In September, Amazon unveiled Astro, a robot designed for your home. Charlie Tritschler, Amazon’s vice president of products, says every home will one day have at least one robot helping out with regular chores, and this one could be in your home by the end of the year.
Astro is named after the Jetsons’ dog but designed to serve as more of a Rosey.
Astro is designed to bring together advancements in artificial intelligence, computer vision, sensor technology, and voice and edge computing to serve more as a tool than an expensive toy.
For example, Astro could move throughout the house and provide live feeds when you’re out of town or at the office. According to Amazon, it can even be paired with Ring to send suspicious activity alerts. The robot uses visual ID computer vision to learn the family’s faces and will send messages whenever an unfamiliar person is detected. It could also see if the stove was left on or use its built-in periscope to check the pantry.
Astro can listen for smoke or carbon monoxide alarms or glass breaking using Alexa Guard, the company’s emergency helpline subscription service. The robot dog could also help keep in touch with elderly family members or serve as a companion. It can even take photos or stream music, movies, and other entertainment as it follows you around the house.
According to Amazon, it was important for Astro to have a personality. The robot uses digital eyes, body movements, and expressive tones to communicate. In testing, some said the pup-bot quickly became part of the family.
Astro uses simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) to navigate the home autonomously and has onboard systems to adjust course in real-time. It even has a trunk so you can send things to other family members in the house, be it keys or a wallet (more likely a beer), but the important thing is that you don’t have to interact.
Amazon says that privacy is a priority for Astro. Users can designate areas in the home as off-limits and turn off the microphones and cameras. An LED light indicates whenever Astro is recording.
The price tag is steep at $1,449.99, but a few units will be initially available for $999.99. At first, the company will manufacture limited quantities that it hopes to start shipping by the end of the year.
While the robot is more like the Jetsons’ maid than its namesake, let’s just hope it doesn’t work like a ‘Lectronimo. At least Amazon’s Astro doesn’t bite … yet.
