Google-owner
Alphabet is giving up the development of bipedal robots after five years.
The company
had been developing large industrial robots since it bought two start-ups -
Schaft and Boston Dynamics - in 2013.
Its
creations won awards and videos of them in action often went viral.
But Alphabet
changed its focus and sold Boston Dynamics in 2017. It said it had been unable
to sell Schaft and would close the division instead.
In 2013, one
of Schaft's machines won the first round of a rescue robot competition hosted
by the Pentagon's research unit Darpa.
But Alphabet
scaled back its ambitions, following the departure of executive Andy Rubin in
2014.
Boston
Dynamics was sold to Softbank Group in 2017 and the Japanese company originally
agreed to buy Schaft too.
However, the
acquisition of Schaft did not go ahead.
"Following
Softbank's decision not to move forward with the Schaft acquisition, we
explored many options but ultimately decided to wind down Schaft," an
Alphabet spokeswoman told news site Nikkei Asian Review.
The company
said it would help the division's employees find new jobs either in or outside
of Alphabet.
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