“Astro: Amazon’s Revolutionary Home Robot for Household Assistance and Security”

Amazon has started selling the first home robot of its kind in the world, designed to assist customers with a range of household tasks, such as monitoring the home and keeping in touch with family. The robot, which is currently being sold in the United States, combines new advances in artificial intelligence, computer vision, and sensor technology, as well as acoustic computing.

A comprehensive home companion
The American company “Amazon” revealed its ambitious project for a robot called “Astro” in 2021. At the time, the company said that it believed that within five to ten years, every home would have a similar robot. She added that “Astro” represents a new type of home robot, which integrates Alexa voice assistant, advanced hardware and software, computer vision and artificial intelligence. The company announced at the time that it would provide the robot with what it calls a “unique personality”, which includes the ability to speak, eyes on the screen and wheels to move around.

After a two-year wait, the company is now selling the robot, describing it as a comprehensive home companion that offers a variety of services, from allowing users to see live views of their homes while they’re away, to learning daily habits and helping with home alerts. Its significance is that it will use advanced learning models to recognize familiar users, navigate complex homes, and integrate itself seamlessly into any home.

periscope camera
This tiny, remote-controlled robot is equipped with a submarine-style periscope camera to give you a bird’s-eye view of what’s going on at home while you’re away. Imagine, for example, that you are at work and you want to check if the gas stove is still on or you want to check something no matter how important it is. Then all you have to do is send Astro to check rooms, household items, people and even pets to complete your day with peace of mind.

Virtual security guard
The Astro can be combined with Amazon’s Ring Protect Pro software to unleash the ultimate home monitoring experience. So when you’re away, you can use it to proactively patrol your home, investigate activity, and have it send you notifications when it detects something unusual.

The robot can also be linked to Ring’s Virtual Security Guard Service, which allows security companies to monitor cameras in homes and small and medium-sized businesses. Thus, when Astro patrols homes and businesses, it will relay everything it records to monitors who will respond immediately if something appears to be wrong.

Monitor the elderly, pets and doors
And the company “Amazon” stated that this robot can be relied upon to connect you to a phone call with individuals present at home. If you are using it to monitor an elderly parent or relative, you can set it to send you a message when someone in your family wakes up and wanders around the house. The robot is also able, according to Amazon, to send photo or video notifications to your pets or to check if you’ve left a window or door open.

To monitor your home’s doors and windows, Astro will learn where each one is by first following you through the house and giving commands to memorize them. Then the robot will recognize the shape of open and closed doors or windows, then it will ask you about their correct position by sending you notifications as soon as you leave the house.

Privacy and other features
And if you’re concerned about privacy, you can always set Astro to a “Do Not Disturb” or “Do Not Disturb” feature, which prevents it from going to certain areas. This robot features AI-powered processors to enable edge computing for a multitude of tasks. This means, in theory, that much of your data and information will be processed locally on Astro and not sent to the cloud where it can be accessed.

Astro has a small payload area capable of carrying 2 kilograms of cargo. It also has a 15W USB-C port that you can use to charge your phone. In addition, it can be used to listen to music, news and podcasts.

How to buy and price
Amazon started offering this robot on a small scale in the first phase due to the limited quantity available at the moment. Unlike other products of the company, you will need to follow a few additional steps to start the purchase process. Hence, you will have to log into your Amazon account and go to the Amazon Astro page. Then select Request Invitation on the right side of the page. You will then be taken to the survey page. There you must answer all the questions to complete the application. If the Company approves your request, you will receive an invitation to purchase Astro and can return to the product’s retail page to complete the purchase.

And while the American company estimated the price of “Astro” two years ago at $1,000, it returned because of the updates it added to raise the price to $1,600, provided that it comes with a one-year subscription to either the “Ring Protect Pro” or “Alexa Together” service, where you can choose the service. your preference at the time of purchase.