While Amazon’s range of Echo devices and its digital assistant Alexa have become fairly ubiquitous in recent years, the company has now unveiled a new take on both hardware and software aboard Astro – a robot (read: Echo Show on wheels) intended to help at home.
Astro is set to launch as an invitation-only product that will see consumers get their hands on a 2 foot (0,6 meters) robot with wheels and a 10″ touchscreen. Internally, Astro is powered by Qualcomm chips with artificial intelligence processing, and is based on Amazon’s FireOS and Linux.
The device is naturally laden with an array of sensors, microphones, and cameras – though what makes Astro a little more human is the fact that instead of a traditional Echo interface, the device has an anthropomorphic visage to enable its owners to relate to it. Astro will also run on battery power, and is capable of returning to a charging cradle should it run out of steam.
Astro is intended to be used similarly to other Echo devices, and can support video calls through its 5-megapixel camera and further play music. The device can transport small goods and monitor Ring home security cameras or doorbells, though it isn’t capable of traversing stairs.
To address early privacy concerns, Amazon clarified that users will be able to delete their voice or request data and can further delete the maps that Astro generates of its home environment.
Astro is set to retail for $1000 USD to customers purchasing the unit under early access, and will later be priced at $1450 USD.
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