Amazon is said to be building home robots
The firm may be developing autonomous machines to help out around the house—think of them as Alexa on the move.
The news: Bloomberg says an Amazon project called Vesta is “an ambitious, top-secret plan to build a domestic robot.” The work is being carried out at Lab 126, the same in-house research team that developed the company’s Echo speakers. It has recently been trying to hire more robotics engineers.
Details: Per Bloomberg,“prototypes of the robots have advanced cameras and computer vision software and can navigate through homes like a self-driving car.” The firm reportedly has plans to put the machines inside the homes of staff before the end of this year.
Why it matters: Domestic robots are a vision of the future, but so far they have been unsuccessful. There’s huge money to be made by the firm that nails the technology. Amazon will hope it can use its existing smart-home dominance to take a lead.
Keep Reading
Most Popular
What to know about this autumn’s covid vaccines
New variants will pose a challenge, but early signs suggest the shots will still boost antibody responses.
DeepMind’s cofounder: Generative AI is just a phase. What’s next is interactive AI.
“This is a profound moment in the history of technology,” says Mustafa Suleyman.
Human-plus-AI solutions mitigate security threats
With the right human oversight, emerging technologies like artificial intelligence can help keep business and customer data secure
Next slide, please: A brief history of the corporate presentation
From million-dollar slide shows to Steve Jobs’s introduction of the iPhone, a bit of show business never hurt plain old business.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.