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Amazon unveils 'science fiction' robot Astro that can patrol homes

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="A roving, canine-like household robot called Astro is seen in an undated photograph provided by Amazon September 28, 2021. Amazon/Handout via Reuters." src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/reuters/09/29/20210929_robot.jpg"/><figcaption>A roving, canine-like household robot called Astro is seen in an undated photograph provided by Amazon September 28, 2021. <em>Amazon/Handout via Reuters.</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>WASHINGTON - Amazon revealed a camera-equipped home robot Tuesday that users can deploy to patrol their houses, a device that one of the project&#x27;s developers said was making science fiction a reality.</p><p>The tech giant cheered the &quot;Astro&quot; robot as a breakthrough for security and convenience, but digital watchdogs raised concerns for potential risks to people&#x27;s most private moments at home.</p><p>Astro is a roughly two-foot (60 centimeters) tall and 20-pound (nine kilograms) device that can map out a house floor plan and obey commands to go to a specific place to take a closer look with its telescoping camera.</p><p>&quot;Now when you are away, you can use it to proactively patrol your home and investigate activity,&quot; Amazon executive Dave Limp said in a product launch clip.</p><p>The device, which can work with Amazon&#x27;s digital home assistant Alexa, can be taught to recognize faces and learn the habits of household members.</p><div><strong>Digital privacy trade-off ?</strong></div><p>Amazon said Astro could also be useful to help remotely check on elderly relatives or deliver reminders for certain activities.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s taking science fiction and making it a reality,&quot; Suri Maddhula, who worked on the project, said in a video.</p><p>Matthew Guariglia, a policy analyst at digital watchdog group Electronic Frontier Foundation, raised concerns about the device potentially allowing hackers to see into a user&#x27;s home or police seeking access to it via a search warrant.</p><p>&quot;There are some scenarios in which (Astro) could be useful; there are some scenarios in which a surveillance camera on your house could be useful, too,&quot; he told AFP.</p><p>&quot;But the problem is that you need to know that it comes off with a trade-off of vulnerability,&quot; he added.</p><p>Limp, the Amazon senior vice president for devices and services, in a call with journalists said Astro has built-in features to guard against abuses.</p><p>He said users can shut down Astro&#x27;s cameras and microphones, also noting that the device issues a warning sound and message on its display when someone is trying to access the cameras remotely.</p><p>&quot;If somebody hacked your account or something, and that could be a bad person obviously, we want to notify anyone that might be at home,&quot; he said.</p><p>He went on to say that Amazon does not have remote access to the cameras on its machines, and thus &quot;would never allow a police department or a first responder to have access to that device.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/06/09/21/meet-grace-the-healthcare-robot-covid-19-created">Meet Grace, the healthcare robot COVID-19 created</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/09/28/21/pandemic-pushes-chinese-tech-giants-to-roll-out-more-courier-robots">Pandemic pushes Chinese tech giants to roll out more courier robots</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/11/22/18/robot-concierge-coming-to-sm-as-henry-sy-turns-to-ai">Robot concierge coming to SM as Henry Sy turns to AI</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1690076" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

Amazon revealed a camera-equipped home robot Tuesday that users can deploy to patrol their houses, a device that one of the project's developers said was making science fiction a reality.