Colin Angle has already outlined client robotics as soon as with the Roomba. iRobot didn’t simply construct a profitable product; it reshaped how folks take into consideration robots within the dwelling. Now, Angle is trying the seemingly unimaginable once more.
His new startup, Acquainted Machines & Magic, got here out of stealth at present with a companion robotic. It’s an area full of false begins and deserted units that sparked curiosity however typically didn’t construct lasting emotional attachments.
Acquainted Machines & Magic is constructing robots to carry out what Angle calls “emotional work” to help routines, cut back loneliness, and combine into day by day life in methods screens and apps can’t. The Woburn, Mass.-based firm’s first product is named a “acquainted,” which in folklore refers to a companion spirit or creature that assists its proprietor.
“It is a actually cool time to be within the robotic world, as a result of we’ve got a greater toolkit,” he stated. “I’m glad I’m lively at this second in time, when all of a sudden all of the issues I’ve dreamed about during the last 35 years are inside attain.”
Angle advised The Robotic Report that his acquainted in Dungeons & Dragons was a horse. Acquainted Machines’ first acquainted will not be a horse, however a small, bear-like animal that Angle stated is supposed to really feel expressive with out triggering unrealistic expectations.
The robotic is a quadruped concerning the dimension of a small canine, lined in a touch-sensitive, fuzzy exterior. Angle stated the fabric attracts on improvements from the sneaker trade and superior 3D knitting methods that assist the interior electronics keep cool. The acquainted has 23 levels of freedom and may stroll round the home and autonomously work together with customers.
Technical specs, resembling battery life, weren’t out there at press time. The robotic is expressive by way of its face, eyes, posture, and motion. It options edge AI processing and may observe a person from room to room, stated Angle.
Acquainted Machines & Magic got here out of stealth mode with this companion robotic.
Acquainted Machines & Magic designs for day by day interplay
Most earlier companion robots have struggled to maneuver past novelty, with restricted interactivity. One of many few exceptions is Sony‘s Aibo robotic canine, which was launched in 1999. The corporate reportedly bought greater than 150,000 items of Aibo earlier than it was discontinued in 2006. After it was discontinued, some homeowners in Japan held funerals for the robotic canine as soon as they had been past restore.
Sony launched a brand new model of Aibo in 2018 with up to date performance, together with extra superior emotional behaviors, and bought greater than 20,000 items in Japan shortly after launch.
“If I attempt to make a robotic canine, I disappoint,” stated Angle. “I’m not making an attempt to make a pet. I’m making an attempt to make a well-known—one thing pet-like, however not sure by these expectations.”
Acquainted Machines’ robotic can also be designed to be bodily embedded in day by day life. It doesn’t simply sit on a counter—it lives in your house, stated Angle. The legged robotic can observe a person into the kitchen or wait by the door. It may nudge the person to go play or go outdoors, he stated. And that bodily presence, Angle argued, is what makes connection potential.
He cited analysis suggesting that screens don’t resolve loneliness. The acquainted has no display screen by design. At this stage, the robotic doesn’t debate politics or reply trivia questions. It doesn’t even converse. “Screens are literally not excellent at human connection. Whenever you’re bodily interacting with one thing, you get a physiological response that you simply don’t get with a display screen.”
As an alternative, the acquainted communicates by way of movement, conduct, and context. Angle stated it’d greet you excitedly after work, again off once you’re busy, or attempt to pull you out of a late-night doom-scrolling spiral with a nudge to take a stroll.
“We’re making an attempt to construct a hyper-loyal, above-animal-level intelligence little creature in my life that’s searching for me the best way that it might probably,” he stated. “It’s a well-known in each sense of the phrase.”
This robotic is wild. Acquainted Machines & Magic simply unveiled it on the Wall Avenue Journal Way forward for Every little thing convention. It’s bought AI, autonomy and is cute. Extra to come back on this. #WSJFutureofEverything pic.twitter.com/bEo9hAcY5D
— Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) Could 4, 2026
Companion robotic prioritizes EQ over IQ
Every acquainted’s character will evolve over time by way of interactions with its proprietor, he defined. And that’s the actual problem dealing with Acquainted Machines & Magic: Can at present’s AI construct a significant emotional connection robust sufficient to maintain the robotic from amassing mud in a closet?
The startup is prioritizing emotional intelligence (EQ) over uncooked cognitive intelligence (IQ). As an alternative of making an attempt to construct a social robotic that may speak about something, Acquainted Machines is specializing in one that may behave appropriately in context. Its system combines imaginative and prescient and audio inputs with a compact multimodal mannequin that interprets facial expressions, gestures, and tone.
From there, a conduct engine educated on hundreds of quick narrative vignettes determines how the robotic ought to reply based mostly on character, reminiscence, and situational cues.
Angle stated all of this runs regionally on-device. This permits for quicker reactions and avoids fixed cloud streaming, which helps handle privateness issues which can be particularly delicate for always-on dwelling robots.
The wager is that emotional believability doesn’t require good intelligence. If the robotic can learn the room, adapt to routines, and develop a character that feels coherent, it might succeed the place others have failed.
Angle acknowledged it is a robust problem. Even iRobot‘s Roomba vacuum required cautious design selections, like scheduling, to maintain person engagement. With companion robots, the bar is way larger. They’re not competing with devices; they’re competing with actual pets—animals that demand consideration, provoke interplay, and have had thousands and thousands of years to evolve emotional bonds with people.
“Extra failures than successes, proper? Let’s be trustworthy: it is a problem,” he stated. “However we’ve by no means had the instruments earlier than and by no means had the bringing collectively of the expertise earlier than. We’ve a toolbox to do one thing that actually was unimaginable six months in the past.”
There’s nonetheless a whole lot of work to be accomplished. Angle stated the primary acquainted will likely be out there in 2027. He didn’t disclose a value however stated it will likely be similar to the price of proudly owning a canine. If this works, Angle stated familiars might turn out to be a platform that expands into new roles and type elements.
“Once we get to behave two and humanoids are coming within the dwelling, you need them to be acquainted, proper? You don’t need them to be uncanny,” Angle stated. “I do speak about what we’re doing as a platform. This primary acquainted itself can blow away Roomba so far as financial worth and scale. Promoting one million familiars has extra financial worth than all the Roombas ever bought by a big margin. However even with that scale, it’s the start, not the tip. I believe that as we get accountable communication, we will begin creating familiars the place there’s an expectation.”