Why iRobot’s founder won’t go within 10 feet of today’s walking robots

In his article, Brooks says it is “far too close” to a humanoid digitic humanoid figure when he fell several years ago. He did not dare to approach one while walking since. Even in the promotional videos of humanoid societies, Note Brooks, humans are never shown near to move humanoid robots unless you are separated by furniture, and even then, the robots do not mix at least.

This security problem extends beyond accidental falls. For humanoids to fulfill their promised role in health care and factory establishments, they need certification to operate in areas shared with humans. Current walking mechanisms make this certification practically impossible according to existing safety standards in most regions of the world.

Brooks predicts that in the 15 years, there will indeed be many robots called “humanoids” performing various tasks. But ironically, they will not resemble today’s bipedal machines. They will have wheels instead of the feet, a variable number of arms and specialized sensors that do not resemble human eyes. Some will have cameras in their hands or looking at the bottom of their intermediate sessions. The definition of “humanoid” will move, as is “flying cars” now means electric helicopters rather than aircraft compatible with the road, and “autonomous cars” mean vehicles with distant human monitors rather than really autonomous systems.

The billions that are currently invested in the forcing of rigid and visionary humanoids today to learn dexterity will largely disappear, says Brooks. University researchers make more progress with systems that integrate tactile feedback, such as the MIT approach using a glove which transmits sensations between human operators and the hands of robots. But even these advances remain far from the detection of complete touch which allows human dexterity.

Today, few people spend their days near humanoid robots, but the three -meter Brooks rule is a practical warning of someone who has spent decades that have built these machines. The gap between promotional videos and deployable reality remains important, measured not only in the years but in fundamental unresolved problems of physics, detection and security.