NEW YORK: Android founder Andy Rubin has moved to the Google from the mobile operating system as the head where he would pursue his lifelong love for real robots, while Google has purchased seven different robot companies for a secretive new robotics initiative.
The story apparently comes from Rubin himself, who granted the Times an interview but wouldn’t provide many details about Google’s plans. Apparently, the robot group is distinct from the Google X lab, which has become synonymous with the company’s crazier hardware projects, such as self-driving cars and balloon-powered internet. However, Rubin said that the new division — which could even be spun off as a separate company — is still pursuing a “moon shot” of that sort. Currently, Rubin is hiring robotcists for the project, which the Times reports will maintain offices in both Polo Alto and Japan.
It’s not clear what kind of robots the group will build, but several of the companies involved previously built humanoid robots and robotic arms, and it seems like Rubin is suggesting that Google’s creation might be able to move, reach, and grab things like a person. According to “several people with specific knowledge of the project,” the robots will likely be used in manufacturing rather than sold to consumers, and might specifically be used in electronics assembly.
For Rubin, manufacturing is a return to the past. According to a 2007 profile, Rubin began as a robot engineer at lens manufacturer Carl Zeiss and had a brief stint at Apple as a manufacturing engineer before devoting his working hours to developing computers instead. However, robotics remained a hobby, with Rubin both building his own and amassing a collection of robots from Japan. The Android operating system’s name was no accident: Rubin’s co-workers at Apple started calling him “Android” because of his love of robots, and he adopted the name for his own purposes years later.
