Amazon’s secret robot is coming…

Amazon is gearing up to launch its next big technology product – code name: Vesta. Vesta is a robot that Amazon has developed in secrecy for nearly four years now. It’s the tech giant’s next smart home product.  You’ve seen my video on the Amazon Fulfillment Center Robots ( March 31, 2021), you knew that that technology would make it to your home.  Thus you know that a home robot will not be a big jump for Amazon. 

You should also keep in mind that Amazon has had remarkable success with its product launches. The Echo, the Kindle, and the Fire TV/tablets have each seen strong consumer adoption. And get this – Amazon put more than 800 employees to work on Vesta. We don’t have an official timeline on the robot’s launch yet. But we do know that it is in the late prototype stage.  

Amazon has kept the details of its new home robot under wraps. But we do know that the robot is expected to be about a foot wide. It will also be equipped with a screen, a microphone that allows it to respond to voice commands, and several cameras for recording video that allow it to “see” its way around. The robot will also be able to navigate autonomously in the home and take readings for things like room temperature.

 What we are talking about here is the next generation of home robotics. Up to this point, mainstream home robots have just vacuumed the floor. Vesta will change that.  Equipped with Amazon’s artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled assistant Alexa, Vesta will be able to fetch a glass of water for anyone in the house. It will help us find a lost item such as misplaced car keys. A parent can even ask Vesta to go chase down the kids and tell them it’s time for dinner.

What’s more, Vesta will be integrated with other Amazon devices such as the Echo home speaker and Ring security devices. This will extend Amazon’s services throughout the home, helping to make Amazon an even more important feature in our everyday lives. 

Given that Amazon defined the smartphone speaker market with its Amazon Echo – it still has about 70% market share – I see Vesta as a natural extension of its AI-powered smart home.  When thinking of home robotics, iRobot is the big player in the space. iRobot makes the popular Roomba robotic vacuums. Well, iRobot has done over $1 billion in sales for the last three years now. And all a Roomba does is vacuum the floor. 

 So I think Vesta will quickly become a multibillion-dollar business for Amazon. And I’d be willing to bet that Amazon will price Vesta at about half of what it costs to purchase an iRobot. This will position it well for more of a mass market product. I’m excited to try this product out myself.