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Hyundai buys Boston Dynamics for nearly $1B

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111–120 of 126 posts

Re: Hyundai buys Boston Dynamics for nearly $1B

#111
post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because DARPA invests in high-risk research! They pour lots of money into lots of failures. It’s the nature of research. DARPA gave up on Boston Dynamics in 2015 - BigDog and it’s like were just too noisy and finicky for use in a combat situation. I believe all the BD robots they purchased are in storage. And it’s not like Boston Dynamics was ever an extension of DARPA. The DARPA collaboration (along with the rise of…

> this nativist greed That's presumptive of you. Do you really think Hyundai is going to use this tech for humanitarian aid, or are you just fishing here? I want a strong US to counter the fact that the number one economy in the world is a fascist state. A state with more engineers than us and that can quickly duplicate our tech sector. I'm happy that it's our ally buying this tech, but the US needs to be building mo…

> Do you really think Hyundai is going to use this tech for humanitarian aid

No, but like Ford or Mercedes or any other company like then, I believe they would sell this tech to humanitarian aid organizations that might use it.

> I want a strong US to counter the fact that the number one economy in the world is a fascist state.

If you don’t want people to say you’re motivated by nativist greed, maybe try having ideas that aren’t nakedly greedy and nativist? At the very least your nihilistic zero-sum America-first attitude is morally indistinguishable from Trumpism, even if in your head it sounds more noble and strategic.

First of all, China has the largest population in the world. They should be the biggest economy in the world, regardless of how evil their government is.

Second of all, if you were truly motivated by a noble desire to stop global fascism, you should be glad that South Korea has this technology instead of the US! The point should be that democratic countries counter China’s power, not that it should be US v. China. In particular, not only is South Korea more directly threatened by Chinese authoritarianism, but their government is far more stable and democratic than the US. The US has only been a democracy since 1965 and, unlike South Korea, our democracy is rapidly decaying.

But it seems that your nativism is leading you to greedily assert the US should be the most powerful country in the world because something something China fascists, despite the fact that we just saw an attempted fascist takeover of Congress by US citizens. It’s deeply hypocritical and indefensible.

Re: Hyundai buys Boston Dynamics for nearly $1B

#112
post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Considering their current market cap, it surprises me that Tesla or Space X didn’t pick up BD. Perhaps companies are leery of accepting Tesla's inflated shares as currency in any deal. SpaceX is still continuously raising cash, so I doubt they have a billion dollars to spend willy-nilly.

If they were, they could still sell them off immediately.

I doubt they would allow that.

Re: Hyundai buys Boston Dynamics for nearly $1B

#113
post #29

I realize Korea is an ally, but this seems like tech we wouldn't want to lose the domestic capability to produce. Or tech we wouldn't want to cede the lead on. Why would Darpa pour so much money in for this outcome?

Because DARPA invests in high-risk research! They pour lots of money into lots of failures. It’s the nature of research. DARPA gave up on Boston Dynamics in 2015 - BigDog and it’s like were just too noisy and finicky for use in a combat situation. I believe all the BD robots they purchased are in storage. And it’s not like Boston Dynamics was ever an extension of DARPA. The DARPA collaboration (along with the rise of…

> In general, robotics technology does not belong to the US

why? What do you mean?

Re: Hyundai buys Boston Dynamics for nearly $1B

#114
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s why I said mostly

I know its easy to forget during a pandemic, but the world is mostly outdoors.

I honestly think I've forgotten this to some extent. I went out yesterday after a long while and was shocked by how cold it was for January.

I just hope we're not all agoraphobic at the end of this.

Re: Hyundai buys Boston Dynamics for nearly $1B

#115
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Feels like we said this about previous buyers. All I'm seeing is another sucker to keep the money rolling for more of these sweet viral robot demos that never seem to materialize into much of anything.

The two previous buyers, Google and Softbank, didn't have much presence in robotics, unlike Hyundai. Hyundai recently spun off the automation business to a separate company, Hyundai Robotics, early last year.

True, but this is Hydundai Motor Group, not Hyundai Robotics. The two are separate.

IMO, this is more about Hyundai's autonomous vehicle efforts. A BD robot is almost completely different than an industrial automation robot, the former attempts to use 3D mapping to dynamically generate an unpredictable path around obstacles between two points, while the latter is designed to always follow exactly the same kinematics between hard-coded points. A car with a steering wheel and forward/reverse electric motors is a lot more comparable to a Boston Dynamics robot than a 6-axis industrial arm is.

Re: Hyundai buys Boston Dynamics for nearly $1B

#116

It blows my mind that a chat client is worth over 26 times what Boston Dynamics is.

It blows my mind that Hyundai was actually able to buy BD at a fair price in current environment. I don’t think it would surprise anyone even if they paid $5B for BD.

No real customers, no real products and no real revenue streams.

I’m not even sure just how much IP BD actually has that is truly unique, this doesn’t seem to be something very easy to patent in an enforceable manner.

BD isn’t something that’s easy to scale and dump on someone else this isn’t the type of company that VCs are really interested in these days.

Re: Hyundai buys Boston Dynamics for nearly $1B

#117
post #105

Considering their current market cap, it surprises me that Tesla or Space X didn’t pick up BD. Seems like a natural acquisition for a rather low price.

Can you explain why? Neither needs dancing robots, and both seem capable of building things themselves if they need it?

Robotics seem like a natural extension of space travel or transportation to me. Or maybe I just associate crazy high-tech stuff with Musk.

Re: Hyundai buys Boston Dynamics for nearly $1B

#118
post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> this nativist greed That's presumptive of you. Do you really think Hyundai is going to use this tech for humanitarian aid, or are you just fishing here? I want a strong US to counter the fact that the number one economy in the world is a fascist state. A state with more engineers than us and that can quickly duplicate our tech sector. I'm happy that it's our ally buying this tech, but the US needs to be building mo…

> Do you really think Hyundai is going to use this tech for humanitarian aid No, but like Ford or Mercedes or any other company like then, I believe they would sell this tech to humanitarian aid organizations that might use it. > I want a strong US to counter the fact that the number one economy in the world is a fascist state. If you don’t want people to say you’re motivated by nativist greed, maybe try having ideas…

> your nihilistic zero-sum America-first attitude is morally indistinguishable from Trumpism

I voted for Biden, Warnock, and Ossoff. Just because you're left of me doesn't make it okay to apply the "Trump" label so broadly. It's not Trumpism to have some degree of nationalism (reverence for our demoratic institutions, multiculturalism, values, economy). Nor is it to worry we went too far with globalism and created a system that gave rise to today's CCP.

We should want for a better, more equitable America. We should want the same for the world. I think we agree on this.

> If you don’t want people to say you’re motivated by nativist greed, maybe try having ideas that aren’t nakedly greedy and nativist? At the very least your nihilistic zero-sum America-first attitude is morally indistinguishable from Trumpism, even if in your head it sounds more noble and strategic.

I live in America and I want growth. Are we not allowed disappointment over the fact we're hemorrhaging technologies and capabilities?

If you believe this is a zero-sum game, then do you want America's lead to be averaged out over the rest of the world?

I believe all people are equal. I want democratic nations to grow. India, in particular, is poised for great growth. But that doesn't mean I want our engines to stall or level out.

I do not believe all nations or systems of government are equal. China, Russia, and our ally Saudi Arabia are detriments to their people and peace worldwide. These players shouldn't be equals. I would love for their citizens to emigrate and gain freedom.

> The point should be that democratic countries counter China’s power, not that it should be US v. China.

I would agree with you if we had a global democratic union. The moment all nations sign up to protect personal liberty, create a strong worldwide economy with ample opportunity, upward mobility, and commit to defending this in unison -- sign me up. But that isn't going to happen.

Japan and Vietnam have the correct ideas about China. We need to sell them lots of weapons. Europe, on the other hand, doesn't know where its allegiances lie. And the rest of the world is willing to partner with China to get a better deal.

Nationalism isn't Trumpism. The world still needs a strong America.

> despite the fact that we just saw an attempted fascist takeover of Congress by US citizens.

I shuddered at this too.

We need to punish Trump, the enablers in law enforcement and positions of power, and all other parties that made last week's events possible. But to think a bunch of hillbillies stood any chance of destroying our democratic institutions is a bit much.

I agree that this should be called out as an example for now and forever, but do not use this as evidence that America is a fascist state. The results of the election prove otherwise.

> First of all, China has the largest population in the world. They should be the biggest economy in the world, regardless of how evil their government is.

This is the root of our disagreement. Totalitarian regimes should not prosper.

If there was only one government in the world, I'd want it to be democratic. But democracy won't win unless we fight for it. Democracy isn't the default. It doesn't get to exist just because we hope for it. So far, it's just been a blip on the radar. It could disappear in a moment if we don't defend it.

Europe exists because of America. If America stops protecting it, Russia's influence will take it over.

China is the next great enemy. Same story.

Re: Hyundai buys Boston Dynamics for nearly $1B

#119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The two previous buyers, Google and Softbank, didn't have much presence in robotics, unlike Hyundai. Hyundai recently spun off the automation business to a separate company, Hyundai Robotics, early last year.

True, but this is Hydundai Motor Group, not Hyundai Robotics. The two are separate. IMO, this is more about Hyundai's autonomous vehicle efforts. A BD robot is almost completely different than an industrial automation robot, the former attempts to use 3D mapping to dynamically generate an unpredictable path around obstacles between two points, while the latter is designed to always follow exactly the same kinematics…

>> IMO, this is more about Hyundai's autonomous vehicle efforts.

I disagree. As the article points out:

  ..., why not just buy an autonomous car startup instead? Boston Dynamics is more about “robots,” which happens to be dead last on the list above. ...
I think Hyundai's VEX, Wearable Vest Exoskeleton, is inline with what the company is trying to do with BD:

https://www.roboticstomorrow.com/story/2019/09/hyundai-motor...

Re: Hyundai buys Boston Dynamics for nearly $1B

#120
post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Considering their current market cap, it surprises me that Tesla or Space X didn’t pick up BD. Perhaps companies are leery of accepting Tesla's inflated shares as currency in any deal. SpaceX is still continuously raising cash, so I doubt they have a billion dollars to spend willy-nilly.

If they were, they could still sell them off immediately.

Usually, there are lock up periods for those, plus the uncertainty between when the operation starts being discussed, an agreement is made and shareholders approve. What will Tesla be worth in a year?
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