Amazon is secretly working on robots for consumers. According to press agency Bloomberg, the tech giant wants to trial the robots at their employees’ homes and wants to present its domestic robots in 2019.
Amazon brings The Jetsons to life
In its Lab126 research division (in Southern California), Amazon has a large team working in a “top secret” robotics project, allegedly called Vesta according to Bloomberg. The name refers to a Roman goddess of home and family, because the robots would serve as robot assistants for consumers.
They should move autonomously and the company also hired experts in sensory recognition and sensors, which could results in robots that can feel. In any case, they will be able to see and hear, allowing them to accept Amazon Alexa voice commands. Bloomberg suspects it will be a “mobile Alexa” that can follow you around the house. It is a step closer to the robotic servant from The Jetsons.
Mainstream in a few years?
It remains to be seen whether things will proceed as rapidly as Amazon would want. It often launches new futuristic experiments, but not every single one is actually put to use. Bloomberg analysts believe it will be hard to convince consumers, particularly because privacy scandals, like Facebook’s, has created a lot of distrust. “It may be hard to sell this to consumers now, but it could become mainstream in a few years’ time”, tech watcher Gerrit De Vynck said.
Why would Amazon want consumers to get a domestic robot? The more access Amazon gets to a home, the easier and the more often the online giant can sell things to the consumer, like it has tried with its automatic stock programs and subscription formulas like Prime.
