
Boston Dynamics Robots Run, Dance and Flip, But Are They a Business? - extarial
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/22/technology/boston-dynamics-robots.html
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GlenTheMachine
I've been following Boston Dynamics for a long time, and this story is the
first one I've read which explores my primary question about the company.

I have a hard time seeing Spot Mini - or any legged robot - being useful for
surveillance, for the simple reason that a thousand fixed wireless cameras
will always be cheaper and will almost always give you better coverage than a
single mobile robot. And I have a hard time seeing legged robots used well for
moving goods, outside some niche settings such as search and rescue. Tracks
are so much simpler, so much cheaper, and so much more robust. Not quite as
agile, but really — how often do you need something moved over ground that a
tracked vehicle or a four-wheeler can't negotiate? And that you're willing to
pay $50,000 for?

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of the tech BD develops. I just don't see a
business plan for it.

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lallysingh
The National Park service comes to mind. Area's too big and disconnected for
cameras + power + network (although you could sat-link the cameras, it'd be
expensive).

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murukesh_s
yea, also something that can convert plant into energy like animals would do
would enable a robot to stay forever in such an environment without needing to
recharge.

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r00fus
Yes, I really want Spot Mini to be self-powering. Next up: replication.

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murukesh_s
Even though scary, I think sometime we might head towards that. Spot Mini
enabled to operate 3D printers and assemble parts. Damn!

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dbcurtis
Boston Dynamics mainly did DARPA contracts for a long time. And their stuff
had a certain reputation... "If the contract said MTBF > 10 hours, then they
pretty much ran for 10.5 hours." They really have little expertise in
designing for delivering customer value, or likewise designing for user
experience.

I've worked in robotics for a long time, and the thing I repeatedly see is
under-attention to user experience. BD robots simply lack empathy. There are a
huge number of robotics engineers who hear "lacks empathy" and snort
dismissively at that criticism, and then go on to crater their robotics
startup and wonder why.

The reality is that it is very difficult to come up with a robotics business
model where the question: "Why does a robot deliver value better than some
other solution?" has a good, clear, answer. But if you can manage to clear
that hurdle, then you need to bring the appropriate design sensibilities to
your product because your survival depends on it.

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dsfyu404ed
Doesn't matter. They'll get enough DoD contracts and other sources of funding
to keep them alive because certain parties (rightfully) have a strong interest
in domestically retaining this sort of specialty engineering capability.

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GlenTheMachine
They aren't taking DoD contracts. They used to, of course. That mostly stopped
when Google bought them.

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lalos
Haven't kept up with them but Google sold it to Softbank a while back ago.
They might have resumed with the DoD contracts?

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bla2
"When Google acquired Boston Dynamics, it ended the company’s military
contracts. Now that the company is owned by SoftBank, Mr. Raibert said, it
could also return to military work."

Sounds like they haven't (yet).

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SurrealSoul
"Are they a Business or a Research Lab?"

Is there something wrong with being a Research lab that has $100B backed in
funding?

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IshKebab
Yes. A very high level of funding usually isn't sustainable unless you have
some way of making money (i.e. you're a business) or you are government-funded
(e.g. NASA).

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r00fus
At some point, Google/Alphabet is going to be a solid enough backer of
research. I'd say that point is already here.

I mean, wasn't Bell Labs a thing?

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CamTin
The point of Bell Labs was to save the Bell System money. That's why they
developed the transistor, Unix, and all the rest: because the cost to run Bell
Labs was less than the cost-savings of the inventions it produced when
amortized over their whole, enormous, system. I don't see any major cost-
savings that Google could have gained from hella cool four-legged robots but
maybe I just don't have the imagination.

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zjaffee
This might be a bit of a stretch, but powered by the right legal team, they
could very likely acquire a ton of very valuable patents that become relevant
as the technology reaches a more mature state.

These robots aren't just innovations in bi/quad-pedal technology, they are
making major advancements in gyroscopic monitoring, lidar, and many other
areas.

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eaenki
I'd just like a robot to be my primary computing platform. Kinda like
Interstellar's robots. Elder care, personal safety, construction and last mile
logistics all make sense.

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gattr
Motorized sex-androids also come to mind (remember the articles about the
existing ultra-realistic doll makers? the "UI skin" part is already there).

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josefresco
> Now that the company is owned by SoftBank, Mr. Raibert said, it could also
> return to military work.

Ding ding ding doesn't matter.

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ddingus
Maybe not the demo robots in and of themselves, but you can bet your ass the
skills and understanding they have is a very profitable business.

I would consider them elite in this field. Making robots to task based specs
should pay well, and the annuity comes nearly free. Service, consulting,
upgrades, changes...

