Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has launched its latest venture, a robotics software company called ‘Intrinsic’, which is a segment of X, its ‘moonshots’ division.
Intrinsic is working to unlock the creative and economic potential of industrial robotics for millions more businesses, entrepreneurs, and developers. It is developing software tools designed to make industrial robots (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.
By unlocking access to these incredible productivity tools, Intrinsic hopes to support a shift towards a more sustainable and equitable way of making things. Currently just 10 countries manufacture 70% of the world’s goods, which means most things are made far away from their end consumers, which drives global transport emissions, and many countries and businesses miss out on economic opportunities.
Intrinsic chief Wendy Tan-White, said in a blog post that the company “is working to unlock the creative and economic potential of industrial robotics for millions more businesses, entrepreneurs, and developers.”
“Over the last few years, our team has been exploring how to give industrial robots the ability to sense, learn, and automatically make adjustments as they’re completing tasks, so they work in a wider range of settings and applications,” said Tan-White.
“Working in collaboration with teams across Alphabet, and with our partners in real-world manufacturing settings, we’ve been testing software that uses techniques like automated perception, deep learning, reinforcement learning, motion planning, simulation, and force control.
“In one instance, we trained a robot in two hours to complete a USB connection task that would take hundreds of hours to program. In other tests, we orchestrated multiple robot arms to assemble an architectural installation and a simple piece of furniture. None of this is realistic or affordable to automate today — and there are millions of other examples like this in businesses around the world.
“This all hints at the potential for Intrinsic’s software to radically reduce the time, cost, and complexity required to use industrial robots — and therefore their long-term potential to help with a much wider range of problems and drive up the diversity of goods that can be produced affordably and sustainably.”
After five and a half years developing its technology at X, Intrinsic is now ready to become an independent Alphabet company, leaving the moonshot factory’s rapid prototyping environment to focus on developing products and validating its technology. Intrinsic is currently looking for partners in the automotive, electronics, and health care industries who are already using industrial robotics and want to learn together.
Alphabet’s X was launched about a decade ago with the hopes to use new technologies to solve global problems. The ‘moonshot factory’ has developed a handful of projects so far, including delivery drones and internet balloons, but, according to CNBC, Alphabet’s ‘Other Bets’ segment, has been a cash burner. The area lost USD1.145 billion on revenues of $198 million in the first quarter of 2021 alone.
