Amazon's Ring is further expanding its security monitoring business, launching indoor drones for home surveillance as well as autonomous patrol robots designed specifically for commercial scenarios.
The company released Ring Drone Cam ( Ring flying security camera ) on Tuesday, priced at $250. This security camera can fly between various rooms, including those upstairs, and is capable of recording footage during both day and night. When the alarms or sensors of doors, windows, or home security devices are triggered, this book-sized drone will proceed to investigate any suspicious activities along a preset route; users can also manually control the drone at any time.
At a demonstration event in New York on Monday, Jamie Siminov, the CEO of Ring, stated that this drone can be used as a home monitoring tool, as it is equipped with a LED lighting system, and it can also serve as a deterrent against crime.
If someone is active around your home in the late night, the motion detector of the Ring doorbell will be triggered. Just imagine, if a spotlight comes on at that moment and another device flies by the window, it's very likely that the thief won't dare to enter the house.
The drone can fly for up to 8 minutes at a time before automatically returning to its charging base; both sets of propellers are equipped with plastic protective casings, and they produce a noticeable humming noise during flight.
Apart from the Echo smart speakers and Eero routers, the Ring series of devices has become another important lever for Amazon to enter the smart home market. An industry estimate shows that the overall sales volume of the smart home market this year will exceed $200 billion. Apple and Google, as competitors to Amazon, are also making significant investments in this market.
Ring was acquired by Amazon in 2018 and is well-known for its smart doorbell products. However, the company has always been controversial, with disputes mainly stemming from its cooperation with local police forces. Earlier this year, Ring sparked public opinion backlash due to an advertisement for a pet finding tool called “Search Party (Search Team)”; subsequently, it terminated its partnership with a police technology service provider, whose automatic license plate recognition system also came under widespread criticism from society.
Ring First showcased this drone prototype to the public as early as 2020. Sminov stated that the decision to postpone its release at that time was to wait for Amazon to refine the device design, sensors, and data processing capabilities.
On Tuesday, the company also launched the Ring Rover Cam (Ring ground patrol camera), priced at $1000. This product is modified from Amazon's Astro robot. After its release in 2021, the commercial version had a very short lifecycle with few subsequent iterations and upgrades; the modified Rover Cam is now provided for enterprises to use for patrols in offices, warehouses, and other workplaces.
Ring indicates that Rover Cam 'fully utilizes the mature technology of Astro' to create a dedicated security robot.
Similar in structure to Astro, this device features a display screen on top of its two-wheel base, along with a liftable periscope camera; it also comes equipped with an internal alarm, two-way voice intercom, and a set of lighting pillars that can project light towards the ceiling, facilitating users in keeping track of its real-time location.
In an interview, Siminov stated that drones and robots allow users to monitor multiple areas of a home or office with just one device.
"Everyone needs indoor cameras, but they don't want their homes to be filled with cameras everywhere."
According to Ring, drones and robots are set by default to a privacy-first mode; when the devices record footage, a LED indicator light will glow as a reminder.
Seminov explained that due to regulations imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States, this drone cannot be flown outdoors. The regulations require that the operator must be visually able to see the drone at all times.
"We have informed our customers that flying outdoors is an illegal act. Additionally, the devices are equipped with built-in protective mechanisms to eliminate any possibility of flying outside the premises."
Ring indicates that Ring Drone Cam will be shipped in the United States on January 27th after approval by the Federal Communications Commission of the United States (FCC); Ring Rover Cam will be officially delivered on December 16th.
