Amazon’s focus on drones is no secret. The launch of Ring Robotics, the mobility-based arm of its home camera lineup, will put two different types in homes. Whether you’re okay with a flying or rolling drone puttering around your inner sanctum will be up to you—and American regulators. These have yet to give the Drone Cam approval for sale.
These critters stand alongside the brand’s doorbell surveillance tech, with the bonus that they can move around. The Drone Cam can fly to sections of the home where disturbances take place. The Rover Cam does the same thing from floor level, and is intended for businesses rather than homeowners.
Ring me up
Both devices, the first to launch from Ring Robotics, use Amazon’s AI Pilot software. The setup “uses the devices’ cameras, specialized vision models, on-device sensors, and cloud processing to see, think, and navigate autonomously.” In function, they’re not much different from a robot vacuum cleaner. The Rover will explore on its own, while the Drone can be carried around a space to map it out.
Once done, they’ll suggest places for patrol and greater scrutiny. Users can also make their own choices, obviously. This is good, because robots shouldn’t ever tell you what to do.
The Drone Cam lives in a charging dock, departing on patrols to film your home in 2K. It features a 148° field of view and, being a drone, can film the space around it completely. The Rover Cam performs many of the same functions, just over a larger area. Its camera unit can also be extended vertically, allowing it to see over tables and other obstacles. The Rover’s chassis features a light and siren for terrifying uninvited after-hours visitors. Otherwise, if the standard wall-mounted Ring device has a feature, it’s also included here. Except, maybe, solar panels. These things live indoors.
Amazon is punting the privacy of these roving cameras, saying that you’ll always know when they’re recording. They’ll also use the company’s new TAKE (Throw Away the Key Encryption), which might distract you from recent missteps… like Ring’s now-dead Flock camera partnership.
Americans will get the R16,600 ($1,000) Rover Cam first, in December this year. The R4,200 ($250) Drone Cam is expected at the end of January 2027. International launches have not been announced.
