Ten years ago, Amazon released the Kindle, which increased the appeal of reading with digital devices. Four years ago, under the leadership of CEO Jeff Bezos, Amazon launched the intelligent voice assistant Echo, and millions of people began talking to computers.
Now, Amazon has another big bet: home robots.
According to people familiar with the matter, Amazon, the retail and cloud computing giant, has launched an ambitious top-secret plan to build home robots. The project is code-named Vesta, the goddess of ancient Roman mythology that controls the stove, family and family. Project Manager Greg Zell is responsible for Amazon's Lab126 hardware R&D department in Sunnyvale, California. Lab126 is responsible for the development of several Amazon devices, such as Echo speakers, Fire TV set-top boxes, Fire tablets and the market's underperforming mobile phone Fire Phone.
The Vista project was born a few years ago, but it wasn't until this year that Amazon began actively recruiting. The Jobs page of the Lab126 department has dozens of positions such as "Software Engineer, Robot Direction" and "Chief Sensor Engineer". According to people who understand the plan, Amazon hopes to start robots in the company's employees before the end of this year, and may be introduced to the mass market as early as 2019. But the schedule may change, and Amazon's hardware projects sometimes die.
An Amazon spokesperson said the company declined to comment on "rumors and speculation."
It's unclear what features Amazon's robots might have. Those familiar with the project speculate that the "Vista" robot may be a mobile version of Echo's built-in voice assistant Alexa, which is easy to use even for users who have not purchased an Echo device. The robot prototype is equipped with an advanced camera and computer vision software that can be moved at home like an autonomous car. Apple's former executive Max Paley is leading the development of computer vision. Amazon also hired professional mechanical engineers from the robotics industry.
According to people familiar with the matter, the Vitas project's robots are not the same as those designed by Amazon Robitcs, a subsidiary of Amazon in Massachusetts and Germany. The company's robots are mainly responsible for moving goods in the Amazon warehouse, designed by former Kiva Systems. In 2012, Amazon acquired the company for $755 million and changed its name to Amazon Robitcs.
A few decades ago, the technology industry wanted to provide companionship through home robots or complete basic housework. As early as 1983, Nolan Bushnell, the founder of American computer game maker Atari, launched a three-foot (about 0.9 meter) high snowman robot Topo Robot. The robot can be moved according to the programming of the Apple II computer, but the function is single and the sales are bleak. Service robots have been introduced in the US, Japan and China for many years, but progress has been limited. The Roomba, launched by American robot company iRobot Corp., has been able to clean the ground and has been the only one in the industry. Since 2002, it has sold more than 20 million units.
Recently, Japan's Sony and South Korea's LG Electronics also showed interest in robots. At the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January this year, LG showed a Cloi, but failed to perform multiple tasks during the demonstration. Sony has exhibited a new version of the robot dog Aibo. Sony released the concept of a robot dog 20 years ago, and it was released until the beginning of 2005. Aibo doesn't have much of a skill other than imitating a dog barking (it can be programmed to play football). The new version of the robot dog is priced at $1,800, which is equivalent to buying a real dog at a kennel.
Today, computer vision, camera, artificial intelligence and voice activation technology are advancing rapidly, increasing the possibility of Amazon launching robots into the market. Amazon has made it clear that if Prime members buy more products through Amazon's devices and order more services, Amazon is willing to provide partial subsidies for robots. This also means that it will be easier for mainstream consumers to purchase robots in the near future.
Research and Markets, a global market research organization, estimates that the market for consumer robots will grow from around $5.4 billion this year to about $15 billion a year by 2023.
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