CNET reports Google (GOOG 3.64%) is building some kind of structure on a floating barge in the San Francisco Bay. Google hasn't commented on the project, but CNET spoke with multiple sources that indicated Google is involved.
The structure is made up of modern shipping containers stacked four-high. There's much speculation as to what it could be for, though one seems especially plausible: a floating data center. Google was granted a patent in 2009 for a "water-based data center." Though it sounds odd to the layman, a floating data center would benefit from easy access to plenty of water, which helps to cool large numbers of servers.
The alternate theory is that the barge is some sort of marketing center for Google Glass. It could be something like an Apple Store, but for Google Glass.
In this segment of Tech Teardown, Erin Kennedy discusses Google's latest odd venture with Evan Niu, CFA, our tech and telecom bureau chief.
