Amazon Astro is a real revolution: it is the new home robot announced by Amazon, it will arrive soon and promises magic
It has the incredible novelty announced yesterday by Amazon along with Echo Show 15, the Blink Video Doorbell and the smart thermostat made with Honeywell. The giant of online commerce presented to the world Astro, an intelligent domestic robot that many dreamed for the homes of tomorrow and instead will be available very soon.
It seems to come out of a movie, in particular from Wall-E by Disney-Pixar, instead Amazon Astro is more than concrete. And it promises to be a faithful friend of man: it is no coincidence that the name takes that of the dog of a famous cartoon: The Jetsons. If the details of what it can do we will write later, it is worth addressing immediately a very hot topic for a device of this type, that of privacy. Amazon has assured that none of the data collected will end up on Amazon’s cloud, not even the plan of the environments that the robot creates to orient itself: everything will be managed locally, in the memory of the robot. Moreover, Astro can be associated with only one smartphone at a time, in order to avoid the danger of unauthorized access. Just as it happens with dogs in the family: Astro will have only one true master.
Amazon Astro: what it can do
Amazon Astro has three wheels, two of which on the sides with a diameter of 30 centimeters that give it the necessary stability, and a third wheel in a central position that allows it to rotate 360 degrees and get almost anywhere with adequate speed (close to 4 kilometers per hour), but it cannot face a flight of stairs.
That will take time, and certainly a higher number of electric motors than the already high number that characterizes Astro. The motors, in fact, are five, one for each drive wheel and the remaining two put to give mobility to the “eyes” of the robot (the turret with the camera) and the “face” (the screen through which it interacts with humans).
In reality, the camera is not one. Amazon Astro can rely on a range of ultrasonic sensors to orient itself between walls, chairs or sofas, ToF (time-of-flight) cameras that allow it to evaluate the third dimension, i.e. depth, and other imaging tools that enrich the information coming from the elements mentioned above and also to follow us as a faithful dog would do.
On the turret – which can exceed one meter in height – is placed, as mentioned, a 12-megapixel periscope camera. It allows you to make video calls or monitor your home environment remotely thanks to the dedicated app, including through facial recognition. Amazon guarantees that Astro can come in handy in the care of the elderly.
Present are two 5 cm front speakers for audio or sound alerts, such as those that in the presentation video put to flight the little raccoon that was making a mess in the kitchen in the absence of the owner. Astro is equipped with a small compartment that allows him to carry around objects up to 2 kg, and when unloaded will recharge at the base where it will take no more than an hour to recover energy.
Amazon Astro: when it arrives
Amazon Astro initially can be purchased by invitation only at a price of $ 999.99. The launch date is still unknown, but the first invitations will be forwarded within the year. When Astro is available to everyone it will cost $1,449.99.