Slashdot Mirror
Amazon Has a Top-Secret Plan to Build Home Robots (bloomberg.com)
After making smart speakers a household product (at least to some), Amazon seems to have found its next big consumer product: robots. Amazon is building smart robots that are equipped with cameras that let them drive around homes, Bloomberg reported Monday. These robots could launch as soon as next year. From the report: Codenamed "Vesta," after the Roman goddess of the hearth, home and family, the project is overseen by Gregg Zehr, who runs Amazon's Lab126 hardware research and development division based in Sunnyvale, California. Lab126 is responsible for Amazon devices such as the Echo speakers, Fire TV set-top-boxes, Fire tablets and the ill-fated Fire Phone.
The Vesta project originated a few years ago, but this year Amazon began to aggressively ramp up hiring. There are dozens of listings on the Lab 126 Jobs page for openings like "Software Engineer, Robotics" and "Principle Sensors Engineer." People briefed on the plan say the company hopes to begin seeding the robots in employees' homes by the end of this year, and potentially with consumers as early as 2019, though the timeline could change, and Amazon hardware projects are sometimes killed during gestation.
The Vesta project originated a few years ago, but this year Amazon began to aggressively ramp up hiring. There are dozens of listings on the Lab 126 Jobs page for openings like "Software Engineer, Robotics" and "Principle Sensors Engineer." People briefed on the plan say the company hopes to begin seeding the robots in employees' homes by the end of this year, and potentially with consumers as early as 2019, though the timeline could change, and Amazon hardware projects are sometimes killed during gestation.
I assume.... and perhaps it's the Will Smith from tested.com
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
not so "top-secret" if I can read about it on slashdot
Prime membership unlocks multiple new positions!
"No matter what I said before, please tell the robot to stop killing Jehova's Witnesses when they come to the door."
It would be too computationally expensive to house the 'brains' inside the robot. Far cheaper to stream it's interactions to the cloud. Most people will gladly trade their privacy for a robot that can wash the dishes, or do the laundry though. People trade it now just to play Farmville.
It's already "hacked" by a voyeur: Amazon! There was an article last year about the Roomba (or Neato?) CEO saying he wanted to collect information about the inside of your home and sell it. This Amazon stuff (Alexa, robot) is exactly for this purpose. Forget that.
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain
.... "I'm sorry Jeff, I'm afraid I can't do that."
This is my opinion. To make sure you don't steal it, it's covered by the DMCA.
The main difference between an Amazon, Google or FB robot or any smart assistant is loyalty. All the shows and cartoons we grew up that had robots - we still wish for - have their loyalty to us, the owners. They assist us, perform tasks for us, and protect us, till their own demise if necessary.
Today's "robots" won't be "owned" by us. You will will "lease the right to use them for X period of time". Make no mistake, these self moving spy devices will maintain their allegiance to the corporate overlord for the sole purpose of injecting themselves into your most personal thoughts and decisions, in the very fabric of your personal life so they can continually monitor, digest, live stream and sell to the highest bidder. oh, and share with any acronym agency when the secret court demands.
Even if they "agree" not sell your data directly - it will be completely scrap able via api's.