We live in a strange and exciting moment. The future that science fiction writers and screenwriters once sketched out in dusty paperbacks and cult TV shows is no longer just imagination. It’s sneaking into our labs, our homes, our factories. Especially when it comes to robotics, the line between fiction and reality is getting thinner every year.
And here’s the fun part. You don’t actually have to invent something new. The sci-fi greats already did the hard work for you. They dreamed up thousands of strange, delightful, and sometimes terrifying robots. All we need to do now is dust off those old ideas and build startups around them. Call it recycling, call it inspiration, call it a business model with a really good library card.
I read a lot of science fiction. I mean, a lot. I also binge more sci-fi series than I’d ever admit to a serious investor. So when I sat down to make this list, it turned into an almost impossible task. How do you choose between all the brilliant, bizarre concepts? In the end, I didn’t. I went overboard. My list of “robots that should already be real” is long, chaotic, and full of joy.
Consider it less of a neat ranking and more of a buffet. Some ideas are obviously market-ready. Others are still a bit wild. But all of them are proof that science fiction isn’t just about entertainment. It’s about prototyping the future before the engineers catch up.
Household and Social Helpers
Robbie (Isaac Asimov, “I, Robot”) A gentle robot nanny and companion for children. Today: social robots are already being used in classrooms and therapy, helping children learn and supporting elderly people with companionship.
Rosie (TV series “The Jetsons”) The ultimate robot housekeeper who cooked, cleaned, and ran the household. Today: from robot vacuums to multifunctional domestic robots, automation is slowly taking over everyday chores.
K-9 (TV series “Doctor Who”) A robot dog with encyclopedic knowledge and a loyal personality. Today: robotic pets like Sony’s Aibo or therapeutic companions such as Paro offer emotional support, especially for seniors.
Medical and Care
Baymax (Disney, “Big Hero 6”) A soft and caring medical companion robot who looks after both physical and emotional health. Today: healthcare robots are being developed for monitoring patients, providing psychological support, and assisting in rehabilitation.
The Doctor (TV series “Star Trek: Voyager”) A holographic physician with access to infinite medical knowledge. Today: AI-powered telemedicine systems and diagnostic tools are becoming virtual doctors, offering consultations and treatment plans.
Medical Droids (George Lucas, “Star Wars”) Surgical and diagnostic robots capable of advanced precision. Today: systems like the Da Vinci surgical robot are assisting surgeons worldwide.
Medical Nanobots (various, “Star Trek” and beyond) Microscopic robots imagined to repair the body from inside. Today: research is advancing on magnetic nanorobots that deliver drugs directly to tumors, reducing side effects of chemotherapy.
Specialized and Working Robots
R2-D2 (George Lucas, “Star Wars”) The astromech droid that fixes starships and saves the day. Today: inspection robots and mobile service units maintain pipelines, factories, and even power plants.
C-3PO (George Lucas, “Star Wars”) The polite protocol droid and translator. Today: AI translation tools already power cross-cultural communication, and robots with built-in translators are on the way.
Johnny 5 (movie “Short Circuit”) A self-learning robot that developed its own personality. Today: adaptive robots learn tasks from human demonstrations, from factory assembly to warehouse picking.
Ash (Ridley Scott, “Alien”) An android scientist capable of operating in extreme environments. Today: humanoid robots and manipulators are deployed for research in dangerous labs, nuclear plants, and space stations.
Robot Chefs (various sci-fi tropes) Cooking machines imagined as tireless kitchen workers. Today: automated cooking robots like Flippy are already preparing burgers, while smart kitchens integrate AI recipe guidance.
Environmental and Agricultural Robots
WALL-E (Pixar, “WALL-E”) A lonely trash-collecting robot that compacts waste into neat cubes. Today: waste-sorting robots, cleaning bots, and even river plastic collectors are in operation.
Silent Running Drones (Douglas Trumbull, “Silent Running”) Small gardener robots tending Earth’s last forests in space. Today: automated farms and agro-robots already water, weed, and harvest crops.
RoboBees (Harvard inspired, seen in “Black Mirror”) Tiny robotic insects for pollination and monitoring. Today: prototypes of robotic bees and drones are being tested to compensate for pollinator decline.
Combat and Heavy Duty
T-800 (James Cameron, “The Terminator”) The iconic combat android, powerful and unstoppable. Today: exoskeletons help disabled people walk and soldiers carry heavy loads, while quadruped robots patrol hazardous areas.
RoboCop (Paul Verhoeven, “RoboCop”) A cybernetic law enforcer with superhuman abilities. Today: wearable robotics and AI surveillance tools are used in law enforcement and defense, though thankfully not yet as dystopian.
Hunter-Seeker (Frank Herbert, “Dune”) A tiny assassination drone that infiltrates unnoticed. Today: micro-drones are used in military and security operations for reconnaissance and inspection.
BB-8 (George Lucas, “Star Wars”) A spherical, agile companion droid used for scouting and communication. Today: compact reconnaissance robots and micro-rovers assist in search, rescue, and exploration.
Artificial Intelligence and Avatars
HAL 9000 (Arthur C. Clarke, “2001: A Space Odyssey”) A calm, all-knowing ship AI that controls everything. Today: autonomous control systems manage aircraft, ships, and entire factories, though with more oversight.
JARVIS (Marvel, “Iron Man”) An AI assistant who anticipates needs, manages the home, and cracks jokes. Today: generative AI agents combined with smart homes are the closest thing to JARVIS, running tasks and offering companionship.
Mother (Ridley Scott, “Alien”) The ship’s AI managing navigation, life support, and systems. Today: situation rooms and digital twins for factories echo this concept, centralizing operations.
Herbie (Isaac Asimov, “Liar!”) A telepathic robot forced to lie to avoid hurting humans. Today: ethical frameworks in AI are being built to minimize emotional or social harm.
Eddie (Douglas Adams, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”) A cheerful spaceship computer with a distinct personality. Today: AI assistants with emotional intelligence are starting to show up in customer service and companionship apps.
Holodeck (TV series “Star Trek”) A virtual reality room generating entire worlds. Today: VR headsets and haptic interfaces bring immersive training for pilots, surgeons, and gamers alike.
Swarms and Explorers
Swarm Drones (seen in “Dune”, “Star Wars”) Self-organizing insect-like drones for surveillance and exploration. Today: swarm robotics is tested for warehouse inventory, pipeline inspection, and environmental monitoring.
Brodies (Scouts) (Dennis E. Taylor, “Bobiverse”) Lightweight, disposable robots used for reconnaissance and repairs. Today: fleets of cheap drones and micro-rovers cover inspections, mapping, and maintenance at scale.
Physical Avatars (Dennis E. Taylor, “Bobiverse”) Remote-controlled artificial bodies for travel and interaction. Today: telepresence robots and humanoids controlled via VR let operators work in dangerous or remote environments.
So here we are. Science fiction has already done most of the heavy lifting. Writers and screenwriters spent the last century sketching out blueprints for robots that heal, cook, translate, clean, rescue, farm, and even joke around. They gave us not just characters but product roadmaps.
The gap between those imagined machines and today’s prototypes is no longer infinite. It is measured in funding rounds, supply chains, and engineering grit. We do not need to invent from scratch. We only need to look back at those brilliant stories, pick an idea that still makes our hearts race, and ask: what would it take to build a working version now?
This is an invitation. To founders, engineers, and dreamers: stop searching for “the next big idea” in blank slideshows and whiteboards. Open a book. Rewatch that old series. Revisit the futures we once thought were impossible. They are still waiting to be built.
And maybe the greatest startup opportunity of all is not in creating something brand new, but in finally delivering on the promises our storytellers made decades ago.
