Amazon’s Cute Face Astro gets a Security Twist, at the Cost of Losing Privacy

Introducing Amazon's robot that rolls around the house with a ring home security camera system

Amazon's home creepy surveillance robot, Astro, will be getting a slew of major updates aimed at further embedding it in homes and our daily lives. Mobility is also an essential aspect of Astro's growing set of automated features. Astro will also be able to wander around the house to keep an eye on rooms and entry points. Amazon Astro uses advanced navigation technology to find its way around your home and go where you need it. You can also dress up your Astro with an It's a Skin wheel decal!

Amazon appears to view Astro robot as a kind of platform on top of which developers can add expanded functionality. Many people found that Astro was incapable of doing much more than delivering objects between rooms. It also hit snags in mapping rooms, and some users found its intense focus on following a person around almost creepy. It's designed to solve problems that don't really exist while introducing new privacy issues. Amazon Astro looks a lot like an Echo Show 10 smart display on wheels. Astro would make home life more comfortable and entertaining a sort of adorable, bumbling sidekick.

Amazon's robot that rolls around the house:

Amazon also announced a new collaboration between Astro and the Ring home security camera system, called Virtual Security Guard. Astro's ability to roam around a house with Ring's established surveillance system might create even more surveillance problems than either of the products did in their previous iterations. Astro works as a smart display, a roving security guard, a toy for the kids, and an errand-bot. Astro's evolution as a security guard is a notable one.

Amazon's Astro has the ability to roam around your house, talk to you, and even deliver beer, but critics were quick to point out that Astro had not clearly defined function outside of a futuristic spectacle. In its capacity as an investment by Amazon in the consumer robotics space, Astro is a fascinating device with a whole lot of personality and promise. It is available to buy by invite only for $1,000.

Astro will be able to watch pets and send a video feed of their activities to users. Pet detection, meanwhile, was apparently one of the most requested features. Astro can carry a variety of accessories like a Ziploc container, the OMRON blood pressure monitor, and a Furbo Dog Camera that tosses treats to your pet. As Astro is so low to the ground, it also has a way to change its perspective. Astro can alert you if something was left open that shouldn't have been.

Ring's approach to surveillance hasn't been without controversy. Ring marketed itself as a tool to protect domestic violence survivors, but it simultaneously provided access into survivors' lives. The ring has also been called out for racial profiling and privacy violations. It's part of Astro's current core competency of servicing as a kind of rolling security system that augments stationary cameras from brands like Ring. Astro's compatibility with other aspects of Amazon's home surveillance ecosystem, Ring and Alexa, could well set it up for success. Astro can provide these services seamlessly.