If you’ve ever watched your Roomba bump helplessly into a chair leg for the third time and thought, “I deserve better from my robots,” you’re not alone. And apparently, neither did Colin Angle. The co-founder of iRobot, the man who essentially put a hockey puck-shaped vacuum in millions of homes, left the company in 2024 with a new question rattling around in his head: what if a robot could actually feel like it cares about you? The answer is the Familiar, the first prototype from his new startup, Familiar Machines & Magic. And it is not your average robot.

Picture a creature somewhere between a soft-eared dog and a round, slightly abstract bear. It has four legs, huge paws, and doe eyes that make it immediately charming in a way that no Roomba ever attempted to be. It’s furry, expressive, and was designed with the help of former Disney Imagineers, which explains why it looks like it belongs in an animated feature rather than a tech showcase. The Familiar has 23 degrees of freedom, meaning it can wiggle its ears, tilt its head, and wag a small nub of a tail with the kind of fluidity that feels less mechanical and more… alive. Its coat is touch-sensitive, built specifically to encourage physical interaction between you and it.

Designer: Familiar Machines & Magic

It also doesn’t talk. That detail feels deliberate and, to me, very smart. Voice assistants have trained us to think of robots as tools we command. The Familiar is going for something completely different. It’s designed to read your tone of voice, your body language, your overall energy, and respond accordingly. Angle calls it “Consumer Physical AI,” and while the label sounds like something off a product white paper, the idea behind it is genuinely compelling.

The name itself is worth noting. A “familiar” in folklore refers to the supernatural animal companion of a witch or magical figure, a creature bonded to a person not through ownership but through genuine connection. Angle’s team chose that name deliberately, and I think it sets the tone for what they’re trying to build. The goal isn’t to sell you a novelty gadget. It’s to create a new kind of relationship between humans and machines, one built on trust, attentiveness, and something approaching care.

Now, I’ll be upfront: I have feelings about this. Part of me finds it genuinely beautiful as a design concept. The Familiar was clearly approached the way good industrial design should be, with deep thought about how an object makes you feel, not just what it does. The choice to make it animal-like rather than humanoid is interesting, too. There’s far less of the uncanny valley unease that tends to follow humanoid robots around, and more of the universal warmth that most people already extend toward animals.

But another part of me wonders about the emotional stakes here. We’re already watching people form attachments to AI chatbots. A touch-sensitive, furry, expressive robot that mirrors your emotional state is a much more potent version of that. Angle has said he wants it to feel like the machine actually cares about him. That’s a lovely vision. It’s also a design brief that puts enormous responsibility on the creators to get it right, because the flip side of emotional bonding is emotional dependence.

Still, I’d be lying if I said the Familiar didn’t make me curious in the best possible way. The prototype images are almost disarmingly sweet. It looks like something you’d want sitting on the couch next to you while you read, or settled quietly in the corner while you work. If any robot was ever designed to move through your life rather than just function within it, this might be it.

The Familiar is still in the prototype stage, with no confirmed price or release date. But as debut concepts go, it’s a strong one. Whether or not it ever makes it into our homes, it raises questions about what we actually want from the machines we live with. And those questions feel well overdue.

The post The Roomba Guy Just Built a Robot Pet You Might Actually Love first appeared on Yanko Design.

Brand collaborations are everywhere these days, but every once in a while, one lands so perfectly that you have to stop and appreciate the logic behind it. The UNO x Vrbo partnership is exactly that kind of collab. Not because it’s flashy or trying to be something it’s not, but because it genuinely makes sense.

Starting May 15, Mattel and Vrbo are opening bookings for six limited-time vacation home stays built entirely around the spirit of game night. Six properties across the U.S., two tiers of experience, and one very clever price point: $4 per night. That last part is a deliberate nod to UNO’s iconic Draw 4 card (which can make or break relationships), and it’s the kind of detail that makes you smile whether you’re a brand person or not.

Designers: UNO x Vrbo

The stays are divided into two experiences. At the top end sit the two “Wild Card” homes, located in the Hollywood Hills and Texas Hill Country. These are the full production: UNO-themed décor, organized game nights, and an in-home dining experience. They’re designed for groups of up to 10 guests who want the whole immersive package, the kind of weekend that’s more curated getaway than casual vacation. Then there are the four “Play It Your Way” stays in Winter Park, Colorado; Palm Desert, California; Panama City Beach, Florida; and Atlanta, Georgia. These are a little more relaxed, but still come with a co-branded UNO x Vrbo Welcome Kit, a game room, and either a pool or hot tub. Essentially, they’re the version for people who want the fun without the fuss. All six properties are bookable for one three-night stay, Friday to Monday, on a first-come, first-served basis. Bookings open May 15 at 1 PM ET. I’ll be honest: at $4 a night, they are going to go fast.

What makes this collaboration genuinely interesting, beyond the price tag, is the attention that went into the actual product. A custom UNO deck was commissioned for this collab, illustrated by Pietari Posti, with artwork inspired by travel destinations and vacation themes. It also comes with an exclusive rule called the “Vacation Rental Swap,” which lets players swap hands with anyone at the table. It’s a small thing, but it shows that the two brands weren’t just slapping logos on a vacation home and calling it a day. They put real creative thought into what the collaboration could actually feel like to experience.

That’s the part that tends to separate a genuinely good brand collab from a lazy one. Anyone can license a logo and stick it on merchandise. Fewer brands take the time to ask what the experience should feel like from the inside, and build something around that answer. UNO, at its core, is a game about chaos and connection. You play it with people you like and you inevitably end up yelling at them. It’s social in the most fundamental way. Vrbo, meanwhile, is about giving groups a private space to actually be together without the interruptions of a hotel. Put those two things in the same room and you get something that doesn’t need to be explained.

It also helps that this collab is part of a growing relationship between Mattel and Expedia Group, Vrbo’s parent company. Mattel already appeared in an Expedia Super Bowl commercial earlier this year through the Barbie universe. So this isn’t a one-off stunt; it reads more like two brands actively figuring out how to build something together over time. For anyone who grew up playing UNO at a kitchen table, there’s an undeniable nostalgia pull here. But the campaign doesn’t lean into nostalgia as a crutch. It uses the game’s identity as a starting point and builds forward from it, which is ultimately why it works. The best collaborations don’t just remind you of something you loved. They give you a new reason to love it again.

The post UNO and Vrbo Are Renting Vacation Homes for $4 a Night first appeared on Yanko Design.