Business · Engadget
One of iRobot's co-founders is now making weird little robot companions
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Colin Angle, the guy who co-founded iRobot and helped put robot vacuums in millions of homes, unveiled his new company and forthcoming product.
Key facts
- As an aside, animal shelters will let you take home a cute critter for $50 to $125 bucks
- Colin Angle, the guy who co-founded iRobot and helped put robot vacuums in millions of homes, unveiled his new company and forthcoming product
- That sounds like a pet, but with loyalty and love replaced by algorithms
- The next era of robotics is not about dexterity or humanoid form, it's about machines that can build and sustain human connection," he said at The Wall Street Journal's Future of Everything
Summary
They are called Familiars and are being described as "physically embodied AI systems to perceive, adapt and interact with people in ways that feel natural and consistent. "The next era of robotics is not about dexterity or humanoid form, it's about machines that can build and sustain human connection," he said at The Wall Street Journal's Future of Everything conference. The company says that its first Familiar has been "purpose-built for social interaction" with a general design architecture "optimized for expressive, whole-body movement that communicates attention, awareness and intent. The animal-esque robot is covered by a touch-sensitive coat and includes a series of cameras, along with a microphone array.