Ring announces Rover Cam and Drone Cam home patrol robots

What Amazon announced

Amazon has announced the first two products from Ring Robotics: a wheeled Rover Cam and a flying Drone Cam. According to 9to5 Mac, both devices can respond to alarms or door and window sensor alerts, move to investigate, and send live video to the owner.

The Rover Cam is priced at $999.99 and begins shipping on 16 December, with preorders open now. The Drone Cam costs $249.99 and starts shipping in late January, with no preorder available yet.

How the robots navigate

Both devices run on AI Pilot, a system Amazon built that combines the cameras, on-device sensors, specialised vision models and cloud processing so the robots can see, think and navigate on their own.

Setup is designed to be simple. Owners carry the Drone Cam through the home or let the Rover Cam explore by itself, and the device builds a floor plan from what it sees. It identifies rooms and suggests patrol points, such as a side door, windows, a register or a long corridor. Owners can add their own points too.

Responding to alerts

When starting a patrol or flight, AI Pilot plans the most efficient route to a preset point using its map. The robots then react in real time, steering around furniture, shelving and other obstacles.

The devices can patrol on a fixed schedule or be activated manually, but they also respond automatically. When a Ring camera, sensor or alarm is triggered, either robot moves to previously set patrol points to investigate. Ring Rover also offers continuous person motion detection, alerting the owner and recording when it spots movement, even while docked.

Why it matters

Many households rely on several fixed cameras to watch different rooms. A robot that travels to the source of an alert could cover a whole home with fewer devices.

Amazon describes the Rover Cam and Drone Cam as the first two Ring Robotics products, with more likely to follow. As with any home security camera, buyers may want to consider privacy implications before placing a moving camera in their living space.