Amazon Astro – Amazon’s adorable home robot, which has yet to be released to the public – is adding a new member to the family today with the launch of Astro for Business. A pilot program for HomeBot started last year, and it looks like this unique gadget is ready to go live after its success.
Astro for Business differs from standard Amazon Astro in a few big ways. For one, it is specifically designed to serve as a smart security solution for small and medium-sized businesses. This means that it is possible to get rid of complex security systems and opt for this roaming robot instead. This unique product combines AI software with hardware like periscope cameras to help prevent break-ins and instantly alert you if something is wrong.
There are three subscription plans available for Astro for Business, allowing you to customize its performance according to your specific needs. The cheapest package is Ring Protect Pro at $20 per month, which offers 180 days of video history and the ability to sync Astro with your Ring alarm. Astro Secure costs $60 per month and adds autonomous patrolling to Astro, while the Virtual Security Guard package costs $99 per month and lets professional agents respond to alerts from Astro.
Astro for Business costs $2,350 and comes with a four-month free trial of Ring Protect Pro.
While it’s great to see Astro for Business being released into the mainstream, it’s a little strange that the original Amazon Astro is still available by invitation only. The robot is designed to perform many of the same tasks as Astro for Business on a larger scale – including acting as a security guard – but we haven’t heard a firm release date from Amazon yet.
At any rate, the arrival of Astro for Business signals good news for consumer-oriented Amazon Astro, as the DNA of the two is largely the same. We’ve reached out to a representative for comment regarding the Amazon Astro release date and will update this story when we hear back.
For now, you’ll be limited to requesting an invite or choosing Astro for Business.