An MIT roboticist who cofounded Roomba maker iRobot says Elon Musk’s vision of humanoid robots as catch-all assistants is ‘pure fantasy thinking’

FortuneMonday, September 29, 2025 at 3:34:37 PM
An MIT roboticist who cofounded Roomba maker iRobot says Elon Musk’s vision of humanoid robots as catch-all assistants is ‘pure fantasy thinking’
Rodney Brooks, a prominent roboticist and co-founder of iRobot, has criticized Elon Musk's vision of humanoid robots as versatile assistants, labeling it as 'pure fantasy thinking.' Brooks argues that the future of robotics will likely involve machines with wheels and multiple arms, rather than the humanoid forms Musk envisions. This perspective is significant as it highlights the ongoing debate in the tech community about the practicality and feasibility of humanoid robots, suggesting that the path to advanced robotics may take a different direction than some industry leaders propose.
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