Amazon today introduced a new robot with the Amazon Echo Show's face, Panera Bread delivery bot sensor-laden body, and cupholders to hold a trunk. People clamored for a reason it existed beyond a mobile camera and potentially intrusive surveillance drone.
However, a pair if cupholders is not enough to make a robotwaiter.
Although the Astro is capable of a lot more than home surveillance, it's not going to be able to fetch you much. It reportedly stinks. Vice was told by a source that Astro is a terrible robot and would almost certainly fall down stairs if given the chance. Vice was told by another source that Astro is a disaster and will almost certainly fall down a flight of stairs if given the opportunity.
The robot doesn't have arms, which is the real problem
It is also not clear how well it can see things. Both Snapchat and Google have invested heavily in creating a way that computers can interpret the real world, without using bar codes or other guideposts. Amazon has not. Amazon is not the maker of Rekognition. However, its Ring ecosystem has only been able to recognize packages... today. Astro would take how long to recognize a beer. What happens if the beer recognition technology fails to recognize a beer? Instead, you could opt for a refreshing bottle ranch dressing.
The robot's biggest problem is not its reports of being a suck, or its inability to distinguish between different contents. The robot doesn't have arms.
It can't open a refrigerator, freezer or Yeti cooler. It cannot even open doors. It can't reach into a full fridge to pull out a cold one. People may assume that it has Doc Ock arms hidden behind its head or hope those cupholders will rise from the robot to open the fridge by suction. They've seen the cupholders, and they assume there is a way to get items into them.
However, it is not. It doesn't appear that there are any plans to make it a pair or single appendage. However, the cupholders do have a USB port in their payload. An arm could theoretically be built. The arm could replace cupholders.
However, this arm is not yet available. The Astro won't fetch you any type of beverage unless you shout at your housemates to put a beer in their bot.
