A Builder’s Journey | Colin Angle | TEDxFargo
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Colin Angle has spent his career asking what becomes possible when robots leave the lab and enter real life. From his early work at MIT, to founding iRobot, to scaling Roomba into one of the most successful consumer robots in history, Colin has seen firsthand that people do not simply use physical machines—they can come to trust them, name them, and form meaningful attachments to them. Now, through Familiar Machines & Magic, he is building toward the next chapter: socially and emotionally intelligent Physical AI. In this talk, Colin will discuss how Physical AI can become a new platform for care, connection, and everyday human support. Colin Angle is the co-founder and CEO of Familiar Machines & Magic, where he is building a platform for emotionally intelligent Physical AI.
Colin co-founded iRobot in 1990 out of the MIT AI Lab and led the company for more than three decades. Under his leadership, iRobot invented the Roomba, defined the home robotics category, and shipped more than 50 million robots worldwide - the largest deployed consumer robotics fleet in history. Along the way, iRobot proved something Colin had been chasing since the start: people don't just use robots, they form relationships with them. Familiar Machines & Magic is the company he has been building toward all along.
Colin holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT. He is a frequent and respected voice on the future of robotics, AI, and the human relationship with technology, and is considered one of the world's leading thinkers on emotionally intelligent machines.
Colin serves on the board of leading robotics and technology institutions, including Boston Dynamics, Intuition Robotics, Ixcela, Inc., and Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG).
He lives in the Boston area with his family. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx Close description
Colin Angle has spent his career asking what becomes possible when robots leave the lab and enter real life. From his early work at MIT, to founding iRobot, to scaling Roomba into one of the most successful consumer robots in history, Colin has seen firsthand that people do not simply use physical machines—they can come to trust them, name them, and form meaningful attachments to them. Now, through Familiar Machines & Magic, he is building toward the next chapter: socially and emotionally intelligent Physical AI. In this talk, Colin will discuss how Physical AI can become a new platform for care, connection, and everyday human support. Colin Angle is the co-founder and CEO of Familiar Machines & Magic, where he is building a platform for emotionally intelligent Physical AI.
Colin co-founded iRobot in 1990 out of the MIT AI Lab and led the company for more than three decades. Under his leadership, iRobot invented the Roomba, defined the home robotics category, and shipped more than 50 million robots worldwide - the largest deployed consumer robotics fleet in history. Along the way, iRobot proved something Colin had been chasing since the start: people don't just use robots, they form relationships with them. Familiar Machines & Magic is the company he has been building toward all along.
Colin holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT. He is a frequent and respected voice on the future of robotics, AI, and the human relationship with technology, and is considered one of the world's leading thinkers on emotionally intelligent machines.
Colin serves on the board of leading robotics and technology institutions, including Boston Dynamics, Intuition Robotics, Ixcela, Inc., and Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG).
He lives in the Boston area with his family. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx Close description