Google will sell Boston Dynamics, Toyota / Amazon emerges as a seller

Entering Google's affiliation, we are not defeated by human interferenceHumanoid robot "Atlas" that continues to perform duty without interruptionWe have been developing advanced robots such asBoston · DynamicsIt is reported that it is the direction to be sold. Toyota-affiliated companies and Amazon are named as the selling destinations, and attention will be gathered in future developments.

Google Puts Boston Dynamics Up for Sale in Robotics Retreat - Bloomberg Business
(Click to play movies automatically)http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-17/google-is-said-to-put-boston-dynamics-robotics-unit-up-for-sale

Alphabet reportedly putting robot builder Boston Dynamics up for sale | The Verge
http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/17/11254676/alphabet-reportedly-putting-robot-builder-boston-dynamics-up-for-sale

A way of viewing this sale is reported by Bloomberg Business etc. as information on a person familiar with internal circumstances of Google. Google acquired Boston Dynamics in 2013 and was working on the development of robot technology but as it was judged that the possibility of generating revenue in the next few years is low, Alphabet, the parent company of Google, It is reported that it decided to sell Boston · dynamics.

And the name is listed as the sale of the new artificial intelligence research company that Toyota established in the United StatesToyota Research Institute(TRI) and companies like Amazon.com in the USA. Toyota needs robot technology that utilizes AI (Artificial Intelligence) for the development of automatic driving cars, and Amazon seems to be exploring the use of robot as one means of working in warehouse, so It seems that companies can also be seen as influential "buyers". In this regard, Google and TRI refused to comment, Amazon said it did not respond to inquiries.

Boston · Dynamics is a robot development company established in 1992 by former professor of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mark · Laybert. I have developed a robot that can be used for wasteland against the Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and not for commercial use. It was a 4-legged robot that appeared around 2008 as "a dog-type robot that will not turn even if kicked" that made the name of Boston · dynamics such a fame famous.

You can understand the height of the technical strength of a 4-legged robot that will endure despite being kicked by a person from the side and trying to endure desperately while taking legs on a frozen road surface can be understood by the following article.

Amazing sense of balance, absolutely not falling dog type robot - GIGAZINE


There is no way the world can release such Boston dynamics, and in 2013 by GoogleAcquisitionIt was done. Development has been promoted even after the acquisition,Quadruped walking robot "Spot" challenges battle with dogAppearance,The state-of-the-art humanoid robot "Atlus" is a chore and chore movieEvery time it is released, the surprise and attention of the public has been gathered. A movie that "Atlus" published in February 2016 continues working without mezz also for human bullying is the best example and it is still a surprising voice in the way that the move like a human being is done at a speed not so slow It is crowded.

A surreal movie performing a mission without fear even if a humanoid robot "Atlas" is destroyed - GIGAZINE


However, as of November 2015, it was reported that it had a strange appearance in the Google company as well.

Google aims to "complete the robot" by 2020, but the development organization seems to be struggling - GIGAZINE


According to Bloomberg Business report, Boston · Dynamics continued its own route even after entering Google, and continued to refuse to transfer to Google research institution "Google X" It seems that it gave birth. Andy Rubin, who led the Google robot division "Replicant" in Google's internal efforts to acquire Boston · Dynamics, left the company in 2014, etc., there is no longer a leader in Google It seems that it is also partly attributable to it.

The details such as the amount sold is unknown at the time of article creation.