Ride the Lightning

The Jetsons Had Rosie the Robot. Amazon May Give Us Vesta

April 30, 2018

The Jetsons had Rosie as their robot maid. It looks like we may be getting Vesta (named after the Roman goddess of hearth, home and family) as our robot maid and sooner than you might think.

As Bloomberg reported, Amazon (who else?) is hard at work on a top-secret plan to construct a home robot. The project is code-named Vesta but we'll see what the robot's ultimate name turns out to be.

The project started a few years ago, but has caught fire this year. Reportedly, Amazon will begin testing the robots in employees' homes by the end of this year and hopes to have the robots in the homes of consumers in 2019. While the timeline is subject to change, the project is white hot, with lots of hiring taking place.

Amazon did not comment on the story, but people familiar with the project believe that the Vesta robot could be a mobile Alexa, accompanying customers in parts of their home where they don't have Echo devices. Prototypes of the robots have advanced cameras and computer vision software and can navigate through homes like a self-driving car.

Domestic robots offer allure to many people – if they can offer companionship and perform basic chores. But we haven't made – yet – any gigantic leap since the Roomba – which has only one function – to vacuum.

Advances in computer vision technology, cameras, artificial intelligence and voice activation may now make it feasible for Amazon to bring a home robot to the marketplace. If Amazon can make their robot a companion and true helper – and reasonably priced – I suspect sales will go through the roof. And we will have a whole new source of electronic evidence, always of interest to folks involved in digital forensics.

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