You know how when you are telling some one about Alexa, or talking to someone actually named Alexa, and your Amazon Echo automatically hears you and tries to interact with you? Well, now you can experience that even more as your Alexa literally follows you around the home.
Astro is a home robot from Amazon that is essentially a Fire tablet that mated with Johnny 5 from Short Circuit. If you got that reference, than much respect to you.
So what is Astro, really, and what can he do? Let’s dive into this a bit more and take a closer look at Amazon’s $1000 home robot.
Astro Key Features
Live View – Astro can go investigate a weird noise in live time. Simply send him to the room you head the noise in and you can watch live on his camera as he investigates. Likewise, he can go great people at the front door, see what your dog is up to, and so much more. I would maybe set a rule to keep him out of the bathroom.
Telescoping Camera – This is sort of an extension (pardon the pun) of its Live View feature. Astro has a telescoping arm on his back that can reach up almost double his height, making it possible to look on to counters, couches, out the window, etc.
Facial Recognition – You are able to set a profile for yourself and your family members, so Astro can identify who you are. This can be handy if someone breaks into your home. Astro will not recognize them and can then set off your Ring Home Security Alarm. That is a very cool feature.
Ring Integration – As mentioned above, you can fully integrate Astro with your Ring Security System and Lights. This will make Astro your hub for your Ring doorbells, cameras, spot lights, smart motion lights, and more. Because Astro has several mics, speakers, and sensors, he can also detect smoke alarms, water sensors, and broken glass sensors if they are tripped. Pretty neat!
Alexa On Wheels – Yep, anything you use your Amazon Alexa for, you can now ask Astro to do. So set those reminders or timers, make calls, get notifications, play videos, dance to your favorite music, and anything else you ca think of.
Personality – Nobody wants a robot without personality. Amazon was sure to add cute facial expressions and adorable “beeps” and “boops,” to really make Astro feel more humanoid. And, I have to admit, it works. Astro is pretty cute, considering his face is just a 10″ tablet screen.
How Much Does Astro Home Robot Cost?
The little security robot from Amazon will not be cheap, starting just shy of $1,000.
I think Astro probably has a ways to go before I’d justify spending that much on him. I probably wouldn’t want to be an early adapter on this. Too many bugs that need to be worked out. It is a very cool idea though and one that will surely see competition fairly soon.
When Can I Buy Astro Home Robot?
Amazon plans to starting selling their Astro Home Robot in January of 2022. I am sure these will sell quickly, so if you are interested, make sure to get yourself on a list and set some reminders.
Should You Buy Astro?
I think Amazon has a great idea with the Astro Home Robot. I really like how he can be used as a hub for your Ring Alarm System. Being a huge user of Ring products, I really like that feature. So for me, I would be looking at Astro as more of a security robot than a companion robot or home assistant.
As I said, I would probably wait 6 months or so to see how the bugs get flushed out. I will definitely be interested to see what kind of consumer reviews Astro gets.
But what are your thoughts? Would you buy Astro as soon as it is released? What features are you most excited about?
