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Andy Rubin was formally the head of Google's Android division before he began working on robotics. AP Photo/Paul Sakuma

Google challenges Amazon drones with its own robots

Google has bought seven companies over the last six months to help develops its robotics business.

IT’S ONLY BEEN two days since Amazon showed off its prime air drone, but if it ever sees the light of day, it could be overshadowed by another type of robot.

Google has bought seven companies over the last six months to help it build the next generation of robots. It’s expected that Google will market these robots towards manufacturing although it’s possible that they will also be used for retail.

The project is currently being headed by Andy Rubin, the person who built the company’s Android software. Rubin stepped down as head of the company’s smartphone division earlier this year to focus on the project and told the New York Times that there was a lot of potential in the field.

I feel with robotics it’s a green field… We’re building hardware, we’re building software. We’re building systems, so one team will be able to understand the whole stack.

Among the companies bought are Schaft, a small team from Japan that left Tokyo University to develop a humanoid robot, and Industrial Perception, a US based startup that has developed computer vision systems and robot arms for loading and unloading trucks.

Other companies like Bot & Dolly, a company that specialises in precise motion robotics and film-making – which was used in the film ‘Gravity’ – and Holomni, a firm that makes high-tech wheels, were also acquired during the six month period.

Currently, there is no time frame for when the first batch of robots will be released, but Rubin said that the project would need “enough runway and a 10-year vision” for it to work.

Read: Amazon will deliver packages in 30 minutes using drones >

Read: Japanese plan to turn moon into giant power plant >

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34 Comments
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    Mute Jimmy McCarthy
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    Sep 13th 2015, 5:28 PM

    No amount of re branding will change their fortunes until such time as they offer programmes which their viewers like and will want to watch. There is now so much choice available that viewers have no hesitation in tuning in or out if their viewing needs are not being met. Brand loyalty in terms of television viewing is a thing of the past.

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    Mute Alan Scott
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    Sep 13th 2015, 7:50 PM

    Take your complaints a step further rather than having a useless rant here. The Dublin number of Utv 018509899 .

    17
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    Mute Paul Dunne
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    Sep 13th 2015, 5:43 PM

    just give us the nordie version and stop acting the bollix.

    295
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    Mute Kevin Rooney
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    Sep 13th 2015, 8:22 PM

    I get the feeling UTV belfast is sorely missed down south. It launched before RTE in the late fifties so would be ingrained in Irish life.

    62
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    Mute Pete Gibson
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    Sep 13th 2015, 6:05 PM

    They want to “Re-invigorate their audience”
    Very funny.
    They never had an audience to begin with.

    166
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    Mute Anton Friendo
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    Sep 15th 2015, 3:19 PM

    They should just tax everyone and threaten them with jail if they don’t pay

    It works for RTE

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    Mute danielplainview
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    Sep 13th 2015, 5:27 PM

    Haha. I turned the channel on once on its first day and I havent watched it since

    151
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    Mute Stephen Bernard
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    Sep 13th 2015, 5:29 PM

    This is about as likely to work as “Bin It Your Way!”

    148
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    Mute .
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    Sep 13th 2015, 5:35 PM

    Hard to break into the RTE stranglehold They still have lions share of viewers Must be all the public service programmes RTE make

    56
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    Mute family guy
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    Sep 13th 2015, 5:26 PM

    Is this a panic move??

    134
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    Mute Diarmuid Lucey
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    Sep 13th 2015, 5:29 PM

    They should show the movie The Titanic, to portray that the channel is a sinking ship!

    103
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    Mute The Green Monkey
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    Sep 13th 2015, 5:40 PM

    Good enough for them, they showed contempt and complacency by spending about a fiver on their launch also naming it UTV Ireland was laughable………..

    132
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    Mute Byyys
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    Sep 13th 2015, 5:49 PM

    Will The very first program at 6am still be GOOD MORNING BRITAIN?

    128
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    Mute Alan Scott
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    Sep 13th 2015, 7:41 PM

    Why do UTV Ireland have Lorraine showing? as there`s no input from the 26 Counties then we are informed we cannot take part in their competitions.

    55
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    Mute Kevin Rooney
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    Sep 13th 2015, 8:36 PM

    Hardly a way to endear yourself to an Irish audience. They came out with some PR bullshit about people asking for GMB. Find that hard to believe! They probably just wanted the teleshopping off lol.

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    Mute Oriel Man
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    Sep 13th 2015, 11:01 PM

    And it’s not the only “…….Britain” program they have. It was alright when we were watching a “foreign channel”, but if they pretend to be Irish, they need more Irish programming. Have to say, their news is OK. Certainly better than TV3

    22
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    Mute Daisy Chainsaw
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    Sep 13th 2015, 5:37 PM

    Takes more than Corrie to make a station watchable.

    126
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    Mute Paul Geraghty
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    Sep 13th 2015, 6:16 PM

    Why on earth did they expect anything different. Everyone had ITV and pretty shite as it is people were grand with it and didnt want it replaced with something much worse

    113
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    Mute Irish Cottage Rental
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    Sep 13th 2015, 6:33 PM

    One island market of six million people with broadly similar tastes = one UTV. The current mess will surely go down as one of the stupidest, greed driven mistakes in Irish broadcasting history. Give us back UTV from Belfast and stop acting the maggot.

    96
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    Mute Niall O'Keeffe
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    Sep 13th 2015, 5:35 PM

    Sure it may be renamed “ITV Ireland” yet if UTV’s sale of the TV channels goes through. Would make sense in fairness as the U will always stand for “Ulster” in people’s minds and not “YOU”!

    87
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    Mute Neal Ireland Hello
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    Sep 13th 2015, 5:29 PM

    Isn’t that the same “new” strapline that UTV have been using up north for at least a decade?

    79
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    Mute Eddie Byrne
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    Sep 13th 2015, 5:38 PM

    You dont need to be a media expert to realise how bad this channel is. The mere fact that they gave Pat Kenny a TV slot especially after his RTE TV failings was a risk, a risk that has obviously failed. Emerdale and Corrie have their respective audiances however the rest of the programming is poor. In its defence it is failing by copying most of the other satellite channels by copying each other with mostly reality rubbish i.e. programmes about travellers, airports, fashion, cookery etc. A path that RTE is now also following. At least with UTV Ireland it’s not costing the viewers a licence fee.

    68
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    Mute TheMiller
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    Sep 13th 2015, 6:28 PM

    The people running this station are either astoundingly stupid or utterly contemptuous of Irish people or both.

    61
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    Mute Toha Teoranta
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    Sep 13th 2015, 5:50 PM

    Still shite

    60
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    Mute Spammer
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    Sep 13th 2015, 5:53 PM

    In the age of the internet who in their right mind would tune into that crap. I haven’t seen the channel once and I don’t intend to.

    56
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    Mute Rochelle
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    Sep 13th 2015, 8:07 PM

    Only took them 9 months to discover Irish people don’t actually want a channel of regurgitated British programming.

    55
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    Mute Larry Doyle
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    Sep 13th 2015, 10:12 PM

    and €16,300,000.

    21
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    Mute TheMiller
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    Sep 15th 2015, 4:30 PM

    I don’t see anything to indicate they’ve realised that Rochelle. Instead of short clips of the Irish landscape in between all of their Anglo Chav programmes, it’s now short clips of people going about their everyday business, that and renaming themselves YouTV(oh it’s my TV now is it, well I’ll definitely be watching it now) – that’s all they’ve changed. And going by their complete spoof of a press release they think that’s going make people watch it – it’s utterly laughable. At least they’ve dropped the completely misleading Ireland from their name.

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    Mute Larry Doyle
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    Sep 13th 2015, 6:06 PM

    So they are now reduced to having a press launch for an advertising campaign for themselves. I suppose no one else will waste their money on ads on it.

    43
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    Mute SUSAN LLOYD
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    Sep 13th 2015, 7:22 PM

    Utv Ireland and Irish water have a lot in common

    26
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    Mute Donal O'Brien
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    Sep 13th 2015, 6:27 PM

    What happened to the golden age of television? Couldn’t they show some of that shit?

    25
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    Mute Mary Kavanagh
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    Sep 13th 2015, 10:36 PM

    That’s because they show reruns and rubbish. Bring back proper UTV!

    20
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    Mute Rosy2
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    Sep 13th 2015, 11:22 PM

    UTV Ireland not showing Downton Abbey at all. It starts next Sunday 20th on UTV. Irish fans will be very disappointed.

    16
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    Mute damian
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    Sep 13th 2015, 11:32 PM

    TV3 showed it a day later if I remember correctly…

    8
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    Mute steve white
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    Sep 13th 2015, 9:45 PM

    what does that tattooist watch on UTV Ireland?

    15
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    Mute Seán O'Sullivan
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    Sep 13th 2015, 10:35 PM

    Their schedule is horrendous and can hardly survive th competition much longer. Would love to see the back of it.

    14
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    Mute paul farrell
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    Sep 13th 2015, 6:47 PM

    Has utv lost the champions league football rights???

    14
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    Mute Darren Callaghan
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    Sep 13th 2015, 6:29 PM

    Getting the UTV player up and going will help also, very annoying they haven’t got it set up yet

    14
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    Mute bazhealy
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    Sep 13th 2015, 11:16 PM

    As their brand matures so will their identity? Their 9month old brand? And their identity is a poor rip off of the Angelus! Can they come up with nothing original? What a steaming turd of a mistake! They deserve to lose their €16m!

    12
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    Mute Tinkers Toenail
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    Sep 13th 2015, 6:44 PM

    YouTV??? Sounds like a channels specialising in ladies menstrual cycles!!!

    12
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    Mute Liam O'Brien
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    Sep 13th 2015, 10:05 PM

    They must be clueless.

    12
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    Mute Joe Keena
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    Sep 13th 2015, 11:31 PM

    Another crap channel, have we not enough already.

    11
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    Mute Jangles
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    Sep 13th 2015, 6:33 PM

    HD

    2
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    Mute Jangles
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    Sep 13th 2015, 6:54 PM

    HD suite so we can clearly see what we are switching off.

    8
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    Mute Jangles
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    Sep 13th 2015, 6:57 PM

    shiiiite not suite

    6
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    Mute Al Ca
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    Sep 13th 2015, 7:03 PM

    Don’t worry, you’ll get there yet!

    21
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