Astro Home Assistant Robot

Amazon just announced its newest invention - a home assistant robot named Astro. Astro is equipped with a screen that's mounted onto a base with wheels just like in those Star Wars films. The robot can perform various tasks including mobile security, playing music, calling your mates, and transporting things around if they weigh less than 2 kilograms.

At first, I thought Astro was going to be a competitor to the robot vacuum cleaner Roomba, but that's not the case. It has ultrasonic sensors, time-of-flight cameras and other imaging tools that allow the robot to adapt to your house with ease, but it won't clean up your rubbish.

Some snarky reviewers have dismissed the Astro as just a camera on wheels or an invasive spy of some sorts, but don't listen to these haters. [As I'm writing this I'm hearing the song "Somebody's Watching Me" by Rockwell, with Michael Jackson singing in the chorus] . Astro sounds like a nice thing to have around, but not an appliance that will solve any specific problems.