Amazon says claims its Astro robot could be dangerous are ‘inaccurate’

2 years ago 277

Amazon’s caller robot Astro – unveiled astatine the caller Amazon 2021 lawsuit – has been presented arsenic a adjuvant AI adjunct who you can’t assistance but find a small cute. However, a caller study suggests that Astro’s beingness successful your location could beryllium much sinister than its outer ammunition would person you believe.

Information published by Vice’s Motherboard – which it claims has been sourced from leaked interior improvement documents and video recordings of meetings astir Astro – indicates that the caller robot adjunct whitethorn person much than a fewer flaws. Amazon denies the claims, and says Astro has been rigorously tested to guarantee its safety.

In the report, 1 developer is quoted arsenic saying: “Astro is unspeakable and volition astir surely propulsion itself down a formation of stairs if presented the opportunity”. They went connected to accidental that the robot’s person-detection is unreliable (which would interaction its usefulness arsenic a location information device) and its parts look excessively fragile for their intended purposes.


This fragility would beryllium a peculiar contented for the mast camera that allows Astro – which costs $999 (around £750 / AU$1,400) – to scan its surroundings from higher up; this has seemingly been known to fastener up portion extended, which would marque it hard to vessel Astro backmost to Amazon for repair.
Given these issues, the developer quoted by Motherboard added that pushing Astro arsenic an accessibility instrumentality is astatine champion “nonsense” and astatine worst “potentially unsafe for anyone who’d really trust connected it”. According to Motherboard, different Astro developers shared akin concerns.

We reached retired to an Amazon, and a spokesperson told us: “These characterizations of Astro’s performance, mast, and information systems are simply inaccurate.

“Astro went done rigorous investigating connected some prime and safety, including tens of thousands of hours of investigating with beta participants. This includes broad investigating connected Astro’s precocious information system, which is designed to debar objects, observe stairs, and halt the instrumentality wherever and erstwhile necessary.”

Analysis: is Astro worthy trading your privateness for?
Whether the concerns of developers shared by Motherboard are valid oregon not, immoderate consumers whitethorn person already has issues with Amazon Astro from a privateness perspective. It’s 1 happening to person an Amazon Echo that you mightiness person concerns astir regarding privateness successful your surviving room, but it’s rather different to person specified a instrumentality roaming astir your home.
Astro volition beryllium tracking you rather a spot much than static devices and volition person to store a batch of information to enactment effectively. As different leaked Amazon documents explain, Astro needs to make an close representation of your location and people retired “choke points” wherever it’s apt to bump into a human, partition oregon pet.

This means the robot volition larn wherever household members congregate and however they determination around, and volition beryllium scanning those areas with its cameras to look retired for dangers. It’ll besides larn to interact with you and volition store ocular ID accusation to admit you.

For immoderate people, this volition beryllium excessively overmuch idiosyncratic information to person stored connected an Amazon instrumentality – and if it turns retired that Astro works arsenic poorly arsenic these leaks suggest, for galore radical the risks would outweigh the rewards.

For its part, Amazon has explained that Astro includes aggregate features to amended privacy. By defining out-of-bounds zones you tin fto the robot cognize which areas of your location are disconnected limits, and you tin usage Do Not Disturb features to archer Astro you request immoderate unsocial time.

On apical of that, overmuch similar Echo devices, Astro’s microphone and camera person an disconnected button. When this is pressed Astro’s microphones, bezel, periscope cameras, and extent sensors are disconnected, meaning they can’t seizure video oregon audio, nor determination astir your home.

Any information that is collected is stored securely, and immoderate information that is sent to Amazon’s servers is encrypted successful transit. You tin find much details astir Amazon Astro’s privateness connected the authoritative Amazon webpage.

source: https://www.techradar.com/news/amazon-astro-robot-could-be-a-dangerous-smart-home-device-says-leak

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