The creator of Roomba is back with a furry robot companion
The creator of Roomba is back with a furry robot companion
Roomba 创始人回归，带来了一款毛茸茸的机器人伙伴
Colin Angle revealed his latest creation this week: a dog-sized robot ‘Familiar’ designed for human connection, not chores. 本周，Colin Angle 展示了他的最新作品：一款名为“Familiar”的狗大小机器人，其设计初衷是为了建立人际情感连接，而非处理家务。
Colin Angle, the maker of the Roomba and the man who helped put 50 million household robots into people’s homes, is back with a new robot. But this one is designed as a companion, not a cleaner. 作为 Roomba 的创造者，曾将 5000 万台家用机器人送入千家万户的 Colin Angle，如今带着一款新机器人回归了。但这一次，它的定位是陪伴者，而非清洁工。
The first robot from Angle’s new company, Familiar Machines & Magic, is a dog-sized robotic pet that resembles a cross between a bear, a barn owl, and a golden retriever. It has an expressive face, with movable eyebrows, ears, and eyes, and the company calls it a “Familiar,” a name meant to evoke folklore around the idea of a supernatural companion. Based on a demo video I saw ahead of its appearance at the WSJ Future of Everything conference this week, the quadruped robot can move around your home on all fours independently, like a pet. Angle 新公司 Familiar Machines & Magic 推出的首款机器人是一款狗大小的机器宠物，外形看起来像是熊、仓鸮和金毛寻回犬的结合体。它拥有一张表情丰富的脸，眉毛、耳朵和眼睛都可以活动。公司将其称为“Familiar”，这个名字旨在唤起人们对民间传说中“超自然伙伴”的联想。根据我在本周《华尔街日报》“未来一切”（Future of Everything）大会前看到的演示视频，这款四足机器人可以像宠物一样在家里独立四处走动。
The Familiar is a “physically embodied AI system” that will use generative AI, via an on-device model, to engage with its owner with the intent of forming an emotional connection and develop “a distinct personality,” Angle told me in an interview. Robots that can react and respond to humans should, in theory, be more effective serving in what Angle calls “high human connection roles,” such as companionship, entertainment, hospitality, smart home, eldercare, and parental support. “The next era of robotics is not just about dexterity or humanoid form — it’s about machines that can build and sustain human connection,” says Angle. Angle 在接受采访时告诉我，Familiar 是一个“物理具身 AI 系统”，它将通过设备端模型利用生成式 AI 与主人互动，旨在建立情感连接并培养出“独特的个性”。从理论上讲，能够与人类互动和响应的机器人，在 Angle 所说的“高人际连接角色”中会更有效，例如陪伴、娱乐、酒店服务、智能家居、养老护理和育儿支持。“机器人技术的下一个时代不仅仅关乎灵活性或人形外观，更关乎那些能够建立并维持人际连接的机器，”Angle 说道。
Internally codenamed Ami, the first Familiar won’t be available to buy until next year at the earliest, and will cost “around the same as pet ownership,” Angle said. Its exact features are also still under wraps, but Angle says initial use cases are focused on families with young children, companionship for the elderly, and addressing the global loneliness epidemic. It’s a bold move for a man who built a career on robots that clean floors. 这款内部代号为 Ami 的首款 Familiar 最早要到明年才能上市，Angle 表示其成本将“与养宠物的费用相当”。其具体功能目前仍处于保密状态，但 Angle 表示，最初的应用场景将集中在有幼儿的家庭、为老年人提供陪伴，以及应对全球性的孤独症流行问题。对于一位靠扫地机器人建立职业生涯的人来说，这是一个大胆的举动。
Building artificial life 构建人造生命
Angle says his entire three-decade career in robotics has led to this moment. The original name for iRobot, founded in 1990, was Artificial Creatures Inc. But back then, the tech to create artificial life didn’t exist. “Finally, I get to do what I originally set out to do. It’s not just about building cool animatronics. Now is finally the time where the tech exists — if properly and responsibly used — to start creating Familiars.” Angle 表示，他三十年的机器人职业生涯都是为了这一刻。1990 年成立的 iRobot，最初的名字其实是“人造生物公司”（Artificial Creatures Inc.）。但当时，创造人造生命的技术尚不存在。“我终于可以做我最初想做的事情了。这不仅仅是制造酷炫的电子动画。现在，技术终于成熟了——如果使用得当且负责任——我们已经可以开始创造 Familiar 了。”
From the get-go, the team dismissed the idea of a humanoid robot, believing it unnecessarily complicated for their purpose. The robot is a deliberately unidentifiable creature because, Angle says, if you create a specific animal or form-factor, people will have preconceived ideas about its abilities. 从一开始，团队就排除了人形机器人的想法，认为这对于他们的目标来说过于复杂。这款机器人被设计成一种刻意无法辨认的生物，因为 Angle 说，如果你创造出特定的动物或外形，人们就会对其能力产生先入为主的观念。
They also decided not to have the Familiar talk. Instead, it will make nonverbal sounds — the two units shown off at WSJ Future of Everything made meowing and purring noises. “By design, it will avoid giving factual advice about things that maybe it shouldn’t be giving factual advice about,” says Angle, with a nod toward the hot water LLM-powered chatbots keep getting themselves in. “If this is a toy, we’ve failed. If this is a creature that you want in your world, then we’ve knocked it out of the park.” 他们还决定不让 Familiar 开口说话。相反，它会发出非语言的声音——在《华尔街日报》大会上展示的两台原型机发出了喵喵声和呼噜声。“通过这种设计，它将避免在不该提供事实建议的事情上给出建议，”Angle 说道，并暗示了目前大语言模型驱动的聊天机器人经常陷入的麻烦。“如果这只是一个玩具，那我们就失败了。如果这是一个你想要留在你世界里的生物，那我们就大获成功了。”