Google has purchased another robotics company called Boston Dynamics, which has designed mobile research robots for the Pentagon, Business Insider reported The New York Times.
The Waltham, Mass.-based Boston Dynamics, which is the latest addition to Google's collection of robotics companies, makes "machines that walk with an uncanny sense of balance and even--cheetahlike--run faster than the fastest humans," the Times reported.
Google has not released information about how much was paid to acquire Boston Dynamics, which will be part of the company's next "moonshot" program.
Robots from Boston Dynamics are reportedly quite detailed.
"A video of one of [Boston Dynamics'] robots named BigDog shows a noisy, gas-powered, four-legged, walking robot that climbs hills, travels through snow, skitters precariously on ice and even manages to stay upright in response to a well-placed human kick," the Times said.
The video has racked up more than 15 million views since it was first posted on YouTube in 2008, according to Business Insider.
CNET reported about two weeks ago that Google had bought seven robotics companies for its next "moonshot" program, a long-term project that the tech giant will work on for years.
Other "moonshot" programs have included self-driving cars and Google Glass, engineer Andy Rubin, who built the Android software for smartphones, told The New York Times.
"Like any moonshot, you have to think of time as a factor. We need enough runway and a 10-year vision," Rubin said.
The robotics program is currently focused on manufacturing, but Google officials seem optimistic about its varied range of possibilities.
"[Rubin's] 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," CEO Larry Page said in a Google+ post.
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