From R2-D2 to Roomba

Greiner stresses the PackBot's defensive role, but technologies that iRobot and other defense contractors are developing are expected to lead to front-line robots — from unarmed reconnaissance rovers that lead soldiers into buildings and help direct gunfire, to armed and autonomous robots that do the shooting themselves.

John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a defense consulting group in Alexandria, Va., says he expects robots to be highly effective battlefield killers by the end of the next decade.

Such prospects have raised ethics concerns, and run counter to a robots-should-not-harm-humans principle that classic science fiction author Isaac Asimov outlined in his 1950 anthology, "I, Robot" — the namesake of Greiner's company.

For her part, Greiner has said she doesn't believe robots should be empowered to decide on their own whether to take a human life.

None of iRobot's current military robots have autonomous capabilities; all are directly controlled by humans. And while iRobot is developing the PackBot's abilities to carry payloads — including the possibility of transporting weapons — none of the company's current robots is armed.

Greiner was born in London but grew up on New York's Long Island as the daughter of a businessman and nursery school teacher. When she wasn't thinking about robots, she was passionate about math, science and chess.

She enrolled at MIT with a "vision" of exploring robotics, she said, going on to earn a master's in computer science at MIT's Artificial Intelligence Lab while working on satellites at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

When she founded iRobot with Angle and Rodney Brooks, an MIT professor who serves as the company's chief technology officer, the three would start their workdays at 10:30 a.m., take late afternoon naps on office couches then work in the machine shop until 3 a.m.

IRobot's first product, a six-legged walking device called Genghis, was designed as a tool for robotics researchers.

About six years later, iRobot began introducing its first successful military products. Then came the Roomba vacuum cleaner.

Greiner takes pride in knowing that the Roomba needed just two years on the market to reach 1 million in sales, compared with seven years for air conditioners to reach that threshold, six years for televisions and five years for VCRs.

There's a potential for even more robotic household items to be sold, with a United Nations report last year predicting that 4.1 million domestic robots — from vacuum cleaners to pool cleaners — will be in use worldwide by the end of 2007.

"I think the question will not be, 'Will you have a robot in your home?' but 'How many robots will you have in your home?'" Greiner declared.

Greiner keeps three Roombas to clean her split-level home in Wayland, a suburb about 20 miles west of Boston, where the single executive spends much of her free time reading or gardening.

She is an admitted computer game junkie, but also makes time for such outdoor pursuits as kayaking, mountain climbing and snowboarding.

Despite a fear of flying, Greiner frequently visits companies like John Deere, which is teaming up with iRobot to develop a semiautonomous battlefield vehicle, and Clorox, which developed cleaning fluid for the Scooba, a robotic floor mopper introduced last week in prototype form with plans for retail sales early next year.

Greiner, who sat down with The Associated Press after addressing a robotics conference, says she feels it's her calling to explain to the world the potential of robots.

"Today, people say, 'That's not a robot, that's a vacuum,' Or, 'That's not a robot, that's an unmanned ground vehicle in the military. But they all are robots.

"We want to make sure people understand this is a new emerging technology with a large number of areas that it can be adopted in. And at iRobot, we've taken some of the good first steps.

"But it's really the tip of the iceberg in where the industry can go. Your imagination is really the limit."

MORE FROM TECH AND GADGETS

Tech and gadgets Section Front

Eight ways to cool a warming planet Fla. mom under fire for tweet after son's death Shoppers with smart phones squeezing retailers Privacy watchdog files complaint against Facebook Check your Facebook privacy settings. Now! Pocket cameras with big-time lenses YouTube's top 2009 videos feature eclectic cast Secret Santa exchange proves the Web has heart Netbooks meet luxury in ultra-light Sony Ohio court: Cell phone searches require warrant Tech and gadgets Section Front   Add Tech and gadgets headlines to your news reader: