Alphabet, the Google’s parent company, has given birth to a new Intrinsic firm specializing in developing software for industrial robots. Moreover, the subsidiary will be one of Alphabet’s “other bets”. Furthermore, it will include product startups like Waymo for self-driving cars, Wing for delivery drones, and Verily for healthcare and biotech. There are no specifics on what Intrinsic is building. Moreover, no information about who will be its clients.
Nevertheless, Intrinsic’s ambitions are discussed in broad terms in a blog post by the company’s new CEO, Wendy Tan White. Additionally, Mr. CEO claims that the company will unlock industrial robotics’ creative and economic output for thousands of more businesses, entrepreneurs, and developers. Alphabet will accomplish this goal by developing software that will make industrial robots. Furthermore, these robots will be easier to use, less costly, and more flexible.
Alphabet and Robots History in Google’s Perspective
For years, Google has been obsessed with robotics. However, its initiatives have been scattered and have failed to yield any commercial successes. In 2013, Google went on a robot purchase binge, purchasing seven firms in less than six months, including Schaft, Bot & Dolly, Replicant, Boston Dynamics, and Andy Rubin, a co-founder of the Android mobile operating system.
Replicant was a big failure in the robot industry. Over the years, however, there has been little news from Replicant, and Google has sold or shut down most of its acquisitions. Why? Partly because robots are difficult to manufacture and not very profitable. But also because Rubin resigns from the firm in 2014 following sexual misconduct allegations.
Since Replicant’s demise, Alphabet has shifted its attention to software. Furthermore, it was employing machine learning to teach robots to control objects without human intervention. This plays to Google’s capabilities, and it appears that Intrinsic will be focusing on this in the future.
Intrinsic and the goal of Robots in Industry
Tan White explains in the blog post. In the last few years, his team has been studying how to offer industrial robots the ability to perceive, learn, and autonomously make adjustments as they complete jobs. This ability will allow them to work in a broader range of situations and applications.
Furthermore, he explained that They have been putting the software to the test that employs techniques like automated perception, deep learning, reinforcement learning, motion planning, simulation, and force control.
They don’t know much more than that. It’s worth mentioning that this isn’t Google’s sole robotics project right now. Moreover, Alphabet created a splash in 2019 when it announced its Everyday Robot project. This project was an endeavor to develop a general-purpose learning robot. This project was part of the Alphabets’ innovation incubator X. It’s unclear what happened to this project. Intrinsic may have a higher chance of keeping Google’s attention.
Conclusively, it is a piece of excellent news for those who visualize the robots in the industrialization of the Coming Human centuries. Although, all we had reviewed is an amalgamation of thoughts, ideas, and history projects. Nevertheless, Intrinsic will be an eye-opener for many of us, including Google. Furthermore, Alphabet has yet to discuss in clear words Intrinsic and its innovative addition in their product line, including Google.
