A Bloomberg report stated that the AI device has computer vision to navigate the home as a type of “mobile Alexa.”
A new Amazon robot is underway to help consumers around the house, said a recent Bloomberg report. Project codename “Vesta,” the “mobile Alexa” is named after the Roman goddess of the heart. Amazon’s hardware R&D center, Lab126, is developing the robot.
Lab126 is known for having developed the Kindle, the Fire Phone and more recently the Echo.
As of yet, there have not been any reports regarding the way the Amazon robot will look. Moreover, there isn’t any confirmed information regarding how the AI gadget will be used. That said, Bloomberg indicated that it may be a form of “mobile Alexa” that could follow owners about to all areas of the home.
In this way, the AI robot would ensure that the owner would always be in reach of Alexa even when they can’t speak directly to an Echo speaker. Amazon has reportedly built prototype robots that have cameras and computer vision software for navigation. Moreover, Amazon is reportedly planning to start planting the first among these artificial intelligence based gadgets in homes by the end of 2018.
Bloomberg reported that the first wave of public prototype Amazon robot devices may be tested “as early as 2019.”
Without any solid details, it is impossible to know exactly what Amazon has up its sleeve. However, it may be said that a home robot from the company likely doesn’t have anything to do with housekeeping or butler tasks and chores. The type of technology required to create that sort of robot has not yet been developed within the commercial ecosystem.
That said, some companies are working on bringing it into that environment in the future. Among them, Boston Dynamics is one of the most notable.
Instead, the Vesta Amazon robot is much more likely to function as a mobile virtual assistant. Its virtual assistant technology will be similar to that of the Echo speaker, only it will be housed in a mechanical and mobile exterior of some form. It may function as a type of smart home central contact point.
