Apple and Google now have a relative they can both claim as their own: Foxconn. Google and the Taiwanese electronics contract manufacturer that churns out popular devices like the iPhone and iPad have reportedly entered into an agreement that will bolster the robotics capabilities of both companies.

According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Google Android executive Andy Rubin has been talking with Foxconn over the past year about how to carry forward both companies' visions for a robotic future. Google wants to develop robots that can be integrated into many aspects of life; Foxconn wants robots for a more streamlined manufacturing process and higher profit margins. Exactly when this will be implemented, however, is still up in the air.

"Foxconn needs Google's help to step up automation at its factories as the company has the lowest sales per employee among the contract makers, given its large workforce," said Wanli Wang, an analyst at CIMB Securities in The Wall Street Journal report.

"Using robots to replace human workers would be the next big thing in the technology industry. Not just Google, other major technology companies such as Microsoft and Amazon also have been developing robotics technology to capture the future growth opportunities."

Google's interest in furthering its robotics arm isn't new -- the Mountain View-based search giant acquired eight robotics companies during 2013. One of these companies happens to be Boston Dynamics, one of the most high-tech robotics development firms in the United States. Boston Dynamics is the manufacturer behind the world's fastest legged robot, as well as multiple DARPA-funded projects. While the exact scope and details of Google's ambitions are still hazy, one area of focus is definitely retail and manufacturing.

"A realistic case, according to several specialists, would be automating portions of an existing supply chain that stretches from a factory floor to the companies that ship and deliver goods to a consumer's doorstep," reads a New York Times article from December of last year, when details about Google's robotics fetish began to leak out.

Rubin, a former big player in the development of Android, spearheads most of the efforts, and like the rest of Google, he embodies a certain confidence in the implementation of new, sci-fi ideas.

"Like any moonshot, you have to think of time as a factor. We need enough runway and a 10-year vision," Rubin says in the New York Times.

"I have a history of making my hobbies into a career. This is the world's greatest job. Being an engineer and a tinkerer, you start thinking about what you would want to build for yourself.