Brooks, Rodney

1954–

Robotics/Artificial Intelligence Engineer

Rodney Brooks is a professor, innovator, and entrepreneur who has challenged the traditional conception of artificial intelligence. Brooks has established himself as a scholar by introducing “subsumption architecture” or “behavior-based” approaches to robotics design, making his work applicable to both planetary exploration and commercial products.

Brooks was born in Adelaide, Australia, in 1954. As a child, technology and computers fascinated Brooks; a lack of computer availability in his town led him to construct computers from whatever materials he could find. Similarly, a lack of academic programs in computer science at Australian universities directed Brooks to a study in pure mathematics, and he earned his master of science degree from Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia. Utilizing assistantship programs provided by [Page 41]American schools, Brooks received a Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford University in 1981. Shortly thereafter, he became Fujitsu Professor of Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), as well as the director of MIT's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.

At MIT, Brooks envisioned a different way to program robotics. He introduced ideas of behavior-based programming to his robots that differed drastically from the traditional method. Rather than programming a robot with specific actions (e.g., to move forward or backward), he programs with digital interaction behaviors that allow the robot to learn on its own.

Brooks developed insect-like robots at MIT that were small in size and capable of moving in an environment without hitting other objects. These robots became the first products of the lab to be used for experimentation as autonomous planetary explorers. Three generations of robots followed, and the insect-like forms led to more humanoid forms. The artificial intelligence laboratory at MIT became a birthplace for Coco, Cog, and Kismet. Coco, whose body resembles that of a small gorilla, possesses a higher level of self-government than the other robots. Cog's structure looks much like a human body; it has been designed to learn through social interaction, following movement with its two camera eyes and correspondingly moving its appendages. Kismet is a sociable humanoid robot that has been designed to respond to human interaction. For example, waving an object in front of Kismet's eye-like cameras causes it to make a facial expression of interest. If the motion becomes too overwhelming for the robot, its face will express fear.

Brooks believes that his robots can acquire intelligence through social interaction. His MIT Web site describes the foundation of robotics construction as the creation of physical resemblance to humans. If a robot programmed to respond to social interaction is to acquire intelligence or experience, it must have humans to interact with it. Brooks believes that creating robots that look similar to humans will encourage humans to interact with these beings more naturally.

While working at MIT, Brooks co-founded the iRobot Corporation. At iRobot, robots are produced to serve a variety of purposes in businesses and the home. Two of the company's main customers are the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DAPRA) and the Office of Naval Research (ONR). In November 2000, iRobot teamed up with Hasbro, Inc., to commercially release the My Real Baby doll. The doll has similar emotionally responsive traits as Kismet, and uses sensors to react to being rocked, held, or burped by its caregiver.

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