Amazon released a home robot named "Astro" back in September 2021. However, some say that it couldn't really do much, which makes the $999 price tag a little too expensive. Now, the retail giant intends to integrate new generative AI technology to make it smarter.
Project Burnham
Whether it's a goofy robot or an electronic assistant that you talk to with ChatGPT-like features, we have seen robots that are meant to make human lives easier in futuristic movies. Amazon might be getting us one step closer to that scenario with its new generative AI project.
Codenamed "Burnham," internal documents revealed the project to be a way to make Amazon's extremely exclusive home robot much more intuitive than it was. As mentioned in The Verge, it adds a "layer of intelligence and a conversational spoken interface."
The new AI upgrade may reportedly use large language models and other advanced AI to take in the events within a household and react accordingly. It has the ability to remember the events that transpired in a home and actually understand what it means.
To further elaborate, it can monitor the household and inform its owner should it find irregularities. If it sees the door left open, it will inform the resident do they could close it. It can tell you where you left an item you can't find if it saw where you placed it.
It can also come in handy in emergency situations as it calls 911 if it sees a person in distress or has sustained an injury. For someone who lives alone, this can be the feature that can even save a life, which can be a selling point all on its own.
According to reports, it has the ability to detect a hazardous environment, such as shards of glass on the floor, and then clean it up to avoid accidents. This could mean that Astro is capable of cleaning up as well (maybe a built-in Roomba?).
No matter how exciting this may sound, the internal documents state that Amazon is still a long way from actually integrating the AI project Burnham into its Astro home robot, which has now gone up from $999 to $1,600.
Read also: Amazon Astro Robot Price, Review and Reactions: Why New Home Robot Is Dangerous For Your Privacy
Amazon's Current Astro
Aside from the fact that it costs more than a thousand dollars now, it may also be difficult to acquire the robot seeing as you can only purchase it through an invitation. Yes, you have to be invited to buy the robot instead of just browsing through Amazon and purchasing it.
The Astro home robot is equipped with Intelligent Motion, which is a motion detection technology with advanced navigation capabilities so it can move around your home wherever you need it, and hang back when you don't.
You can also use the home robot to remotely monitor rooms, people, pets, and other things, sort of like a security camera that can go where you need it to. It can even detect unrecognized people as well as sounds when you're not at home.
You can turn off its camera and mic by pressing the designated buttons for it or through the Astro app for privacy. It can assist you the way Alexa does, such as delivering calls and messages or setting timers and alarms for you.
