Amazon's Ring Unveils $250 Indoor Security Drone and a Patrol Robot Built From Astro

Ring also introduced the Rover Cam, a wheeled patrol robot for offices, warehouses and other workplaces that costs about $1,000. It is built on Astro, the home robot Amazon launched in 2021, which later had a short run as a business device with few upgrades. The two products are Ring's first move into robotics and sit in a new Ring Robotics division, according to The Shortcut.

The launch extends Amazon's smart home business beyond Echo speakers and Eero routers, in a market where it competes with Apple and Google. The research firm Grand View Research estimates smart home sales will top $200 billion this year. The launch will also test whether households accept a mobile camera inside the home from a brand that has faced repeated criticism over privacy.

How the Drone Works

The drone launches by itself when a door, window or other sensor is triggered and follows a route the owner has set. Owners can also send it out at any time, but they cannot pilot it manually. It flies for five to eight minutes before returning to its charging dock, and The Shortcut reported that a full recharge after a maximum flight takes about 64 minutes. It records 2K video with a 148-degree field of view and carries LED lights that chief executive Jamie Siminoff described to CNBC as a "deterrent."

Most of the processing happens in the cloud. The drone streams video to a cloud system Ring calls AI Pilot, which steers it, The Shortcut reported. Siminoff said the device has onboard intelligence of "just enough to land." If the connection drops, the drone waits and then lands if it cannot reconnect.

Ring has told customers not to fly the drone outdoors and says its software blocks outdoor flight. "We have told our customers not to do that because it's illegal," Siminoff told CNBC. The drone ships in the US on January 27, pending approval from the Federal Communications Commission. The Rover Cam has an extendable periscope camera, a siren, two-way audio and a light projected onto the ceiling to show where it is. It ships on December 16, and preorders for both devices are open.

Six Years in Development

Ring first previewed an indoor drone in 2020 as the Always Home Cam, priced at $249.99 at the time. Siminoff held back the launch to refine the design, sensors and data processing, CNBC reported.

"People like indoor cameras, but they don't necessarily want them everywhere around their home," Siminoff told CNBC, arguing that one mobile device can watch several areas.

Ring says privacy is the default mode for both devices, which flash an LED while recording. Most of the privacy criticism Ring has faced concerns its partnerships with police. Earlier this year, a Super Bowl advertisement for Search Party, an AI tool for finding lost pets, drew a backlash. Ring then cancelled an integration with Flock Safety, whose automated licence plate readers have been widely criticised.

Amazon bought Ring in 2018. FCC approval is the last step before the drone's planned January 27 ship date.