Get the latest tech news

iRobot’s founder is working on a new kind of home robot

And it might involve furry pets.

Angle was working to turn iRobot and its Roomba robot vacuum cleaners into the brains of the smart home before he left the company following the collapse of its sale to Amazon in January of this year. These technologies could make robots such as the lovable Lovot or Sony’s Aibo, which the company recently resurrected, seem more human-like, have conversations with you, and be more useful than simply being cute. I’ve tested a couple of versions of the tabletop robot, and its third-generation model, which incorporates generative AI, is significantly more lifelike and engaging.

Get the Android app