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52 Modern Robotics

Teaming Up: Brooks, Angle, and Greiner

In 1990, Rodney Brooks, eager to bring mobile robot technology
into the marketplace, joined Colin Angle and fellow MIT researcher
Helen Greiner to form a company that eventually became known as
iRobot Corporation. (The name is a nod to Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot
collection of robot stories.)
Greiner was born in 1969 in London, though she grew up in
Long Island, New York. As a young girl interested in science
and mathematics, Greiner was inspired by the original Star Wars
movie to think about building robots like the friendly and versa-
tile R2D2. (She was disappointed, though, to learn that the robot
had a human controller inside.) By the time she was 11, Greiner
was writing her own programs on
an early personal computer and
trying to connect it to control the
movements of toys.
Like Angle, Greiner earned a
B.S. in mechanical engineering and
an M.S. in computer science and
studied with Brooks at the MIT
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Lab. She
had also worked at JPL. According
to her MIT faculty adviser, Greiner,
unlike some of the more theoretical-
ly minded students, was interested
in how to turn robotics applica-
tions into business opportunities.
Greiner’s skills in robot design
and hands-on engineering served
her well as iRobot struggled to
bring its first products to market.
Together with Colin Angle and Although she soon found herself
Rodney Brooks, Helen Greiner the target of tempting offers from
founded iRobot Corporation other companies, she was deter-
Greiner uses finely honed engineer-
ing and business skills to bring new mined to follow through with the
robots to market. (Photo courtesy of vision she shared with Brooks and
iRobot Corporation) Angle.