Google is about to sell its robotics division Boston Dynamics for several reasons -- and one of it is for not creating a household robot according to standards.
A price for the deal has not been announced yet, but talks are in the final stages, Tech Insider reported. Google and Boston Dynamics have been brewing tension since 2014. However, a video showcasing Atlas, a humanoid robot, created by Boston Dynamics was the turning point for their separation.
The posting of the video that aimed to showcase the robot's capabilities generated a lot of negative reactions. Comments like "It will replace humans and take their jobs" came up. The video showed a robot maintaining an upright position while walking on the snow, as well as a robot that placed a box on a shelf. It stays upright even when a human tried to push it over using a hockey stick. Another robot toppled over and stood back on its feet easily, Bloomberg noted.
The release of the technology was unsettling for many. Because of such negative image, Google decided to distance itself from the company. It did not want to be associated with Boston Dynamics.
The tension from both sides originated from a conflict of interest. Boston Dynamics is a research-oriented company. However, Google wanted it to create a consumer based product. The company wanted Boston Dynamics to create a robot that would help people around the house for household chores with a target date of 2020.
The robot should be comfortable around humans and should be user-friendly like other Google products. One approach of doing so is by using wheels. However, Boston Dynamics was spun out of the MIT Leg Lab, a research facility focusing on using robotic legs. Asking Boston Dynamics people not to use legs was quite an issue alone.
Furthermore, Boston Dynamics was isolated from Google. It was a concern as it seemed that Boston Dynamics had its own goals, while Google was busy in California doing its own thing. It was tense with Boston Dynamics workers, too, as they felt they were not really part of the company.
The Toyota Research Institute was only announced in November 2015 and started hiring January 2016. The buy-out is said to be a "friendly" one as the CEO of Toyota Research Institute, Gill Pratt used to work with Boston Dynamics founder Marc Raibert. They were colleagues in MIT's Leg Laboratory. The move is said to benefit Boston Dynamics, because Toyota Research Institute is a research-focused company that aligns with Boston Dynamics' practice.