Rodney Brooks is a technology visionary, a ground-breaking scientist, and a
creative entrepreneur. A mainstay of M.I.T.'s prestigious Computer Science and
Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and founder of the groundbreaking technology
company, iRobot, Brooks is arguably the world's most important figure in
robotics. If there is a "leading edge" in the world of technology, his
spectacular career has certainly been spent exploring it.
Brooks has played a major role in some of the most exciting, state-of-the-art
inventions in a field bursting with invention. The company he founded, iRobot,
sent a robot to Mars to collect samples for NASA, helped create the Predator
robot aircraft for use by the military in Iraq and Afghanistan, and brought
the first commercial robot to market (named Roomba, it weighs less than 6 lbs.,
sells for $199, and cleans floors). By deftly combining the latest artificial
intelligence technology with easy-to-use interfaces, Brooks has developed
robots for government, industry, scientific research, and kids who want to have
fun.
Indeed, fun is never far away when Brooks, a lively speaker, explains his
passion for invention and discovery. "A voluble Australian," according to Time
Magazine, "he's famous for finding radical, counterintuitve approaches to
intractable problems".
To the general public, Brooks is best known for his popular book, Flesh and
Machines: How Robots Will Change Us and for his role in the underground movie
classic, Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control (the movie's title derives from
Brooks' iconoclastic advice to NASA concerning the kinds of robots to develop
for use in outer space).
He has been frequent guest on numerous television and radio programs, including
Good Morning, America, the Discovery Channel, and NPR Science Friday.
It's easy to see why the media is fascinated with Brooks, for he skillfully
addresses, from the perspective of an engaged scientist, Big Questions that
have traditionally been the domain of fiction writers and fantasists.
