American technology group Amazon has decided to stop producing its security robot Astro for Business. The company justified this move by shifting its focus to home robots.
“To accelerate our progress and ongoing research to make Astro the best home robot, we have decided to end support for Astro for Business,” an Amazon spokesperson wrote in an email yesterday.
Compensation for the alternative solution
According to an internal customer communication seen by Reuters, the Astro for Business bot will no longer work as of September 25. As of now, customers will not be charged the Astro-Secure subscription fee and any unused prepaid fees will be refunded.
As compensation, Amazon will provide affected customers with a $300 credit (about €280) towards an alternative workplace solution.
Support in monitoring commercial buildings
The e-commerce giant originally launched the dog-like robot for homes only in 2021. Astro is designed to handle tasks like home monitoring, setting routines and reminders, and playing music and TV.
It was introduced to select businesses in November 2022. It was priced at around $2,350, was only available in the USA and was intended to help customers monitor their business premises around the clock.
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