Familiar Machines Unveils Bear/Dog Robot Companion

The Robot That Wants to Be Your Companion, Not Your Appliance

Robots are getting a lot of attention these days, especially the humanoid kind.

But are we any closer to the “Supertoy” robot companions as offered in Spielberg’s seminal film Artificial Intelligence?

Well, the man who gave you a robot that cleans your floors is now building one that wants to know how you’re feeling.

Colin Angle co-founded iRobot in 1990 and launched the Roomba in 2002. More than two decades later, he’s back with something more ambitious: a company called Familiar Machines & Magic, and a vision he calls Artificial Life.

The Familiar is a four-legged creature the size of a bulldog, with doe-like eyes, bear cub ears, and touch-sensitive artificial fur. It stretches into a greeting when you walk in the room. Strange and soft and immediately legible. Not as a product. As a presence. Fast Company

“We chose a form factor that’s not a human, not a dog, not a cat,” Angle said. “We wanted to steer away from all of those preconceptions.” Fast Company

The prototypes, named Daphne and Winston, move through 23 separate joints, bobbing their heads, tilting their ears, adjusting their gaze, wagging a small tail. Gestures designed to be read. The quiet physical language of a living thing paying attention. TechEBlog

Onboard AI integrates vision, audio, language, and memory, adapting over time without relying heavily on cloud processing. Privacy is part of the design. AI Insider

Angle describes what the Familiar does as “emotional work”: supporting routines, reducing loneliness, integrating into daily life in ways screens and apps can’t. This isn’t a gadget. It’s competing with pets. The Robot Report

The first Familiar arrives in 2027. “We have a toolbox to do something that literally was impossible six months ago,” Angle said. The Robot ReportThe Robot Report

Something about Daphne and Winston makes that easy to believe.