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November 17, 2023
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November 17, 2023
Amazon is rolling out its Astro robot as a security guard for businesses, using its HD periscope and night vision to patrol and map up to 5,000 square feet of space.
The launch of Astro for Business, announced Wednesday, makes the Amazon robot widely available for the first time. It can work autonomously, via preprogrammed routes and routines, or manually via the Amazon Astro app.
The business version starts at $2,349.99, with different subscription options that total as much as $179/month.
- Amazon is launching a new $60/month subscription plan, Astro Secure, that lets customers program Astro to autonomously patrol specific routes at different frequencies and from specific frequencies, sending them alerts if it hears smoke or carbon monoxide detectors, or the sound of glass breaking.
- In addition, Amazon says an optional $20/month Ring Protect Pro subscription will save video history for up to 180 days and link Astro to Ring motion and contact sensors to investigate an alarms and other activity.
- Customers who subscribe to Astro Secure and Ring Protect Pro have the option to purchase an additional $99/month subscription, Virtual Security Guard, that gives agents the ability to access Astro remotely to investigate an alarm, unrecognized person, or other event, and call emergency services if needed.
Astro was launched for home users on an invite-only basis in 2021, currently selling for $1,599.99 under the Amazon Day1 Editions program.
The robot has survived cutbacks in Amazon’s Echo and Alexa division. Its debut as a security guard could help to address early criticism that Astro was “a solution in search of a problem,” as CNET’s David Priest put it at the time.
The company first announced that it would begin testing Astro as a security guard for businesses last year, starting with a small group of customers. Tests showed that Astro could “provide visibility on blind spots and areas that existing stationary cameras couldn’t see,” said Anthony Robson, Astro head of product, in a statement.
Privacy controls include a button that turns off mics, cameras, and motion detection; and the ability to define certain zones as out of bounds for Astro patrols. Amazon says Astro does not retain voice recordings.
Amazon’s Astro for Business will compete against a variety of smaller companies that offer robotic security guards, such as Knightscope, Indoor Robotics, SMP Robotics and Team 1st Technologies.
