TIGER is intended to carry payloads over remote and inaccessible terrain and designed to operate as a four-wheel drive vehicle or a four-legged walking machine.
Following Hyundai acquisition, Boston Dynamics’ CEO discusses the robotics pioneer’s future
Robert Playter on the company’s new corporate parent, the future of Handle and Spot’s job at the NYPD
A lot can change in a year. Especially this year. For Boston Dynamics, the past 12 months have brought a number of radical changes traditionally not seen at 30-year-old businesses of its size. It’s a list that includes the first new CEO in the company’s history, wide availability of its first commercial product and, most recently, being acquired by its third owner in seven years.
Of course, no one has ever accused Boston Dynamics of being traditional.
Hyundai Acquiring Boston Dynamics Robotics Firm
Hyundai is acquiring a majority stake in Boston Dynamics, the maker of robotic dog Spot.
Hyundai will take an 80% stake Boston Dynamics, while existing owner SoftBank will maintain a 20% stake. Hyundai sees the acquisition as an important step toward its transformation into a Smart Mobility Solution Provider.
Boston Dynamics Spot
Hyundai has increasingly been innovating beyond the traditional concept of the automobile. The company is investing heavily in its Urban Air Mobility platform, in an effort to make aerial transport and ride-sharing a reality. Similarly, Hyundai and Autodesk are working to create the Ultimate Mobility Vehicle(UMV), a vehicle with legs that can walk to reach areas a traditional vehicle cannot. The latter, in particular, is a concept that bears a striking resemblance to Boston Dynamics’ work.
9 December 2020, 11:28 pm EST By
Hyundai recently bought the American engineering company Boston Dynamics, famous for its Spot robot dog venture, which became an internet and meme sensation because of its design, for $921 million. The South Korean carmaker was known to recently venture into massive robotics projects, including its walking car design called the Ultimate Mobility Vehicle.
One of the largest South Korean car manufacturers and international tech companies, Hyundai, recently made a massive purchase of the 28-year-old American robotics company, Boston Dynamics, on a massive $921 million buyout. Hyundai has not yet revealed its reason for acquiring the company, but speculations are now looking into autonomous driving vehicles.