Amazon Astro Robot made us feel like Home Robots will no more be the thing of the future. Astro was unveiled alongside Amazon Ring Drone and many other products launched at Amazon’s Annual Fall Hardware Live Stream Event 2021.
Though Robot Vacuums have been autonomously cleaning many households, it hasn’t given the feel of a robot as they can only clean and do nothing else. However, Astro makes your dream of a personal robot come true as it understands your commands and does many routine tasks with ease.
The first glance of the Astro video made me feel like the Elliq Robot for Elders, Heineken Bot, and the Robin Interactive Robot all assembled together as one cute mini bot.
According to Amazon, Astro is an autonomous drive-around robot that is packed with several sensors, cameras, and a screen. Using a network of cameras and a full-screen display on its front, Astro can map the structure of your house, identify items, and check on things and people remotely. The robot can conduct video conversations, identify you and come to find you when someone calls.
The home robot is equipped with all the features of Alexa, and hence Amazon calls it “Alexa with wheels.”
Astro, which can move at speeds of up to one meter per second, may also serve as a surveillance robot. It is linked to the doorbell company Ring’s Protect Pro service and can look after your house, investigate disturbances, and alarm one if an unidentified individual is detected.
It has complete control over its movements as it can stop itself from moving if anything comes in its way abruptly in front of it, such as a pet, or if it encounters stairs. Owners may define out-of-bounds zones and disable cameras and microphones, while LED lights on the screen indicate when someone is watching the robot’s cameras.
Astro Robot also uses the gadget to analyze pictures and sensor data, which helps to maintain anonymity.
Astro’s 10-inch touchscreen face with a pair of speakers onboard functions as a typical Echo Show display, allowing you to watch movies, converse, and operate your home. The screen automatically moves and maybe manually turns 60 degrees for a better view. For customizing interactions with the Astro Robot, the screen is outfitted with Amazon’s new Visual ID face recognition.
Several sensors comprise proximity sensors which are integrated into its base and a pair of cameras, one of which is a five-megapixel RGB camera embedded into its screen. The other is present near its head, emerging from the top of its head. This 12-megapixel RGB/IR camera is provided for live streaming. Its retractable base may extend up to four feet in height, acting as a sort of periscope, enabling the robot to gain a closer view.
On the back, there’s a cargo bin with an optional cup holder that can store up to 4.4 pounds. There is a USB-C connector on the inside for charging your phone. Astro has a dock similar to iRobot Roomba j7+ and charges completely in less than an hour from zero.
Amazon’s Astro includes two Qualcomm QCS605, one Qualcomm SDA660, and one Amazon AZ1 Neural Edge. The AZ1 Neural Edge is Amazon’s first neural edge processor that was introduced at last year’s hardware event and is meant to execute deep learning inference directly on the device quickly and effectively.
Amazon and MediaTek collaborated on silicon to integrate the AZ1 with MediaTek’s high-performance MT8512 CPU, which is also used in the new generation of Amazon Echo smart speakers. Amazon has also developed a voice recognition neural network model that performs admirably on the AZ1.
The Astro Robot will be available to US consumers upon invite through Amazon’s Day 1 Edition Early Device Programme for $999.99.
As per Amazon, the Astro Robot will be available later this year, but exclusively in the United States. After the initial limited series, the price will be increased to $1,449.99.
