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

The Safety Concerns of Humanoid Robots: A Warning from a Veteran Robotics Engineer

In a recent post, Rodney Brooks, the founder of iRobot, shared a personal anecdote that highlights the safety concerns surrounding humanoid robots. Brooks recounted being “way too close” to an Agility Robotics Digit humanoid when it fell several years ago, an experience that has left him wary of approaching these robots while they are in motion. This caution is not unique to Brooks, as even in promotional videos from humanoid companies, humans are rarely shown in close proximity to moving humanoid robots, and when they are, it is often with a safe distance or a barrier in between.

This safety problem extends beyond accidental falls. For humanoid robots to fulfill their promised role in healthcare and factory settings, they need to be certified to operate in zones shared with humans. However, current walking mechanisms make such certification virtually impossible under existing safety standards in most parts of the world. The risk of injury or accident is too high, and the consequences of a malfunction or loss of control could be severe.

The Limitations of Current Humanoid Robots

Brooks predicts that within 15 years, there will indeed be many robots called “humanoids” performing various tasks, but they will look nothing like today’s bipedal machines. Instead, they will have wheels instead of feet, varying numbers of arms, and specialized sensors that bear no resemblance to human eyes. Some will have cameras in their hands or looking down from their midsections. The definition of “humanoid” will shift, just as “flying cars” now means electric helicopters rather than road-capable aircraft, and “self-driving cars” means vehicles with remote human monitors rather than truly autonomous systems.

The billions currently being invested in forcing today’s rigid, vision-only humanoids to learn dexterity will largely disappear, Brooks argues. Academic researchers are making more progress with systems that incorporate touch feedback, like MIT’s approach using a glove that transmits sensations between human operators and robot hands. However, even these advances remain far from the comprehensive touch sensing that enables human dexterity.

A Call for Caution and Realism

Today, few people spend their days near humanoid robots, but Brooks’s three-meter rule stands as a practical warning of challenges ahead from someone who has spent decades building these machines. The gap between promotional videos and deployable reality remains large, measured not just in years but in fundamental unsolved problems of physics, sensing, and safety. As the development of humanoid robots continues, it is essential to approach this technology with caution and realism, recognizing the significant challenges that must be overcome before these machines can be safely and effectively deployed in real-world settings.

For more information on the challenges and limitations of humanoid robots, read the full article Here.