Jibo Is as Good as Social Robots Get. But Is That Good Enough?

Most of the world's robots are about as charismatic as a coffeemaker. Nexi is baby-faced and blue-eyed, and Leonardo has been described variously as a squirrel, a furry alien, and a giant Furby. After years of making emotionally engaging machines with her students at the MIT Media Lab's Personal Robots Group, Breazeal thinks the time has finally come for a personal robot to inhabit our homes and help us live our lives. To pursue that goal, she founded Jibo, a Boston startup that has raised US 38.6 million to produce a friendly robo-assistant to families. Equipped with cameras and microphones, the robot, also called Jibo, is a little taller than a toaster and shaped like a desk fan.