Source: aminphotoz, Shutterstock
Summary
- Recently, Boston Dynamics gave an insight into their work and also revealed the company's aim and plans.
- Spot robot has already been deployed at the Ford car factory and an oil and gas vessel on a trial basis.
- The company revealed details about its upcoming robot that’ll work with humans.
In a rare development, American robotics design company Boston Dynamics gave access to CBS's 60 Minutes team for visiting the company's workshop in Massachusetts. The company is known for its robots such as Spot, Atlas and Handle. The video of these robots has often gone viral on the Internet as they can dance, run and even do a somersault. This behind-the-scenes peek has once again market analysts seeking its IPO date.
During the visit, the team members and Marc Raibert, chairman of Boston Dynamics gave an insight into their work and also revealed the company's aim and plans.
Those who are familiar with the company's video posts must know that Boston Dynamics not only share good videos but also share videos of things going wrong with their robots. Commenting on this particular activity, Mr Raibert said that failure is a big factor in any development process and that their motto is "Build it, break it and fix it."
Boston Dynamics IPO: 'Time to get some returns'
The company has no immediate IPO or market debut plans.
Boston Dynamics was spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It was then acquired by Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in 2013, which then sold it to SoftBank in 2017.
Last year, auto giant Hyundai (KRX: 005380) began the process of acquiring the company from SoftBank in a deal worth US$ 1.1 billion, which is likely to close in June 2021.
The automaker got an 80 per cent stake in the robotics firm and it was believed that the reason for this deal was to enhance the plan of autonomous vehicles and smart factories run by robots.
There are speculations that Boston Dynamics might be under pressure to monetize some of its creations as the parent company might be expected some returns. Recently, the company priced Spot at US$ 75,000 and started selling it. This robot has already been deployed at the Ford car factory and an oil and gas vessel on a trial basis.
A Robot in making for warehouses
During the shoot, the company also revealed details about its upcoming robot which will be known as Stretch. The robot will have a seven-foot arm and it will be designed for warehouse work. It is expected to be highly-efficient as Stretch will likely work for 16 straight hours on a full charge and also move around 800 boxes per hour.
Source: Pixabay
CEO Robert Playter said that Stretch will go up for sale in 2022 and said that this generation of robots will be different and they'll work among humans and reduce the workload.