In late September 2021, it was announced that it would launch a smart home assistant based on Alexa, which can be used as a home companion and assistant.Astro the Robot, and announced the launch of a commercial version in November 2023 to meet the needs of various commercial work applications, but it seems that it has decided to terminate the development plan of the commercial version earlier and focus on the home version.
However, Amazon did not disclose the reason for terminating the development of the commercial version of the Astro robot, but emphasized that the focus in the future will be on home version products, and no staff will be laid off for this reason.
If we speculate based on the features of the home version of the Astro robot, and if the commercial version of the Astro robot does not add further functions suitable for use in commercial work environments, many of its functions can actually be replaced by professional surveillance cameras and other equipment. Many businesses even prefer to hire professional security personnel in the work environment to carry out more in-depth patrol and vigilance tasks.
The home version of the Astro robot can move around the home environment using wheels. It can identify the scene in front of it through its telephoto lens and can be used in conjunction with the Ring Protect Pro subscription plan as a home security monitoring device. It can identify problems such as fire alarms and carbon monoxide leaks, and can even notify the user of detected abnormalities through push messages or store the records in the user's Ring account.
In addition to being able to interact with Alexa through standard digital assistant services, Astro can also work with the newly launched Alexa Together home care service to help care for elderly people at home. In addition, Astro also has an automatic follow function. For example, when the user interacts with it through a video conference, Astro will automatically move with the user's footsteps.
Astro also has a Do Not Disturb mode, where users can set their active time and even specify areas to avoid entering non-essential rooms.
