Andy Rubin, who founded Google's Android
mobile software, and less than a year ago was tapped to run the
company's nascent robotics efforts, is leaving the Internet giant.
"I want to wish Andy all the best with what's next," Google CEO Larry Page said in a statement. "With Android he created something truly remarkable -- with a billion plus happy users. Thank you."
The departure is potentially a blow to the company's ambitions in robotics, where Google has made large investments, including acquiring more than eight companies, including Boston Dynamics and Atlas. Page has made big bets in areas beyond its search and advertising business, its biggest moneymaker, as it looks to where its future revenue streams will come from.
James Kuffner, another member of the robotics group, will take over as head of the division, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news. Rubin is leaving Google to build an incubator for startups to build tech hardware, according to the Journal.
In 2010, Google research scientist Kuffner came up with the idea of cloud robotics, robots that leverage the Internet, crowdsourcing, and open-sourcing to expand their processing power and knowledge base. It's not hard to see how a cloud-connected robot that is gathering data in your home from all its various sensors could be a perambulating privacy violation waiting to happen.
Meanwhile, Rubin has made a career of building companies from scratch and tackling ambitious projects, often focused on robotics or mobile computing. He started at Google in 2005 when Page and company bought his mobile operating system startup Android. Rubin got his start as a robotics engineer at optics maker Carl Zeiss AG in 1986, and went on to work at Apple and Microsoft.
Rubin told the New York Times in December 2013 that "computers are starting to sprout legs and move around in the environment." But such projects are "moonshots," Google's term for ambitious, out-there initiatives, Rubin told the newspaper, and that Google's efforts could produce results in a few years.
"I want to wish Andy all the best with what's next," Google CEO Larry Page said in a statement. "With Android he created something truly remarkable -- with a billion plus happy users. Thank you."
The departure is potentially a blow to the company's ambitions in robotics, where Google has made large investments, including acquiring more than eight companies, including Boston Dynamics and Atlas. Page has made big bets in areas beyond its search and advertising business, its biggest moneymaker, as it looks to where its future revenue streams will come from.
James Kuffner, another member of the robotics group, will take over as head of the division, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news. Rubin is leaving Google to build an incubator for startups to build tech hardware, according to the Journal.
In 2010, Google research scientist Kuffner came up with the idea of cloud robotics, robots that leverage the Internet, crowdsourcing, and open-sourcing to expand their processing power and knowledge base. It's not hard to see how a cloud-connected robot that is gathering data in your home from all its various sensors could be a perambulating privacy violation waiting to happen.
Meanwhile, Rubin has made a career of building companies from scratch and tackling ambitious projects, often focused on robotics or mobile computing. He started at Google in 2005 when Page and company bought his mobile operating system startup Android. Rubin got his start as a robotics engineer at optics maker Carl Zeiss AG in 1986, and went on to work at Apple and Microsoft.
Rubin told the New York Times in December 2013 that "computers are starting to sprout legs and move around in the environment." But such projects are "moonshots," Google's term for ambitious, out-there initiatives, Rubin told the newspaper, and that Google's efforts could produce results in a few years.
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