Google is well known as being a company of innovation and long-term planning. And, it seems as if the recent acquisition of at least eight companies involved in robotics is a continuation of this strategy. But, in the process, the “new” direction has fueled a great deal of speculation. The move to add several companies involved in robotics may be a concentration, but not new for Google. Remember the driverless car? This research into autonomy has led to some states passing legislation to allow testing of remote vehicles, but with $150,000 dollars worth of equipment on board, the vehicles will not be in every garage. However, according to digitaltrends.com, there are some big guns being brought into the acquisitions:
“It’s not unusual for Google to capture headlines in the technology press, but one of Google’s latest moves raised even the most-jaded technorati eyebrows: robot maker, Boston Dynamics for an undisclosed amount. But that’s just the icing on a huge robotics cake Google’s been shoveling into its maw. This year alone, Google has acquired no fewer than eight robotics firms, including Industrial Perception, Redwood Robotics, Meka, Schaft, Holomoni, plus the startups Bot & Dolly and Autofuss. And Google is committing brainpower too: In addition to putting former Android chief Andy Rubin in charge of robotics, earlier this year Google hired machine learning expert Geoffrey Hinton, and last year brought famed inventor and AI advocate Ray Kurzweil on board. Between initiatives like Google Glass, Knowledge Graph, and now robotics, Google is positioning itself as a hotbed for future technology development.”
And, although speculation is a part of uncovering trends, some of the possibilities are simply more like daydreaming. For example, the idea that Google will compete with Amazon’s Prime Air package delivery disclosure is truly unrealistic. In fact, it is unlikely that Amazon will ever fully realize quadracopters delivering packages to its customers. But the undisputed fact is that the companies that take “moon shots” will continue to be the leaders in innovation. For a great article with videos of the acquisitions see the article on phys.org here. And now Google, please stop reading my email!
“It’s not unusual for Google to capture headlines in the technology press, but one of Google’s latest moves raised even the most-jaded technorati eyebrows: robot maker, Boston Dynamics for an undisclosed amount. But that’s just the icing on a huge robotics cake Google’s been shoveling into its maw. This year alone, Google has acquired no fewer than eight robotics firms, including Industrial Perception, Redwood Robotics, Meka, Schaft, Holomoni, plus the startups Bot & Dolly and Autofuss. And Google is committing brainpower too: In addition to putting former Android chief Andy Rubin in charge of robotics, earlier this year Google hired machine learning expert Geoffrey Hinton, and last year brought famed inventor and AI advocate Ray Kurzweil on board. Between initiatives like Google Glass, Knowledge Graph, and now robotics, Google is positioning itself as a hotbed for future technology development.”
And, although speculation is a part of uncovering trends, some of the possibilities are simply more like daydreaming. For example, the idea that Google will compete with Amazon’s Prime Air package delivery disclosure is truly unrealistic. In fact, it is unlikely that Amazon will ever fully realize quadracopters delivering packages to its customers. But the undisputed fact is that the companies that take “moon shots” will continue to be the leaders in innovation. For a great article with videos of the acquisitions see the article on phys.org here. And now Google, please stop reading my email!
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