Lookout Amazon Drones, GoogleBots Are In Development and We're Not Talking Web Crawlers
The wonderful and terrifying robot future portended by Amazon’s delivery drones isn’t exclusive to the e-tailer giant; Google is getting in on the robot action, too.
The company is looking to develop humanoid robots that could perform tasks such as manufacturing electronics, loading up products to ship, and even delivering goods to your front door.
Andy Rubin and robots (Credit: Jim Wilson/NYT)
Andy Rubin, of Android fame, is heading up the project, and according to a New York Times piece on the subject, the effort is being well-funded by Google, so it’s not just some cute idea that will never see the light of day. However, Rubin acknowledges that this won’t be an easy project. “Like any moonshot, you have to think of time as a factor,” he told the NYT. “We need enough runway and a 10-year vision.”
To that end, Google has quietly snapped up seven robotics companies in the last six months.
So in the near future, traditional shipping models may be rent asunder by massive warehouses populated by whizzing drones that can deliver virtually anything you can imagine to your door in minutes instead of days. Humanoid robots will make most of what we buy, and the rest of manufacturing will be replaced by a “distributed” paradigm wherein 3D printing in the home and office will enable us to simply make many of the products we want right from our desks.
Oh, and don’t forget about self-driving robot cars.
I need to sit down and hang onto something, the world’s spinning too fast.
The company is looking to develop humanoid robots that could perform tasks such as manufacturing electronics, loading up products to ship, and even delivering goods to your front door.
Andy Rubin and robots (Credit: Jim Wilson/NYT)
Andy Rubin, of Android fame, is heading up the project, and according to a New York Times piece on the subject, the effort is being well-funded by Google, so it’s not just some cute idea that will never see the light of day. However, Rubin acknowledges that this won’t be an easy project. “Like any moonshot, you have to think of time as a factor,” he told the NYT. “We need enough runway and a 10-year vision.”
To that end, Google has quietly snapped up seven robotics companies in the last six months.
So in the near future, traditional shipping models may be rent asunder by massive warehouses populated by whizzing drones that can deliver virtually anything you can imagine to your door in minutes instead of days. Humanoid robots will make most of what we buy, and the rest of manufacturing will be replaced by a “distributed” paradigm wherein 3D printing in the home and office will enable us to simply make many of the products we want right from our desks.
Oh, and don’t forget about self-driving robot cars.
I need to sit down and hang onto something, the world’s spinning too fast.
