Hammad Khalid
Amazon has announced its first ever household robot that will help users while they are away from home.
Amazon said it was more than just “Alexa on wheels,” and that it had been programmed with a variety of motions and expressions to give it personality.
The company said that it can be operated remotely when not at home to check on pets, humans, or home security. It can also autonomously patrol a house and notify owners if it finds something strange.
According to BBC, It also exhibited requesting Astro to “beatbox,” which resulted in the robot bopping its head and making faces while playing hip-hop rhythms. Amazon was also eager to address privacy issues.
Astro is a bold move by Amazon, but a logical step given its expertise in robots and desire to become more integrated into consumers’ daily lives. Amazon “is willing to bring highly experimental products to market” and see how customers react
Ben Wood, Chief Analyst at CCS Insight
It was claimed that Astro may be programmed with “out of bounds” zones, preventing it from entering specific places, or it can be programmed to “do not disturb.” It also has buttons for turning off cameras and microphones, however when they are switched off, it loses its capacity to move about.
The tiny robot also has an extended “periscope” camera that pops out of its head. Amazon revealed how to use it to check if a gas stove had been left on after leaving the house.
“Offering products resembling something from a science fiction novel positions Amazon as an innovative company in the eyes of consumers and investors.”
Mr. Wood
Image via Gadget Flow
Amazon says the robot will be available later this year, but exclusively in the United States. Its price will rise to $1,449.99 after the initial limited run. Meanwhile, me might also see a new robot in the market from Tesla as the company is in works to construct a Humanoid robot prototype by next year
This indicates Amazon’s willingness to expand into new technical areas such as robotics and artificial intelligence. Amazon entered the smartphone market in July 2014 with the release of its first smartphone, the Amazon Fire Phone, which was a massive failure at the time and resulted in huge losses for the company.
Automation is the way of the future, and Amazon is way ahead of the game with Astro. Since the product is limited, Analysts believe that they will sell in a matter of seconds because Amazon, the world’s largest marketplace, has a large customer base but as the covid situation improves, Amazon expects slower growth rate in its marketplace.
I believe the Astro robot will sell out in minutes when it becomes available in the US market, I’m just gutted that it won’t be shipping in the UK in the foreseeable future.
Mr. Wood
