According to a new report from Insider, Amazon is working on a secretive home robot project, codenamed Vesta which would have Alexa compatibility.
Amazon developing home robot Vesta with Alexa compatibility
The robot will come with a built-in camera and users will be able to control it by audio, a 2019 Bloomberg report said. Although the Vesta robot project entered the late prototype design stage but Amazon employees are worried that the project will fail following marketability and production delays.
“People are very skeptical — we’re worried it could turn into another Fire Phone,” one source directly taking part in the project told the Insider.
Vesta is reportedly one of the biggest developments by Amazon’s Lab126, the same team that came up with popular tech such as the Amazon Echo smart speaker, the Kindle e-reader, and Alexa.
Currently under prototype phase, Vesta is apparently the size of “two small cats” (10 to 13 inches wide), and will feature multiple cameras, a screen, and a microphone. However, the design might get a tweak according to a report. Some new designs could be retractable pole with camera moving upwards and downwards. This could be helpful for locating lost things using computer vision. It might also have plug-ins and widgets for the measurement of house temperature, air quality and humidity. The final product will be able to walk round your house on wheels, depending on your instructions.
Amazon’s prediction for the Vesta sales are quite low although it does not reveal the hardware sales. The company might release it as an invite-only product just like its health band Halo, so that it can not experience unsold inventory.
Device for home-office use
It is also predicted that Amazon might bring the device for home-office use so that people could attend virtual meetings while staying in their homes.
Two Amazon sources aware of the project called Vesta a “Fire Tablet mounted on wheels.”
Others compared it to an image Jeff Bezos shared some time back where his children had tied a smart speaker to a robotic vacuum. To cut it short, Amazon is probably developing Echo on wheels. A smart personal assistant that would follow your commands while walking around the home.
