Amazon Astro home robot: Amazon has 31 patents for the sound of a "human scream" to stop Astro, its new home robot.
Amazon has been granted 31 patents for Astro, the domestic robot that it sells by invitation only in the United States, which talk about using the sound of a "human scream" to stop the robot.
The patents, granted between December 2021 and September 2022, are for a "robot" or "autonomous mobile device". While they don't explicitly say "Astro" – and Amazon has refused to confirm that the patents correspond to that robot – the attached images are consistent with the product, which was presented in September 2021.
Amazon Astro home robot
The patents say Astro has safety features that use a "minimum sound threshold" to stop the robot. As an example, they explain that the "detection of sound like a human scream" would stop Astro.
Although the robot stopping function of this "human scream" is presented as a safety measure, the patents show that Amazon understands that robots like Astro can provoke fear or cause danger, although the company still dreams of their use in homes or public service.
Astro is part of Amazon's "Day 1" program, a first phase in which feedback on the supply is quite limited and in which buyers access by invitation. At the moment, there is little evidence that many people have tried Astro through this program.
"Like many companies, we are submitting a number of forward-looking patent applications exploring all the possibilities of the new technology," the spokesperson said. "Patents take several years to receive and do not necessarily reflect current product and service developments."
Amazon Astro home robot surveillance
Amazon describes Astro as an Alexa-compatible "home surveillance" robot that performs tasks for people inside a house, which are recognized through facial and voice recognition. The company adds that Astro also sends alerts to the owner of the device, in case there is an "unrecognized person".
On Astro's product page, Amazon explains that it can be used to "remotely care for elderly loved ones," helping them "set reminders, manage the grocery list, receive activity alerts and much more."
This is in line with the description of the patents, which describe the use of Astro in cases such as "caring for others, such as children or the elderly, watching over the home, keeping them in contact with others."
Amazon Astro home robot patent
Of all the patents, 23 describe outdoor use cases, although Amazon does not market Astro as a product for that purpose. A patent shows that the robot could be an "autonomous ground vehicle moving on a street [...], an autonomous aerial vehicle [...] or an autonomous marine vehicle".
Astro is marketed as part of the ecosystem of products compatible with Ring, a home surveillance camera company owned by Amazon. Ring, in addition to selling fixed cameras, has an "always at home camera" that flies around a person's home to capture "all possible angles".
Amazon has also recently tried to buy iRobot, a robotic vacuum cleaner company, although the acquisition is facing an antitrust review by the US Federal Trade Commission (FCC).
