'This is the robot I wanted to build forever': former iRobot chief on his extraordinary 'Familiar' AI companion
It's actually an 'abstract bear'
by https://www.techradar.com/uk/author/lance-ulanoff · TechRadarFeatures By Lance Ulanoff published 4 May 2026
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Twice now, over the last 24 years, Colin Angle has surprised me. I'm not talking bemusement or nodding appreciation. Think jaw-dropping moments when I felt the earth shift a bit under my feet. The first time was in 2002 when he unveiled the iRobot Roomba, a rather basic-looking but shockingly effective robot vacuum, and the second was today, when he showed me a video of his new companion robot, the dog-sized Familiar.
Angle and I have spent decades talking about the robot revolution, or rather, having frank discussions about the reality of that not-quite-yet-here robot uprising. He's the one who cautioned me years ago that functional home humanoid robots wouldn't arrive until 2050. And when he rang me up to talk about his new product under the banner of "Familiar Machines and Magic", I wondered if perhaps he, too, had drunk the Kool-Aid and now believed that humanoid robots like Tesla Optimus, Neo Beta 1, and Figure 03 were all ready to join me in my kitchen or living room. I needn't have worried.
"Guess what I'm not building? Humanoids. I'm sure you're shocked by this revelation," Angle laughed.
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What we're doing was, in fact, impossible 6 months agoColin Angle
"I think humanoids make a lot of sense in industrial settings — I joined the board of directors of Boston Dynamics, ...I believe the humanoids have a place. But [it's] going to be a long time before that place is the home," said Angle.
Angle had yet to reveal the product, and now I thought it might be a desk-bound puck that you could talk to — I could hardly hide my disappointment. Then Angle showed me the video. But before he played it, her offered this clarification, "The robots here are real — none of this is CGI. Just as a disclaimer, because it's necessary. "
Seeing the astonishing Familiar for the first time
In the video, a medium-sized dog-like creature peers from around a wall into a living room where an elderly mother and adult daughter sit. It's black eyes blink expressively, and its pointed ears wiggle. Then it pads over on large, almost bear-like paws. The neutral-colored fur moves naturally, and its motion is fluid and lifelike. One woman in the video pets the robot. In another scene, the robot reaches its paw up and pats the owner in an effort to get his attention.
I'm both excited and concerned. I've seen robots like this before, though perhaps never at this scale. Where the Sony Aibo is the size of a large chihuahua, this bot, which Angle says is called a "Familiar," is the size of a collie or smaller golden retriever.
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