Amazon debuted a new product Tuesday, an adorable little robot named Astro meant for your home that will watch your every move. The bot comes with a 10-inch screen, two wheels, a cup holder, a voice assistant, and a camera equipped with facial recognition. The price tag will eventually weigh in at $1,449, though if Amazon invites you into its Day One program, you can purchase one for $999 now. The robot can follow you around as you take a video call or patrol your home on its own. It asks residents of a home to “enroll” their faces and voices with Astro so that when it scans a home, it knows who is and is not supposed to be there, according to Vice’s Motherboard. The software also integrates with Amazon’s Ring security cameras. Amazon itself says the robot will “proactively patrol your home, investigate activity, and send you notifications when it detects something unusual.”
In response to reports of Astro’s surveillance capabilities, Amazon said in a statement, “These characterizations of Astro’s performance, mast, and safety systems are simply inaccurate. Astro went through rigorous testing on both quality and safety, including tens of thousands of hours of testing with beta participants.”
Read it at Vice
