Why Google Plan To Avoid Military Funding For Their Robotics Project

We all know about Google attempting to push the boundaries by working on new and emerging technologies, so what could have possessed them to turn down a huge amount of military funding that could effectively contribute towards their advanced robotics project?

The Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has been in association with Google since Google decided to purchase several robotics companies for the purpose of working on an advanced humanoid robot.

However, Google aren’t interested in having any kind of affiliation with DARPA for various reasons, but mainly due to the fact that DARPA are usually responsible for funding technologies suitable for military operations and national security.

Google feel that, should they accept the funding from DARPA, they would begin to attract unwanted scrutiny from their audience regarding the purpose of their robotics project.

The funny thing is DARPA aren’t really that interested in providing funds for Google either. DARPA are used to investing in start-ups that show capabilities of providing for national defence and the Pentagon at some point in the future and not gigantic technology companies.

Interestingly, both Google and DARPA share plenty of similarities. They are both interested in groundbreaking technologies and always have one eye on what could be the next big thing.

Schaft, a Japanese robotics company owned by Google, performed exceptionally in the latest DARPA Robotics Challenge qualification round, but Google plan on forfeiting any money they receive from DARPA in the future as a result of Schaft’s performance.

Whilst there are still connections between the two through some of Google’s affiliated robotics companies, namely Schaft and Boston Dynamics, there’s no doubting the fact that Google are eager to distance themselves from any kind of military investment.