Amazon.com Inc.’s Ring unit, aiming to broaden the appeal of its home-protection products, is releasing a pair of new cameras, upgrading its panic button and planning to turn its Astro robot into a security guard for businesses.
(Bloomberg) — Amazon.com Inc.’s Ring unit, aiming to broaden the appeal of its home-protection products, is releasing a pair of new cameras, upgrading its panic button and planning to turn its Astro robot into a security guard for businesses.
The new lineup was unveiled Wednesday as part of Amazon’s annual device showcase, which is also expected to include the company’s latest Echo smart-home fare. Amazon acquired Ring in 2018 and has turned the smart-doorbell seller into a key piece of its hardware business.
The Spotlight Cam Pro — the most significant new Ring hardware introduced at the event — adds radar-based cameras to enable 3D motion detection and a bird’s-eye view. These features previously were included in Ring’s high-end doorbells to give a better picture of the surrounding environment, but will now be more affordable.
Radar cameras will allow the Spotlight Cam Pro to better measure the distance of an object and more accurately trigger alerts. That addresses a complaint of some Ring owners, who have said that current cameras and motion sensors can set off false alarms. The radar system, meanwhile, will allow the camera to more accurately pinpoint specific objects or tell whether a human is in the frame. And the bird’s-eye view feature shows an overhead picture of movements picked up by Ring devices.
Amazon will sell a battery-powered version of the Spotlight Cam Pro for $230, with a solar model costing $250. The Spotlight Cam Plus, a lower-end alternative priced at $200, is getting a new design as well and will launch in the coming months, the company said. Ring’s latest panic button, a device that can be carried around or mounted on a wall, is cheaper than the previous model. It will cost $30, down from $35.
Ring also is expanding its threat-monitoring service to allow Amazon’s Astro robot to serve as a roaming security guard. Amazon said that the robot could investigate alerts, observe scenes with its cameras and notify Ring security centers in instances when the police may need to be called. Ring said it will test the service in the coming months with a small group of businesses. Some security features for the Astro are already available for home use.
Some of Amazon’s innovations can take a while to catch on — if at all. Ring announced a flying indoor drone two years ago, but it’s still only available in limited quantities. And even the Astro robot itself is only available by invitation. It launched a year ago.
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