Word has it another driverless vehicle was recently seen in California. No one has “laid claim” to the vehicle although speculation has been swirling around it being another Google vehicle. Google has also been in the news for the fact that it signed 60-year lease for a portion of a historic Navy air base in Boston. Google will renovate three hangars and use them as a space for development of aviation and space exploration and other robotic technologies.
Since 2013 Google has been acquiring companies that either develop robots or the technologies that support robotics. They have become the owner of a Japan-based corporation that develops humanoid robots. Some companies even feel humanoid robots could become “caregivers” for the elderly if they can be equipped with enough intelligence to monitor health stats and interact with the individuals in their care.
Google, it’s been reported, plans to develop a robot with characteristics similar to a smart phone. This device would require input of data and intelligence to allow it to perform the tasks that would be required of it. If this technology is fully developed it will become an app that would allow the end user to personalize the robot technology through the app itself.
In the past year close to 200,000 industrial robots were sold, a more than 10 percent increase over the prior year and this points to a likelihood that growth will continue, especially as more apps are developed that can perform varying tasks. Industrial robots used in machine vision technology have been incorporated into many manufacturing industries.
UKA Optics is involved in lens design for optical lenses for machine vision, robotics, industrial, medical, high tech and electronic applications.