Colin Angle has already outlined shopper robotics as soon as with the Roomba. iRobot didn’t simply construct a profitable product; it reshaped how individuals take into consideration robots within the dwelling. Now, Angle is making an attempt the seemingly not possible once more.
His new startup, Acquainted Machines & Magic, got here out of stealth right this moment with a companion robotic. It’s an area crammed with false begins and deserted units that sparked curiosity however typically did not construct lasting emotional attachments.
Acquainted Machines & Magic is constructing robots to carry out what Angle calls “emotional work” to assist routines, scale back loneliness, and combine into day by day life in methods screens and apps can’t. The Woburn, Mass.-based firm’s first product known as 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 now we have a greater toolkit,” he mentioned. “I’m glad I’m lively at this second in time, when out of the blue all of the issues I’ve dreamed about during the last 35 years are inside attain.”
Angle instructed The Robotic Report that his acquainted in Dungeons & Dragons was a horse. Acquainted Machines’ first acquainted isn’t a horse, however a small, bear-like animal that Angle mentioned is supposed to really feel expressive with out triggering unrealistic expectations.
The robotic is a quadruped in regards to the measurement of a small canine, lined in a touch-sensitive, fuzzy exterior. Angle mentioned the fabric attracts on improvements from the sneaker business and superior 3D knitting strategies that assist the inner electronics keep cool. The acquainted has 23 levels of freedom and may stroll round the home and autonomously work together with customers.
Technical specs, corresponding to battery life, weren’t out there at press time. The robotic is expressive by means of its face, eyes, posture, and motion. It options edge AI processing and may observe a consumer from room to room, mentioned 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 models of Aibo earlier than it was discontinued in 2006. After it was discontinued, some homeowners in Japan held funerals for the robotic canines as soon as they have 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 models in Japan shortly after launch.
“If I attempt to make a robotic canine, I disappoint,” mentioned Angle. “I’m not attempting to make a pet. I’m attempting to make a well-recognized—one thing pet-like, however not certain 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 area, mentioned Angle. The legged robotic can observe a consumer into the kitchen or wait by the door. It may nudge the consumer to go play or go outdoors, he mentioned. 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 by design. At this stage, the robotic doesn’t debate politics or reply trivia questions. It doesn’t even communicate. “Screens are literally not excellent at human connection. Once you’re bodily interacting with one thing, you get a physiological response that you just don’t get with a display.”
As a substitute, the acquainted communicates by means of movement, conduct, and context. Angle mentioned it would greet you excitedly after work, again off whenever 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 attempting 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,” he mentioned. “It’s a well-recognized 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 part convention. It’s bought AI, autonomy and is lovely. Extra to come back on this. #WSJFutureofEverything pic.twitter.com/bEo9hAcY5D
— Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) Might 4, 2026
Companion robotic prioritizes EQ over IQ
Every acquainted’s character will evolve over time by means of interactions with its proprietor, he defined. And that’s the actual problem going through Acquainted Machines & Magic: Can right this moment’s AI construct a significant emotional connection sturdy sufficient to maintain the robotic from amassing mud in a closet?
The startup is prioritizing emotional intelligence (EQ) over uncooked cognitive intelligence (IQ). As a substitute of attempting 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 skilled on hundreds of brief narrative vignettes determines how the robotic ought to reply primarily based on character, reminiscence, and situational cues.
Angle mentioned all of this runs domestically on-device. This enables for sooner reactions and avoids fixed cloud streaming, which helps handle privateness considerations which are particularly delicate for always-on dwelling robots.
The guess is that emotional believability doesn’t require excellent intelligence. If the robotic can learn the room, adapt to routines, and develop a character that feels coherent, it could succeed the place others have failed.
Angle acknowledged this can be a powerful problem. Even iRobot‘s Roomba vacuum required cautious design choices, like scheduling, to maintain consumer engagement. With companion robots, the bar is far larger. They’re not competing with devices; they’re competing with actual pets—animals that demand consideration, provoke interplay, and have had tens of millions of years to evolve emotional bonds with people.
“Extra failures than successes, proper? Let’s be trustworthy: this can be a problem,” he mentioned. “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 now have a toolbox to do one thing that actually was not possible six months in the past.”
There’s nonetheless a variety of work to be finished. Angle mentioned the primary acquainted can be out there in 2027. He didn’t disclose a value however mentioned it will likely be similar to the price of proudly owning a canine. If this works, Angle mentioned familiars may develop into a platform that expands into new roles and type elements.
“After 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 mentioned. “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 1,000,000 familiars has extra financial worth than the entire Roombas ever bought by a big margin. However even with that scale, it’s the start, not the tip. I feel that as we get accountable communication, we will begin creating familiars the place there’s an expectation.”
