Tweet
divdiv class=postBody txtWrap section=txt readability=47 div class=cnet-image-div image-LARGE2 float-none readability=3 img class=cnet-image src=http://asset1.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim2/2013/12/04/Schaft-robot_1_610x386.jpg alt=Schaft, a Japanese company focusing on a humanoid robot, is one of several small robotics firms that Google has acquired. width=610 height=386/p class=image-captionSchaft, a Japanese company focusing on a humanoid robot, is one of several small robotics firms that Google has acquired./p span class=image-credit (Credit: Schaft) /span /div p When a href=/8301-1023_3-57574104-93/google-shakeup-chrome-head-sundar-pichai-takes-over-android/Andy Rubin handed leadership of the Android project to Sundar Pichai/a, the a href=/8301-1023_3-57574169-93/what-could-be-andy-rubins-next-moonshot-at-google/speculation began/a about what he'd be doing next for Google. /pp Now we know: robots. /pp In an a href=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/04/technology/google-puts-money-on-robots-using-the-man-behind-android.html?pagewanted=allinterview with The New York Times/a on Wednesday, Rubin said his robotics project is at the heart of one of Google's long-term, big-deal moonshot programs that also have included self-driving a href=http://reviews.cnet.com/car-tech/ section=luke_topic cars/a and a href=http://reviews.cnet.com/google-glass/ section=luke_topic Google Glass/a. /pp Like any moonshot, you have to think of time as a factor. We need enough runway and a 10-year vision, Rubin said. /pp Google has acquired seven robotics companies to get a head start, but at least for now, the scope is relatively limited, focusing on manufacturing, the Times reported. /p div class=cnet-image-div image-MEDIUM float-right readability=0 img class=cnet-image src=http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2011/05/11/google-io-2011-0932_270x180.jpg alt=Andy Rubin width=270 height=180/p class=image-captionAndy Rubin/p span class=image-credit (Credit: James Martin/CNET) /span /div p But Chief Executive Larry Page wasn't afraid to raise expectations about Rubin's work. His last big bet, a href=http://www.cnet.com/android-atlas/ section=luke_topic Android/a, started off as a crazy idea that ended up putting a supercomputer in hundreds of millions of pockets. It is still very early days for this, but I can't wait to see the progress, a href=https://plus.google.com/106189723444098348646/posts/UhgaJUb9y3SPage said in a Google+ post/a. /pp Manufacturing is an industry where robots already have a major presence; robots weld car frames and precisely place windshields, for example. But as evidenced by the splash Amazon made Sunday by revealing its plans for a href=/8301-1023_3-57614273-93/amazon-drones-bold-experiment-or-shrewd-publicity-stunt/aerial drones for package delivery/a, there's a lot more that can be done with technological automation. /pp As with some other Google moonshots, the project combines both hardware and software. Silicon Valley's decades of history began with hardware companies and shifted gradually to software companies, but Google has become a company that handles both, building its own servers and data centers and Motorola phones and writing its own software. Handling both bits and atoms can be helpful when it's time to pioneer a new industry where neither the hardware or software are mature. /pp We're building systems, so one team will be able to understand the whole stack, Rubin told the Times. /p div class=cnet-image-div image-MEDIUM float-right readability=3 img class=cnet-image src=http://asset2.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim2/2013/12/04/1_121112_041945_270x257.jpg alt=Bot amp; Dolly, a company that focuses on robots used for cinema camera movement in films such as amp;#34;Gravity,amp;#34; is another Google acquisition. width=270 height=257/p class=image-captionBot amp; Dolly, a company that focuses on robots used for cinema camera movement in films such as Gravity, is another Google acquisition./p span class=image-credit (Credit: Bot amp; Dolly) /span /div p The companies Google acquired include a href=http://schaft-inc.jp/?lang=enSchaft/a, a team of former Tokyo University roboticists making a humanoid robot; a href=http://www.industrial-perception.com/Industrial Perception/a, a startup focusing on computer vision and robots that can load and unload trucks; a href=http://mekabot.com/Meka/a, which makes robotic manipulators intended to work side by side with humans; a href=http://redwoodrobotics.com/Redwood Robotics/a, a maker of robotic arms; a href=http://www.botndolly.com/Bot amp; Dolly/a, whose robotic arms are used in cinema including the movie Gravity; a sister company called a href=http://www.autofuss.com/Autofuss/a; and a href=http://www.holomni.com/Holomni/a, which makes powered caster wheels that can drive vehicles. /pp Using robots to assemble electronics, package products, and move products through warehouses could be a big deal economically, as the legions of Foxconn smartphone assemblers and Amazon packers can attest. Those jobs already are about as close as you can get to being cogs in a machine. But freeing them would mean they'd have to find work elsewhere -- a common plight in the history of technology. /pp But don't be surprised if Google has grander ambitions for robotics than manufacturing, packaging, and transportation. Google likes to apply technology where it can make a difference, but it also has a history of trying to be a direct force in consumer's lives, as projects like search, Android, and self-driving cars. So maybe one day a Google robot will walk outside factory floors and warehouses. /p /div/divbrbrcentera href=http://www.wizardrss.comPowered By WizardRSS.com/a | a href=http://www.wizardrss.comFull Text RSS Feed/a | a href=http://www.amazon.com/RFID-Blocking-Cards-Identity-Protector/dp/B00CJHZLEWRFID/a | a href=http://www.wpzonbuilder.comAmazon Affiliate/a/center