Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has a semi-secret division, X Development, that is responsible for providing radical solutions to big problems. X Development division works on projects that go beyond the usual and that want to bring technology to more people. Now, they have presented Intrinsic, their new way of making robotics more accessible.
With Intrinsic, Alphabet aims to make industrial robots smarter, cheaper and more flexible with artificial intelligence. The company will focus on the development of software for industrial robots with the aim of “unlocking their creative and economic potential.”
With this move, Google seeks to change the streak of failures it has had in the world of robotics. Alphabet spent millions of dollars buying different robot companies. Among them were the Japanese Schaft, the American Bot & Dolly and the well-known Boston Dynamics. Most of them, including the latter, were closed or sold. This was apparently due to how complex and unprofitable it is to build robots.
“We’re developing software tools designed to make industrial robots (which are used to make everything from solar panels to cars) easier to use, less costly and more flexible, so that more people can use them to make new products, businesses and services.” — explains the CEO of the company, Wendy Tan-White.
For the past several years, the new company has been exploring how to give industrial robots the ability to automatically detect, learn, and make adjustments as they complete tasks. A way for machines to learn from their environment and can be useful in a wider range of configurations and applications.
Intrinsic ensures that the collaboration with Google and its new partners will allow it to create solutions that can be applied in the real world.
After coming to light as a new Google family company, they will focus on product development as well as validation of their technology in different real work environments. “We are currently looking for partners in the automotive, electronics, and health care industries who are already using industrial robotics and want to learn together.”
Likewise, Tan-White has explained that they have opened a hiring process to grow strongly. “If you’re an AI expert, software engineer or roboticist keen to grow and build new technologies that will unlock the economic and creative potential of others, please get in touch.”
