Why Has Google Started Hoarding Robots?

This year, Google has acquired eight robotics companies. One of them is Boston Dynamics, the company best known for creating “creepy galloping robots” like the Big Dog and Wild Cat for the Defense Department. Another is Bot & Dolly, which makes robotic camera systems as seen in the movie “Gravity,” starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock. Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information to make it universally accessible and useful. So, how do these robots help them fulfill their mission? They hope to equip these robots with cameras and send them all over the world as part of the Google Maps initiative. They may even become a replacement for Google Street View cars.