Astro, Amazon’s first domestic robot, will be powered by Alexa, the company’s smart home technology.
When you’re not at home, you may check on your pets, people, or home security remotely, according to the firm.
It may also autonomously patrol a home and notify the owners if it finds something strange.
It was more than “Alexa on wheels,” according to Amazon, and was programmed with a variety of gestures and expressions to give it personality.
Astro was asked to “beatbox,” and the robot bopped its head and made faces while playing hip-hop rhythms as a demonstration.
Amazon was also anxious to address worries about privacy.
Astro may be programmed with “out of bounds” zones to prevent it from entering specific places, or it can be configured to “do not disturb.” It also has buttons for turning off cameras and microphones, however when they are turned off, it loses its capacity to move about.
The tiny robot also has a pop-up “periscope” camera on its head that can be extended. Amazon demonstrated how to utilize it to see whether a gas stove was left on after leaving the house.
The $999.99 (£740) robot, according to the technology and retail behemoth, may be of assistance to the elderly.
“Astro is a big move by Amazon,” said Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, “but a sensible step given its competence in robots and ambition to become more interwoven into customers’ daily lives.”
Unlike other competitors, he claims, Amazon is “prepared to bring extremely experimental items to market” to observe how people react.
“Offering items that seem like they sprang straight out of a science fiction novel promotes Amazon as a forward-thinking firm in the eyes of consumers and investors,” he added.
The robot will be available later this year, according to Amazon, but only in the United States. Its price will rise to $1,449.99 after the initial, limited run, according to the company.
“When the Astro robot becomes accessible in the US market, I believe it will sell out in minutes,” Mr Wood said. “I’m simply disappointed that it won’t be available in the UK anytime soon.”
