Google and robotics do seem to be a rather potent combination, and we have just received word that Google’s robotics division has expanded themselves by picking up Boston Dynamics. Yes sir, Boston Dynamics happens to be that company which churns out those noisy, yet extremely stable walking robots for folks over in the military. There was no mention on how much Google paid to pick up Boston Dynamics though, but this is certainly an interesting development.
Boston Dynamics began to make waves in 2008 with their BigDog creation, and ever since then, they have progressed to deliver smaller as well as more agile gas-powered robots, including the WildCat that is capable of running up to speeds of 15mph with the clever implementation of bounding and galloping gaits. As a company, it has received its fair share of funding from DARPA to date, and after the acquisition, Google will continue to honor the current military contracts, but has no plans to become a military contractor on its own according to the Times. Just what do you think Google’s direction will be with Boston Dynamics? Only time will be able to tell, but is the day of a robot apocalypse drawing closer and closer even as we speak?
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