Rodney Brooks
Australian roboticist who co-founded iRobot, maker of the Roomba
- Age
- 71 yrs
- Birthday in 54 days
- Works listed
- 2
- Paper, Book
- Honours
- 1
- Most recent 1991
- Profile views
- 2
- 0 followers
Rodney Brooks is an Australian roboticist who pioneered behaviour-based robots that react to the world rather than planning everything in advance. A former director of MIT’s computer science and AI lab, he co-founded iRobot, maker of the Roomba vacuum, and Rethink Robotics.
Biography
Background
Brooks studied mathematics at Flinders University in Adelaide and earned his PhD at Stanford in 1981.
Behaviour-based robotics
At MIT from 1984 he proposed the “subsumption architecture”, building insect-like robots from simple layered behaviours. His paper “Elephants Don’t Play Chess” challenged classical AI.
iRobot
In 1990 he co-founded iRobot, which made PackBot military robots and, from 2002, the Roomba, the first mass-market home robot.
Rethink and Robust
He directed MIT CSAIL from 2003 to 2007, founded Rethink Robotics (Baxter and Sawyer robots) and later Robust.AI. He is known for sceptical predictions about AI and self-driving cars.
Timeline
-
1954
Born in Adelaide, Australia
-
1981
PhD from Stanford
-
1986
Subsumption architecture
-
1990
Co-founds iRobot
-
2002
Roomba launched
-
2003
Director of MIT CSAIL
-
2008
Founds Rethink Robotics
-
2019
Co-founds Robust.AI
Notable works
-
1990
Elephants Don’t Play Chess Paper
-
2002
Flesh and Machines Book
Awards and honours
-
IJCAI Computers and Thought Award
1991
Did you know?
-
1
He appeared in Errol Morris’s 1997 documentary Fast, Cheap & Out of Control.
-
2
His robots Genghis and Attila were six-legged walkers.
-
3
He publishes an annual scorecard of his tech predictions.
Connections
Related people
Frequently asked
Who is Rodney Brooks?
Rodney Brooks is an Australian roboticist who pioneered behaviour-based robots that react to the world rather than planning everything in advance. A former director of MIT’s computer science and AI lab, he co-founded iRobot, maker of the Roomba vacuum, and Rethink Robotics.
How old is Rodney Brooks?
Rodney Brooks is 71 years old, born on 30 December 1954 in Adelaide, Australia.
Where is Rodney Brooks from?
Rodney Brooks was born in Adelaide, Australia.
What is Rodney Brooks known for?
Rodney Brooks is best known for Behaviour-based robotics; MIT CSAIL director; co-founding iRobot and Rethink Robotics.
What awards has Rodney Brooks received?
Notable honours include IJCAI Computers and Thought Award (1991).
References
- Rodney Brooks — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Rodney Brooks — Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Rodney Brooks — IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Rodney Brooks — Goodreads author page. Goodreads. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Rodney Brooks (Q92809) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Rodney Brooks”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 4 November 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Rodney Brooks.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/rodney-brooks
Discussion 0
Sign in or create an account to join the discussion.
No comments yet — be the first.
More in Science
Science
Yuri Milner
Investor behind DST Global and the Breakthrough Prizes
Born 1961
Science
Andrew Ng
AI educator who co-founded Google Brain and Coursera
Born 1976
Science
Anne Wojcicki
Co-founder of the consumer genetics company 23andMe
Born 1973
Science
Dario Amodei
Co-founder and CEO of Anthropic, the company behind Claude
Born 1983
Science
Cleve Moler
Mathematician who created MATLAB and co-founded MathWorks
1939 – 2026
Science
Daphne Koller
Israeli-American computer scientist who co-founded Coursera and leads insitro
Born 1968