What was the relationship between iRobot and I, Robot the movie starring Will Smith?
The name iRobot comes from a common source, the Asimov I, Robot short stories. We also like it because it can be “intelligent” robot or “I” Robot (i.e. the personal combined with the technology). We have done some joint promotions with the 20th Century Fox folks and I have been asked to talk about the state of the art in robotics at movie screenings. Colin Rod and I were all interviewed for the DVD version. What did you think of the movie? Would you say it’s accurate in terms of where robotics is heading? I loved the movie. It kept true to the Asimovian principles and many scenes described in the book, but did not just follow any one story (which would have not made a summer block buster). The robot was a compelling character. (see final question) Besides iRobot Corporation, what robotic projects or robot firms have you been impressed with? Well, Rod’s work at MIT on humanoids is very compelling; I just got the tour last week. And the demo humanoid, cardea, etc. Manuela at CMU has made
