Dubai: More than 20 years after helping bring robot vacuums into millions of homes, Roomba co-founder Colin Angle is returning with a very different vision for home robotics — one built around companionship rather than chores. Angle has launched a new startup, Familiar Machines & Magic, unveiling its first consumer robot, called Familiar — a soft, furry, AI-powered machine designed to interact emotionally with people inside the home, according to reporting by The Verge. Unlike traditional home robots built to vacuum floors, patrol rooms or answer spoken commands, Familiar is designed as a physical companion. Roughly the size of a medium dog, the robot combines animal-like movements, expressive eyes, subtle gestures and sound cues to create what its makers describe as a more natural emotional connection with users. The robot does not speak. Instead, it communicates through movement, posture and behavior — responding to tone, touch and environmental cues using on-device artificial intelligence.…