Amazon's WALL-E looking household robot, Astro, was announced a year ago and has been available exclusively by invitation since. The robot has functioned as a household handy helper, both monitoring your home security and also following you from room bringing Alexa's assistance and items directly to you. Now, Astro is rolling out of your home and into your business to work as a security guard.
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At Amazon's invite-only media event today, the tech-giant announced the Ring Virtual Security Guard with Amazon Astro, a new role for Astro, which will now double as a security bot for your business.
The integration will utilize all of Astro's existing advanced technology such as Intelligent Motion, autonomous patrols, and smart alerts as well as Ring tech such as Ring Alarm and Alarm Pro which will allow it to investigate a scene when a Ring Alarm is triggered.
AmazonRing says this product is meant to offer business owners peace of mind when they lock up for the night with one-site night patrol that is less expensive than the human security guard alternative.
"We envision a world where robots can deliver an innovative, cost-effective on-site security solution, which could complement-or even replace-the need for on-site guard patrol during off-hours," says Ring.
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Business owners will also have the opportunity to add a Ring Protect Pro subscription to their robot, which will enable Astro to autonomously patrol your property while your Ring Alarm is armed in Away mode. When a Ring Alarm is triggered, agents will be able to remotely operate Astro to get closer to the scene and use the Two-Way Talk feature to talk to an intruder.
Although neither Amazon nor Ring have disclosed exactly how much the Ring Protect Pro subscription will cost specifically for Astro, Ring's website advertises that the Ring Protect Pro subscription starts at$20/month or$200/year per location.
The Ring Virtual Security Guard with Amazon Astro will first be tested with a small group of business customers in the upcoming months. Details on when it will be generally available will be available in the future after taking into consideration the test group's experiences.
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AmazonThis isn't the first collaboration between Ring and Astro. If you are selected to purchase theAmazon Astro for Households which retails at$999.99 , you are eligible for a six-month free trial of Ring Protect Pro which allows Astro to Astro proactively patrol, investigate activity in your home and save videos in Ring's cloud storage for up to 180 days.