Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) subsidiary Ring has unveiled several new products, including a miniature security drone that patrols a user's home. Reception to the drone was lukewarm, with many media outlets voicing privacy concerns and identifying past incidents of privacy violations at Amazon.
The Ring Always Home Cam is an interest and unique product, to say the least. The "Always Home Cam" is, in actuality, a miniature drone with its own docking port that users can station anywhere in their home. Using a user-determined path-the drone cannot be manually controlled like most recreational drones-the drone, equipped with a camera, can patrol the home of a user if prompted, such as when a user's Ring system detects activity when a user is away.
The drone's patrol path is created by a user taking their smart device through their home, imitating the desired patrol path for the drone.
"The path is entirely determined by the customer ... you actually walk the device around your home and ... train it on that path and can set different waypoints for the camera to fly to," Ring's President told CNET in a phone call.
The drone is capable of obstacle avoidance; if it runs into an unexpected obstacle, the drone will return to its dock and notify the user through Ring's app.
Privacy concerns were rampant after Ring's announcement, with many media outlets expressing skepticism over the drone mainly on the grounds of privacy concerns. Given Ring's past privacy scandals, the tepid response was hardly surprising.
"If 2020 wasn't already dystopian enough for you, Amazon just announced an indoor flying drone camera," said Box CEO Aaron Levie in a tweet.
"It was my first reaction, too - and even now, when I look at a video of the drone floating out of its dock to roam an empty house, I still feel unsettled," The Verge's Dieter Bohn commented in an article.
Amazon has, of course, tried to assuage privacy concerns, even saying that phone cameras were more breachable than its products. Ring has also attempted to assuage concerns with the announcement of a coming encryption feature that will prevent outsiders from being able to view a user's video. The drone itself also appears to have been designed with privacy concerns in mind, with its camera being concealed into its dock when the drone is stationary.