{"id":343172,"date":"2017-06-09T09:50:17","date_gmt":"2017-06-09T01:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?p=1501584"},"modified":"2017-06-09T09:50:17","modified_gmt":"2017-06-09T01:50:17","slug":"dear-softbank-please-let-boston-dynamics-be-boston-dynamics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/dear-softbank-please-let-boston-dynamics-be-boston-dynamics\/","title":{"rendered":"Dear Softbank, please let Boston Dynamics be Boston Dynamics"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Hey Softbank,<\/span><\/p>\n

First of all, congratulations. You\u2019re about to purchase<\/a> some of the coolest toys in the history of human civilization. Seriously, it\u2019s like Christmas in early June for you all. I\u2019m sure you can\u2019t wait to take one of those big, hulking robots for a spin and make all of your neighbors jealous. I get it. We had Spot on stage<\/a> at an event last year and for one brief, glorious moment, I actually felt alive again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve got big plans for Big Dog and co. People don\u2019t just run out and buy groundbreaking robotics companies from Google for an undisclosed sum without big plans. I know you\u2019ve been pushing into the robotics world in recent years, and there\u2019s no stronger letter of intent than picking up one of the most prestigious names in the game.<\/span> You\u2019ve probably got some great things in the works. And I\u2019m excited to see what the two of you can do together.<\/span><\/p>\n

Just one quick request: please let Boston Dynamics be Boston Dynamics.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a big ask, I know. I get it. Pepper\u2019s<\/a> probably getting lonely being the sole face of your robotics division. That friendly face hides a lot pain. I can see it in those dead, black eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I just don\u2019t want to see a repeat of the Alphabet deal. Those two great companies could have done some great things together. Andy Rubin buying up a whole bunch of cool robotics startups under the Google banner sounded like the company was hastening the singularity and embracing some Lex Luthor-level supervillainy all at the same time. Truly exciting stuff.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Alphabet just didn\u2019t know what to do with the damn thing. It was a square peg in a round hole. Turns out it\u2019s really hard to monetize a company that make big, loud robots built for war zones. There\u2019s a reason DARPA grants are keeping so many robotics companies afloat.<\/span><\/p>\n

And believe me, I understand what you\u2019re doing with Pepper. You\u2019ve bought Aldebaran Robotics and turned their research robots into friendly store greeters. They\u2019re not changing the world, but hey, they might be well be the first encounter with a friendly robot for a new generation of roboticists. And you\u2019ve certainly got the resources to turn them into even more.<\/span><\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not like I\u2019m asking you not to leverage all of Boston Dynamics\u2019 incredible technology for those existing platforms. I\u2019m just asking you to let the company maintain the freedom it has to build some of the world\u2019s most exciting robots. Your immense resources combined with the team\u2019s brainpower could help push robotics to great new levels.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you find yourself sticking a smiling face on Big Dog and placing it outside of an Applebee\u2019s on the other hand, it\u2019s pretty safe to say you two aren\u2019t a great fit. That\u2019s kind of what happened to Google. After Rubin left, Alphabet reportedly pushed the companies under its Replicant<\/a>\u00a0umbrella to be more consumer friendly. But there\u2019s a reason every story about Big Dog or Atlas makes some tired reference to robotics overlords. Those robots are big and scary. But they\u2019re also modern technological marvels.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It wouldn\u2019t be useful for rattle off statistics. Sure, I read somewhere that 67-percent of second marriages end in divorce. But is that really useful information in this instance? Probably not. But I read somewhere else that the keys to a successful relationship are independence and trust. That seems relevant.<\/span><\/p>\n

Softbank, please let Boston Dynamics continue to build big robots and make crazy videos and I\u2019m sure all of this will work out in the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m rooting for you crazy kids, I really am.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\" Hey Softbank, First of all, congratulations. You’re about to purchase some of the coolest toys in the history of human civilization. Seriously, it’s like Christmas in early June for you all. I’m sure you can’t wait to take one of those big, hulking robots for a spin and make all of your neighbors jealous. I get it. We had Spot on stage at an event last year and for… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"\/ <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5817,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[59,66,26],"class_list":["post-343172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology","tag-media","tag-techcrunch","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5817"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343172\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}