Amazon turned its Alexa robot into a Ring security patrol bot

As part of a new brand called Ring Robotics — designed to take a more proactive approach to security instead of just monitoring — a new rolling mobile security camera was announced by Amazon, called the Ring Rover Cam. It borrows a lot of the design and functionality from the Astro home robot that Amazon first debuted in 2021. The Rover Cam is targeted at businesses in need of an affordable security solution that can patrol and investigate concerns in large facilities, and it comes with a few upgrades.

As with Astro, the Rover Cam rolls around on a pair of large wheels that help it navigate small obstacles or uneven terrain. It can be manually dispatched to a specific room or any point along a pre-programmed patrol route to investigate a disturbance, and it will also automatically head to a location where an alarm on another Ring device is triggered. While en route, it continuously streams and records video, and when it reaches its destination, the robot performs a 360-degree scan so you can investigate what’s wrong from afar.

Astro’s extending periscope camera has been carried forward to the Rover Cam and upgraded. It now features 4K resolution, and you can set the camera to raise and lower to specific heights while programming a scheduled patrol route so the robot can see over counters, shelving, or other raised obstacles. Astro’s cupholder has been replaced with a permanent stubby tower featuring a built-in siren and a flashing red light that both function as deterrents. To make the Rover Cam easier to locate in large spaces like a warehouse, that tower also projects a blue ring of light onto ceilings directly above the robot.

There’s no access to Alexa through the Rover Cam, which makes its included screen feel unnecessary. Instead of displaying a cute pair of eyes to encourage engagement, the Rover Cam’s screen is used to display status messages, including when it’s actively recording. It still has a microphone and speakers, but now they’re used for two-way talk functionality. Battery life is estimated to be about 30 minutes, allowing the robot to cover facilities around 5,000 square feet, but it’s limited to a single floor. For multiple levels, multiple robots would be needed, or the Rover Cam can be paired with Amazon’s new flying Ring Drone Cam.