It's "adorable", so, of course, it has no way that the info gathering could be inverted into a threat...


After years of rumors and speculations, Amazon finally unveiled Astro, its adorable-looking household robot with a display and wheels.

CNET says it could be the robot we’ve been waiting for. While it sounds like basically an Alexa on wheels, it can do a wide variety of things you might want from a home robot.

It can map out your floor plan and obey commands to go to a specific room. It can recognize faces and deliver items to a specific person. It can play music and answer questions like any Echo smart display. It can be used for video calls, always keeping you in frame by literally following your movements. It can roam around your house when you aren’t home or help observe elderly relatives and connect them with services in an emergency.

But it doesn’t clean up after you. It can’t climb stairs or go outside of your home. That’s part of the reason why it’s releasing it with a limited, invite-only system before launching it to the public. The Verge also points out that people need to be comfortable with it in their home—Astro’s current design isn’t a huge leap from a robot vacuum, but add a bunch of R2-D2-like grabber arms and the ability to open doors and people might start getting uncomfortable.

↦ FYI: Amazon is allowing a limited number of early customers to request to purchase the robot for $999.99.

CNET article

Nope.

Does it clean the cat's litter box?

Will it bathe the cat? That's a robot I'd buy, just to watch the show.

Brings up the whole point of animal fur and the wheels.

$13.50 on fleabay

Not in my house. No Echo, Siri, Alexa allowed. I am quite capable of turning on my stereo and picking my music.

Not. A. Chance. In. Hell.

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
$13.50 on fleabay

Beat. "Rastro"

So when will Skynet becoming self aware?

Definitely not the droids you are looking for.

On a tangent, Amazon has been pushing the garage access on Hulu commercials. Seems like every commercial break is for the garage access. How can anyone think this is a good idea?

So someone could mount their alexa on top of their rumba and basically have the same thing?

2 words ---

I, Robot

Does it control unruly children?

Let it haul around a roll of TP so you could call for it in an emergency. Unfortunately, however, your online ad preferences would all turn to air fresheners and hemorrhoid creams.

My cat would make short work of it. I received a tiny toy drone for Christmas and he snagged it before New Years.

Astro's real name was Tralfaz.


Just sayin'

It's going to take a few more years for them to get the "Rosie" model perfected.

I'd boot that fucking thing clear across the room, then drop the pieces into a blender.

Make it taller (waist high), dress it up and make it look like a Stepford Wife. Maybe. Problem is the data it collects. Needs a "Format C" for that ...