The inventor of Roomba introduces a new robotic pet.

Colin Angle, the visionary behind the Roomba and a pioneer in bringing household robots into our lives, is back with an exciting new creation. This time, however, it’s not about cleaning; it’s about companionship.

Angle’s latest venture, Familiar Machines & Magic, has unveiled its first robot, a pet-sized companion that blends features of a bear, a barn owl, and a golden retriever. Dubbed a “Familiar,” this robot boasts an expressive face with movable eyebrows, ears, and eyes, designed to evoke the idea of a supernatural companion from folklore. A demo video showcased at the WSJ Future of Everything conference revealed that this quadruped can navigate your home independently, much like a real pet.

The Familiar is described as a “physically embodied AI system” that leverages generative AI to interact with its owner, aiming to forge an emotional bond and develop a unique personality. Angle believes that robots capable of responding to human emotions will excel in roles that require deep human connection, such as companionship, entertainment, hospitality, eldercare, and parental support. “The next era of robotics is not just about dexterity or humanoid form — it’s about machines that can build and sustain human connection,” he explains.

Internally referred to as Ami, the Familiar won’t hit the market until next year at the earliest, with a price point expected to align with the costs of pet ownership. While specific features remain under wraps, Angle indicates that initial applications will target families with young children, provide companionship for the elderly, and help combat the global loneliness epidemic. This marks a significant shift for Angle, who has spent his career developing robots primarily for cleaning.

Reflecting on his three-decade journey in robotics, Angle notes that the original name for iRobot was Artificial Creatures Inc., but the technology to create artificial life wasn’t available at the time. “Finally, I get to do what I originally set out to do. It’s not just about building cool animatronics. Now is finally the time where the tech exists — if properly and responsibly used — to start creating Familiars.”

After stepping down as CEO of iRobot in 2024 following a failed sale to Amazon, Angle, along with cofounders Ira Renfrew and Chris Jones, has assembled a talented team of roboticists and engineers from various prestigious companies. Their mission is to create a robot that transcends being just a toy or a simple chatbot, which have flooded the market.

From the outset, the team decided against a humanoid design, believing it would complicate their vision. Instead, the Familiar is intentionally designed to be an unidentifiable creature, as Angle believes that specific forms can lead to preconceived notions about its capabilities.

The Familiar won’t speak; instead, it will communicate through nonverbal sounds, like meows and purrs, as demonstrated at the conference. Angle emphasizes that it will avoid giving potentially misleading advice, a nod to the pitfalls faced by many AI chatbots.

Communication will primarily occur through expressions and body language, supported by a camera-based vision system and microphone array. With 23 degrees of freedom, the robot can move its head, neck, ears, eyes, and eyebrows, and walk at a slow human pace, though it won’t be able to grip objects or climb stairs. Its four-legged design aims to provide stability, reducing the risk of falls that could damage property or injure people.

Familiar Machines aims to harness AI to create a robot that learns from its owners, remembers patterns, and adapts to their routines, fostering long-term engagement. Angle is determined to avoid the fate of previous home robots that ended up forgotten in closets. “If this is a toy, we’ve failed. If this is a creature that you want in your world, then we’ve knocked it out of the park,” he asserts.

Powered by Nvidia’s Jetson Orin chip, the Familiar’s onboard AI is designed for social reasoning, integrating vision, audio, language, and memory to create responsive behaviors in real time. It operates without needing an internet connection, although it can connect if desired, and it doesn’t stream data to the cloud, prioritizing user privacy and reducing latency. However, it does come equipped with cameras and microphones.

So, what’s the appeal of having this robot in your home? While Angle remains somewhat vague about specifics, he suggests that an AI-powered companion could help tackle loneliness and offer an alternative to screen-based technology. “If your Familiar gets you up and out of your room and walking around — that’s a real way to try to address isolation and loneliness,” he explains.

Angle critiques existing companion robots for failing the “plate of glass” test, meaning if a barrier between you and the device doesn’t change the experience, it’s not effective. The Familiar is designed to engage physically, with features like nudging and hugging, and it boasts a “luxurious” touch-sensitive coat.

In the demo, a boy set aside his tablet to pet the robot, a man was nudged to stop scrolling and go to bed, an elderly woman walked with Ami, and a younger woman practiced yoga beside it. The goal is to encourage activities beyond screen time, fostering real-world interactions.

While the concept of a non-screen-based interactive technology could help combat our screen-obsessed culture, it’s a delicate balance. It may take more than a robotic pet to pry a teenager away from TikTok. Moreover, it’s still a robot, not a human, and while it may provide some companionship, it could also become another barrier to genuine social interaction.

The success of the Familiar will largely depend on consumer acceptance and its price point. The original Roomba succeeded due to its affordability and practicality. “Pet ownership costs” can vary widely, and while Angle claims interest in the Familiar is “higher than what we saw with Roomba,” the lack of a clear purpose could pose challenges.

Angle hints that the strongest use cases may be as a support tool for parents, providing interaction for children when parents are busy, and as a companion for the elderly, helping manage routines and alleviate loneliness. This mirrors the success of Intuition Robotics’ ElliQ, a notable companion robot.

Many might prefer a real pet over a robotic alternative. As a pet owner myself, I understand the appeal of snuggling with a cat or walking a dog. Angle acknowledges that not everyone can have pets, citing a statistic that pet ownership drops to just 9 percent after age 68, when caring for an animal becomes more challenging. For those seeking companionship but unable to have a pet, the Familiar could serve as an intriguing option.

At the WSJ conference, Angle showcased two Familiars, demonstrating their movement and interaction with people, complete with meowing and purring sounds. While the units were partially operator-controlled, Angle assures that the Familiar will be fully autonomous by its launch next year. “This is a demo, but it’s a demo on its way to a product; we’re already in factories,” he stated.

However, it remains uncertain how closely the final product will align with Angle’s ambitious vision. The promises made in this field are significant, and the history of companion robots is littered with failures and high expectations. What is clear is that Angle believes his team is making substantial progress toward creating artificial life. “It’s not a toy. It’s a real robot,” he asserts. “There is enough to it that it’s beautiful, wonderful to pet and give a hug to, and it can keep up with you. It’s the agency. For some definition of alive, it’s alive.”