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Astro: Amazon's first home robot
Photo: --- / dpa
As part of an online event, Amazon presented its first home robot, Astro, on Tuesday evening.
The device, which looks as if someone has clamped a tablet on a vacuum robot, is supposed to take on household tasks in different ways.
First of all, Astro is supposed to patrol the house when the residents are not at home. It can send live images to its owners and should be able to recognize the sound of glass shattering and alarm signals from smoke detectors. The group sees another application in using the device to keep in touch with older relatives. A special feature is the camera that sits behind and above the display. It can be extended by the robot like a periscope to look over obstacles.
And finally, it should also serve to be able to access Amazon's Alexa services from anywhere in the house.
But man should also be able to set limits, define restricted areas into which he is not allowed to roll, just like you do with modern vacuum robots.
Similar to echo speakers and displays, the robot's microphones and cameras and its motors can be deactivated at the push of a button.
This is somewhat reminiscent of “Optimus Prime”, the robot that Elon Musk recently announced as a future Tesla product.
Its safety device, however, consists in limiting its speed so that people can run away from it in case of doubt.
In addition, the Tesla robot should be human-like, which one can certainly not say about Amazon's Astro.
Astro is already a real product for that.
Amazon manager Dave Limp said his company is convinced "that in five to ten years every household will have at least one robot."
However, it is not yet possible to order the Astro.
Instead, interested parties can apply to receive an invitation to purchase one of the first models.
The price will then be $ 1,000 and delivery is promised "later this year."
The normal price is said to be $ 1,500.
For the time being, the Amazon robots will only be shipped in the USA.
A smart kitchen TV
Another product that was presented on Tuesday, the Echo Show 15, shows that it is also cheaper at Amazon. It is a kind of giant tablet that can be hung on the wall or placed on a stand.
However, the device is not suitable for taking with you, unless you have a very, very long extension cable.
Because without a socket, nothing works with the Echo Show 15.
For this you get a very large screen.
As the name of the gadget suggests, it has a diagonal of 15.6 inches, so it is more on the level of large notebooks than tablets.
However, the resolution is only Full HD.
That would be too little for photo or video editing, but it should be enough for the applications outlined by Amazon.
Above all, the device should be used to "organize everyday family life, stay connected and be entertained," says the company.
For example, you can leave messages to other family members by leaving digital sticky notes on the Echo Show 15's screen.
You can also leave or send personalized messages that only the person addressed can read.
To make this possible, the device uses a new feature that Amazon calls "Visual ID".
Basically, it's face recognition.
As soon as you have created such an ID, you will be recognized by Alexa and received with a personalized start screen on which “reminders, calendar events, recently played music or sticky notes from other residents or guests” are displayed.
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A switch in the frame is apparently used to turn off the microphones.
Photo: Amazon
Knowing that not every user may be biometrically recorded by Alexa, Amazon only offers visual ID as an option, not as a mandatory requirement.
Once set up, it should be possible to delete it at any time.
In addition to being used within the family, the Echo Show 15 should also be available as a digital cookbook with a link to Chefkoch.de and Kitchenstories.
In combination with the built-in 5-megapixel camera, it can also be used for video chats and, in combination with apps from providers such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, as a kitchen TV.
When not actively used, it can act as a digital picture frame in full screen mode, displaying your own photos or images provided by Amazon.
When you can try this is still open for the time being.
Prospective buyers can register with Amazon, but the company did not provide a date for the market launch.
A digital chat game board
Far smaller than the Echo Show 15 is a gadget called Amazon Glow, which was shown on Tuesday evening and is primarily aimed at children.
It has an 8 inch upright screen on which you can see the person you are talking to.
What is special, however, is an integrated projector that projects a 19-inch image onto the surface in front of the device.
For example, children should be able to play or paint with distant family members.
However, there shouldn't be many games at first.
Amazon wants to provide the necessary information for programmers shortly so that they can start developing their own apps for the device.
But the Amazon Glow is currently not yet available to order.
For now, only US customers can apply to Amazon for an invitation to buy the device for $ 250.
A digital doorbell
In addition to the Echo Show, Amazon also showed a new networked doorbell, the Blink Video Doorbell.
Similar to Google's Nest Doorbell, it should replace a conventional doorbell, but instead of just ringing the doorbell, it should also be able to send video images of the person standing in front of the door and enable communication with the person ringing the doorbell.
The digital bell can either be battery operated or connected to the existing bell wires.
In the second variant, it triggers the doorbell already installed in the house instead of just sending messages to connected devices and apps when someone presses the doorbell button.
Amazon specifies the price at 59.99 euros.
more on the subject
Google Nest Doorbell in the test: This bell knows who is ringing.By Matthias Kremp
Modern mesh WiFi
If you want to upgrade your wireless home network to Wifi 6 with Amazon hardware, you have to spend more money. In the USA, the company has been offering the Eero 6 Pro for some time, a mesh-enabled WLAN router with two Ethernet sockets and an integrated Zigbee hub. The latter can be used to integrate many smart home devices into the network without having to connect their own hubs to your router.
Above all, however, several Eero 6 Pro can be combined into a so-called mesh.
This is a modern WLAN in which all routers are quickly networked with one another in order to enlarge the covered area, but appear like a single router to the connected devices.
However, Amazon states the area covered by a single Eero 6 Pro as an impressive 190 square meters.
A pack of three should even be able to supply up to 560 square meters with WiFi, which needs to be checked.
As a single device, an Eero 6 should cost 169 euros each, and 469 euros in a three-pack.