Alphabet Layoffs Hit Trash-Sorting Robots

Teach a robot to open a door, and it ought to unlock a lifetime of opportunities. Just over a year after graduating from Alphabet's X moonshot lab, the team that trained over a hundred wheeled, one-armed robots to squeegee cafeteria tables, separate trash and recycling, and yes, open doors, is shutting down as part of budget cuts spreading across the Google parent, a spokeswoman confirmed. "Everyday Robots will no longer be a separate project within Alphabet," says Denise Gamboa, director of marketing and communications for Everyday Robots. "Some of the technology and part of the team will be consolidated into existing robotics efforts within Google Research." The robotics venture is the latest failed bet for X, which in the past decade also spun out internet-beaming balloons (Loon) and power-generating kites (Makani) before deeming them too commercially inviable to keep afloat.