Report: How Amazon plans to make Astro smarter

Photo: Amazon

Amazon is reportedly working on a secret AI robot project called Burnham, according to internal documents seen by Insider. Burnham would add intelligence and voice interaction to Astro, the company's smart home robot. Burnham would use large language models and other advanced AI to understand and respond to the context of a household. The documents say that Burnham would remember what it saw and understood and engage in Q&A dialogues and actions based on it.

For example, Burnham could alert the owner if it found a stove or a faucet left on. It could call emergency services if it saw someone fall and need help. It could help locate keys, check windows, and monitor kids’ activities. These are things that existing smart home devices can do, but they need multiple steps and devices. Astro with Burnham would do them with one device.

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Amazon Astro is a new robot that can follow you around at home

Amazon has just launched a new home/companion robot that can follow you around the house thanks to it being on wheels. The Amazon Astro will map out your floor plan and do things like following voice commands, help you or your family stay in touch with others via voice calls, and even serve as an aid for eldercare.

With its computer vision, it can also check on your home while you're away. It won't be able to play with your pets just yet, but it has a dedicated periscope cam that pops up from its head to check things out. Think of it as a roving security bot.

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