Amazon introduces Alexa Robot and Surveillance Drone

On Tuesday night, Amazon’s fall event kicked off, with a focus on the smart home. Among the plethora of new products, new Echo units, doorbells and cameras were introduced in the Ring range, as well as new thermostats in collaboration with Honeywell Home.

In addition to the perfectly normal smart home gadgets, two products in particular stood out a bit more. Amazon has taken the opportunity to introduce its new robotic assistant Astro and start sales of its “Ring Always Home Cam” surveillance drone.

Amazon astro It is a robot with a 10-inch screen, access to the Alexa voice assistant and an array of sensors to navigate the user’s home. According to Amazon, it is a “home monitoring home robot” and In a video Astro is shown helping his family with everything from reminding an old man to eat vegetables to using his telescopic camera to ensure the stove is turned off.

For the thirsty, a drink can be sent in the robot’s back, which can be configured as a cup holder. Since the robot does not have any arms or any kind of fist function, it is on the condition that the user himself chooses and puts what to move. Like a robotic vacuum cleaner, Astro can’t move up and down stairs, so drinks or messages sent with the robot must stay on the same floor.

The robot can also act as a monitoring system in conjunction with the Ring Protect Pro subscription service. Then Astro can patrol around it and, among other things, send notifications if it detects an unknown person, the sound of broken glass or other suspicious events.

It’s not just Astro who patrols the house. Nia”Always Home Cam“It does a similar job, but from the air. It’s simply a surveillance camera mounted on a drone that does its job as it floats around the house. Like other Ring products, users can use the camera in real time and record or capture images.”

To teach the drone which routes to take, the user must lift it manually and then make a flight through the house. It is not clear if it can be controlled manually, but if it is possible, it is likely to be in limited forms. Battery life is sufficient for about five minutes of flight time, and when the drone’s battery starts to run out, it automatically returns to its base station. Just like its partner Astro, the drone can only handle one floor at a time.

The construction seems to consist of four rotors, also called one quadcopter. Amazon videos do not have sound or sound effects that somewhat mask the sound of the drone, but users should expect a certain volume level. Based on what little can be heard, it’s not something that is on a par with a leaf blower patrolling the kitchen, but Amazon adds that pets may need time to get used to it.

The reconnaissance drone is not a completely new product, but it was launched a year ago. However, it was not yet available to consumers. However, both Astro and the drone are “day one versions”. This means that it is still a product in the beta stage as it can only be purchased by special invitation.

Currently, only US users can qualify, and this is done through an app on each product page. For those whose application is approved, the drone lands at $249, but what the robotic assistant will get is unclear.