministry of Health Performance Goals at Rouge Valley rfid-ready Rfid-ready reports on a Canadian hospital's use of an innovative "Real-time Locating System" to reduce the time patients wait for care, to respond to emergencies and to maintain continuity of care. The hospital was chosen by the Canadian government as one of more than 20 to focus on reducing Emergency Room wait times. Sounds like something that could bring some sanity to an insane situation - the emergency room. For a broad overview of this sector, see: Top 5 Web Trends of 2009: Internet of Things and 5 Companies Building the Internet of Things . Discuss
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Airports, Prisoners & Hospital Patients: Today's Top Stories on Internet of Things
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