Android Chief's Next Project - Real Androids: Google Snaps Up Robotics Companies for New "Moonshot" Project

Google already plans to stop aging and create a universal translator (a la "Hitchhikers Guide"), so maybe this next "Moonshot" project isn't that outlandish: Google's former Android lead has stepped down to wok on creating robots for Google.

When Andy Rubin, the founder and head of Android, stepped down from his role with the mobile OS division in the spring of this year, many were surprised and speculation began as to what Rubin, who was staying with Google, would be working on. That speculation ended on Wednesday, when Google broke its silence to the New York Times, providing a sneak peak at what Google's new robotics project is working on (coincidentally or not, just after Amazon.com's Jeff Bezos demonstrated his own automated delivery drone project earlier this week).

Though it's an exciting proposition whenever Google puts its nose to the grindstone on any project because, more often than not, you'll see results soon enough, Google's bots aren't going to be available for purchase on the Play store anytime soon.

According to the Times, Google's robot project is aimed at automating steps behind the scenes, like in manufacturing and retail: "A realistic case, according to several specialists, would be automating portions of an existing supply chain that stretches from a factory floor to the companies that ship and deliver goods to a consumer's doorstep."

Even those behind the scenes robots may not emerge for quite a while. Rubin himself told the Times that the project would need plenty of time to develop. "Like any moonshot you have to think of time as a factor," he cautioned. "We need enough runway and a 10-year vision."

Still, Google is serious about this idea, and wants the timeframe from project to product to be shorter than some of its other ambitious undertakings, like the self-driving Google Cars.

As a sign of Google Robot's significance, the company has revealed the scale of its investment in robotics so far (if not the actual dollar amount). Google disclosed that it has purchased several robotics companies to work on the moonshot project, including Japanese humanoid robot firm Schaft, Industrial Perception, a delivery and shipment robot startup, and Meka and Redwood Robots, which also make robot arms and humanoid systems, among others.

(Hopefully, Industrial Perception's shipping bot will learn to be more careful before loading my Nexus 15 smartphone, via VentureBeat)

In total, seven companies have been attached so far, along with roboticists and in-house programmers, which, viewed as a whole, could be capable of building a mobile, humanoid robot. And Rubin said he's still looking into acquiring even more talent for the project.

If the buying spree wasn't enough indication that Rubin had the well wishes of Google's top executives for his project, Larry Page himself posted the Times article and a good-luck message at 12:32 AM on his Google+ page, as if he couldn't wait to talk about the project and had been refreshing the Times' webpage, waiting for the article to appear.

"I am excited about Andy Rubin's next project," wrote Page. "His last big bet, Android, started off as a crazy idea that ended up putting a supercomputer in hundreds of millions of pockets. It is still very early days for this, but I can't wait to see the progress."