Tesla recently made headlines for CEO Elon Musk’s presentation of the Tesla Bot, which already brings enough The Terminator vibes, even though Musk declared that the Tesla Bot (which can only move up to 5 MPH) is being set “at a mechanical level, at a physical level, that you can run away from it and most likely overpower it.” This, of course, doesn’t mean that Skynet can’t happen in real life, and now, Amazon’s presenting their very own contribution to this realm: the Amazon Astro. Wall Street Journal‘s Joanna Stern tweeted the harbinger out, as one does.
Amazon Astro, an Alexa with wheels and cameras that can follow you around. pic.twitter.com/ymLRIfCUmJ
— Joanna Stern (@JoannaStern) September 28, 2021
News of this development arrived during Amazon’s fall product event. Among other innovations, the company announced an Amazon Echo-Disney partnership; Amazon Glow (a video calling device tied to gaming for kids); and the availability of the Ring home security drone. And also, that bot, which will run you around $1000 and roam around your house and follow you around, basically as a mobile version of Alexa with cameras and everything. That’s not scary at all! Or maybe it is. Via CNBC, the lowdown:
Astro is equipped with a rotating screen that’s mounted onto a base with wheels. Amazon designed the robot to appear animated and friendly, with eyes and expressive body movements that respond to user interaction.
The robot can move on its own from room to room and is capable of navigating around objects on the floor or braking to avoid colliding with obstacles such as a pet that moves into its path. A periscope camera attached to the base of the device can be raised or lowered to view objects that are high up.
To no one’s surprise (and the delight of some), the joke-floodgates are open.
https://twitter.com/MKBHD/status/1442897079181864961
Amazon has announced "Astro," their new Alexa-powered home robot that sets & delivers reminders, plays TV shows & podcasts, and patrols a user's home while they are away.
We're screwed. pic.twitter.com/EcT5s8Bvfz
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) September 28, 2021
amazon has just introduced their new demonic creation- Astro- a robot with cameras that follows you around your house pic.twitter.com/TN84dqIezq
— shoe (@shoe0nhead) September 28, 2021
https://twitter.com/86clips/status/1442912543647752192
https://twitter.com/otblock57/status/1442911710809968641
New football just dropped
— RedGinger666 (@RedGinger666) September 28, 2021
https://twitter.com/dramadelgay/status/1442912073445306378
"I see you only received a 4.9/5 on your recent delivery, Master. That will subtract the amount of pee jugs you can now purchase at our Fulfillment Centers." pic.twitter.com/L0U9N89A8O
— Kardel VA ⚔️| Knight PNGTuber DEBUTING APRIL 14TH! (@Kardel_) September 28, 2021
https://twitter.com/imshadewhatever/status/1442911411349295109
lol it can try but it aint gonna get far pic.twitter.com/yiTDG4qkyO
— it aint excactly rocket surgery (not a rocket surg (@aggropop) September 28, 2021
(Via CNBC)