One of iRobot's co-founders is now making weird little robot companions

Source: Engadget

Background

Colin Angle, co‑founder of iRobot, helped bring robot vacuums into millions of homes. He has now unveiled a new venture focused on robot companions rather than floor‑sweeping devices.

Familiar Machines & Magic

The company, Familiar Machines & Magic, is developing robots called Familiars. They are described as “physically embodied AI systems to perceive, adapt and interact with people in ways that feel natural and consistent.”

“The next era of robotics is not just about dexterity or humanoid form — it’s about machines that can build and sustain human connection,” Angle said at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything conference.
“My goal has always been to create systems that understand context, remember interactions and behave with consistency over time.”

The Familiars

• Purpose‑built for social interaction – designed with an architecture optimized for expressive, whole‑body movement that communicates attention, awareness, and intent.
• Physical design – animal‑esque robot with a touch‑sensitive coat.
• Sensors – multiple cameras and a microphone array enable natural interaction.
• AI stack – powered by a custom small multimodal model optimized for social reasoning.

Technology Highlights

# Pseudocode illustrating multimodal social reasoning model
class SocialReasoningModel:
    def __init__(self):
        self.visual_encoder = VisionEncoder()
        self.audio_encoder = AudioEncoder()
        self.context_memory = ContextMemory()

    def infer_intent(self, video_frames, audio_signal):
        visual_features = self.visual_encoder.encode(video_frames)
        audio_features = self.audio_encoder.encode(audio_signal)
        combined = self.context_memory.integrate(visual_features, audio_features)
        return self.predict_intent(combined)

The code above is illustrative; the actual implementation is proprietary.

Product Status

The first Familiar is currently a working prototype serving as a proof of concept. No retail release date or pricing information has been announced.

As a side note, animal shelters typically charge $50–$125 for adopting a real pet.