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Hyundai acquires controlling stake in Boston Dynamics for $880M

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Re: Hyundai acquires controlling stake in Boston Dynamics for $880M

#61

Post by glitchc »

batmansmk wrote: post #53
Tade0 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Robots indeed build cars, but not from start to finish. Especially customisation and snapping delicate plastic trim pieces in place is still done by hand.

Humans spend 15h to 60h of labour to build a car. After, humans worked on individual parts, shipping, loading etc. My rule of thumb is that there is about 10% of manufacture cost that are direct or indirect cost connected to payroll. If I may add another axis of reflexion that I consider fundamental for modern engineers to consider, food for machines for producing a car (44% natural gas when smithing things) is about…

Even 60h seems low here. Do you only mean assembly? Tacking on parts manufacturing, sub-component assembly, and software is likely to increase that estimate by a factor of 2 to 5.

Re: Hyundai acquires controlling stake in Boston Dynamics for $880M

#62

Post by itsoktocry »

prawn wrote: post #15
mrweasel wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just want my car to drive itself to service checks, when I'm at work. Save all that trouble of having to gamble that they have a car you can use, or there's a bus route that won't take you an hour back and forth. Self-driving done right could save me from having two cars. It could take me to work, drive back home, pickup the wife, drive her to work. Go back and pick me up in the afternoon, drop me of at home and th…

This made me think of something I hadn't considered before - whether we'll first see automated driving, but only when the vehicle is empty. e.g., you drive yourself somewhere, then the vehicle moves on to another job. If the vehicle is privately owned, it would park or drive home for your wife to use. If part of a fleet, it would just drive on to the next request. Cars in that mode could be constrained to a less dang…

>I don't want to drive to work at 20km/h, but once I'm out of the car, I don't really care how slowly it goes.

The other people on the road trying to get to work probably do.

Re: Hyundai acquires controlling stake in Boston Dynamics for $880M

#63

Post by itsoktocry »

jahller wrote: post #9
mrweasel wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just want my car to drive itself to service checks, when I'm at work. Save all that trouble of having to gamble that they have a car you can use, or there's a bus route that won't take you an hour back and forth. Self-driving done right could save me from having two cars. It could take me to work, drive back home, pickup the wife, drive her to work. Go back and pick me up in the afternoon, drop me of at home and th…

this would be the best usage for what we consider cars imaginable. also would negate the need to personally own a car. just order one from a fleet of autonomous cars if you are in need of mobility.

>just order one from a fleet of autonomous cars if you are in need of mobility.

I find it confusing that one reason the tech crowd cheered on Uber's success was because taxis were often filthy and poorly maintained. But autonomous car fleets won't be?

Re: Hyundai acquires controlling stake in Boston Dynamics for $880M

#64

Post by drdeadringer »

jmcgough wrote: post #4

They've gone from Google -> Softbank -> Hyundai in a few years. Does anyone know where their revenue is coming from currently? For all the flashy videos they put out, you so rarely see them that I'm not sure if they're just doing well on the B2B side (warehouse automation? military contracts?), or if they've been in the red for the last decade.

> They've gone from Google -> Softbank -> Hyundai in a few years.

I was a contractor at Google when the Google//Boston Dynamics was happening, I now work//live in Silicon Valley, I grew up in MA, so I've been mildly following the story.

Is this sort of pinball "normal"?

Re: Hyundai acquires controlling stake in Boston Dynamics for $880M

#65

Post by balfirevic »

mrweasel wrote: post #19

Normally tech companies tend to be overpriced, but $880M for 80% of Boston Dynamics (total value of $1.1 billion), doesn't that seem a little low? Other tech companies can seemingly lose millions, as long as there's an advertising or data-mining angle to the product. Because Boston Dynamics aim to actually create physical products they then get valued lower?

> Normally tech companies tend to be overpriced

According to what criteria?

Re: Hyundai acquires controlling stake in Boston Dynamics for $880M

#66

Post by darkerside »

smhost wrote: post #59
jgilias wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you actually from South Korea to be able to comment on what the South Korean perception on their neighborhood is? Like, this is a no offense intended genuine question. Because from an outside perspective the neighborhood really looks challenging. China is growing stronger and throws muscle around a lot with diplomatic rows ensuing even over traditional ways of cabbage preparation. Relationships with Japan are cor…

The South Korean position locally is actually not that challenging in a particular sense, despite typical media exaggerations. It's almost straightforward. SK has strong economic and cultural ties to its neighbors that can be accessed to stabilize relations if needed. North Korea is not really a liability in itself. KJU has been acting consistently towards opening up the North Korean economy on NK's own terms, which…

South Korea has been a stalwart US ally for many years. While you're right that relations with NK and China have softened, and calling them challenging is probably an overestimation, the US is far from a bit player in the region.

Like any democracy, you have continents of folks that want to cozy up to China, and others that trust the history of their relationships with the US and Japan.

Re: Hyundai acquires controlling stake in Boston Dynamics for $880M

#68

Post by elliekelly »

yarg wrote: post #35

Why leave the word "controlling" out of the title?

The headline definitely downplays Hyundai’s involvement:

> The deal will involve Hyundai and its affiliates, including Hyundai Motor Co., Hyundai Mobis Co., and Hyundai Glovis Co.

> Hyundai Motor, Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai Glovis, and Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun will have 30%, 20%, 10%, and 20% share respectively.

It’s been a while since I’ve had to think about consolidated financial reporting for subsidiaries and — if anyone happens to know — I’d be curious to understand how (or whether) these ownership tranches will make it onto Hyundai Parent Co’s financial statements?

Re: Hyundai acquires controlling stake in Boston Dynamics for $880M

#69

Post by jgilias »

smhost wrote: post #59
jgilias wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you actually from South Korea to be able to comment on what the South Korean perception on their neighborhood is? Like, this is a no offense intended genuine question. Because from an outside perspective the neighborhood really looks challenging. China is growing stronger and throws muscle around a lot with diplomatic rows ensuing even over traditional ways of cabbage preparation. Relationships with Japan are cor…

The South Korean position locally is actually not that challenging in a particular sense, despite typical media exaggerations. It's almost straightforward. SK has strong economic and cultural ties to its neighbors that can be accessed to stabilize relations if needed. North Korea is not really a liability in itself. KJU has been acting consistently towards opening up the North Korean economy on NK's own terms, which…

I don't believe the least bit that there are more than a few people in South Korea who believe that they are living 'in a way dictated by fears of the American empire'.

I say this as someone living in a region where the 'local neighborhood' also has its challenges in the form of a wannabe world power local authoritarian hegemon. Alliances, including the one with the US, are seen as paramount for security and long-term sovereignty. If that also fulfills some US strategic interests, so be it. The alternative is dreadful.

Re: Hyundai acquires controlling stake in Boston Dynamics for $880M

#70

Post by nitin_flanker »

eric4smith wrote: post #24

These are one of the few times I can say that I don't care if Boston Dynamics are making money as yet. Boston Dynamics are one of the few real serious players in the robotics space worldwide doing deep R&D. Hyundai are basically paying for the BD Labs research. And they are well positioned to reap the products and techniques from the lab with their own manufacturing and engineering prowess and experience over the nex…

Hyundai has it's own Robotic labs too. They have plenty of reasons to invest in Boston Dynamics, apart from just car parts.

In addition, Robots manufacturing cars or car parts, improving their own robotic products could be another reason behind this.

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