<p>In less than a year, Google has bought more than a half-dozen robotics companies, setting the industry abuzz. But when I ask Google what it's up to with all these robots, the company won't say a thing.</p><p>"They are very careful they haven't disclosed what they are doing," says Richard Mahoney, the director of the robotics program at SRI International, a nonprofit technology accelerator in Menlo Park, Calif. Mahoney also served on the board of Redwood Robotics, one of the companies Google bought.</p><p>"If I had information that wasn't proprietary, I would share it," he says. "But right now they are being pretty careful about what they are telling people."</p><p>Mahoney, like dozens of others in the industry, had to sign a nondisclosure agreement to do business with Google. As I poke around, talking to folks even at companies that hadn't been bought by Google, these nondisclosure agreements keep popping up.</p><p><a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/03/17/290888529/with-googles-robot-buying-binge-a-hat-tip-to-the-future">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/03/17/what-does-a-ping-pong-playing-robot-mean-for-the-f.aspx">What Does a Ping-Pong Playing Robot Mean for the Future of Industry?</a> (Motley Fool)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=dqWnCcuOGAb-JoMEPT2d0p-NjKaTM&authuser=0&ned=us">12 additional articles.</a></p>