Roomba inventor unveils a companion robot that's more pet than helper

At this point, most home robots are either glorified vacuums or far-off concepts that may never become commercially available. However, we just got a look at a new home companion robot potentially coming to market next year, and its inventor has a proven track record of putting robots into homes.

Colin Angle, co-founder of Roomba maker iRobot, fully unveiled his new company Familiar Machines & Magic at the Wall Street Journal's The Future of Everything event this week.

FM&M's goal is to make home robots that act more as emotional companions than chore machines. Its debut product is a four-legged robot companion codenamed Ami (per The Verge). The robot looks like a cross between a dog and a bear, and it's designed to spark a connection with its human owner.

"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, per an official press release.

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Ami probably won't launch until next year at the earliest, and we don't have a price point yet, but it's still quite fascinating to look at. In addition to its Roomba pedigree, a Familiar Machines & Magic press release states that the company's employees have also worked with Disney Research, MIT, Amazon, Boston Dynamics, Bose, and Sonos.

The robot animal has 23 degrees of freedom and can move its head, ears, and eyes.

According to The Verge, it can't grasp objects or climb stairs, which would severely limit its usefulness, if it existed to be useful, anyway. It uses on-device generative AI to learn about its owner and respond to the owner's needs on an emotional level.

One very important detail is that it doesn't speak, instead purring and making other pet-like noises. A pet seems to be the best point of comparison here, as the robot seems almost totally incapable of performing practical tasks, and instead exists to make people feel less lonely.

Some other crucial points include a touch-sensitive coat that should, in theory, be pleasurable to pet, and onboard cameras and microphones that help the robot react to situations without streaming that audio or video anywhere. It doesn't have to connect to the internet to work.

The idea of using AI to cure the loneliness epidemic isn't necessarily new or without merit, even if it can sometimes feel a bit dystopian.

Last year, Mashable reported on a service that allowed the elderly to talk to an AI over the phone, just for the sake of providing company. Multiple companies are creating AI-powered robot companions for elder care applications, including startups like ElliQ and Abi.

Anthropomorphizing robots and artificial intelligence can be dangerous, especially given what we know about AI psychosis. However, some experts believe that companion robots could prove beneficial in specific settings.

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