Google will be setting up a "robotics department" following their purchase of seven companies -- including Japanese firm Schaft -- that are involved with robotics, according to Android maker Andy Rubin.
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| Google announced it is developing a new robotics product with Japanese firm Schaft creating the prototype pictured above. |
The announcement came after Amazon unveiled its plan to develop "octocopter" drones to upgrade their delivery system.
In a rare interview, the former Android chief spoke to John Markoff of the New York Times, but gave very few details about the robots.
“Like any moonshot, you have to think of time as a factor,” says Rubin to the Times. “We need enough runway and a 10-year vision.”
After leaving the top spot in the Android smartphone division in March, Rubin persuaded Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page to invest in his new project. Neither Google nor Rubin would specify the size of the investment.
Rubin told the Times that technological breakthroughs still needed to occur in order to make his project viable but compared it to Google’s self-driving car.
“The automated car project was science fiction when it started,” Rubin says. “Now it is coming within reach.”
Rubin has already acquired several companies in Japan and the U.S. that are developing humanoid robots, computer vision systems and automated mobility systems.
For now, Google’s robotics division will be based in Palo Alto, Calif., with an additional office in Japan. --Source: CTV News/Enterpreneur.com