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I also know someone at Amazon who “dogfooded” one! I saw one, single, semi-valid use case, which is that it was a decent way to intermittently check up on your
by avree 2y ago
I also know someone at Amazon who “dogfooded” one! I saw one, single, semi-valid use case, which is that it was a decent way to intermittently check up on your pets without setting up multiple cameras… but obviously not worth it at nearly $3,000 with tax.
- banish-m4 2y agoThat's such a convoluted niche within niche that could be filled with fewer than say 10 fixed webcams at $149 each for half the price at most.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- Marsymars 2y agoAs long as your house doesn't have any stairs!
- defrost 2y agoAs long as your house doesn't have only stairs! Minor nitpick, I've just come back from a multilevel house with stairs and ways to roll to|from any room; wide doorways, ramps, spiral outside groundwork, screw-drive elevator.
- TaylorAlexander 2y agoSounds like a very uncommon house.
- defrost 2y agoHome build by an engineer | farmer - most houses hereabouts are single level, this one is cut into a sloping block and the design is as much about wheeling a fridge anyway as it is wheelchairs - the outside steel shed is fully drive through on the level .. and then there's a drop to a lesser driveway so that stuff can be rolled directly onto a trayback (loading bay). It's well thought out and practical, the own builder did the shed first and lived on site for two years with earth moving gear (owner | contractor) digging out big rocks, placing them, recessing walls into hillside, building out steel frame, etc.
- asdff 2y agoThis place would be worthy of its own HN post
- throwaway173738 2y agoI guess you’re protected.
- Izkata 2y agoEspecially since some robot vacuums have had webcams and remote controls for a while now. Even speakers/mics for two way communication.
- CydeWeys 2y agoMultiple cameras is cheaper and way more foolproof as it doesn't involve any moving parts. This robot had all sorts of problems. You know how often a Roomba gets stuck? Now imagine it's much taller with more pieces sticking off it. The only tasks that come to mind that involve a moving robot are tasks that require moving around to perform the task. A Roomba is the obvious and most well-known example, but there are also now robotic lawnmowers that make sense for the same reason (and I even use the city of Halifax using them earlier this year to maintain public grounds!). Another use case I can think of that physically requires moving around would be watering plants. That would require a more advanced and larger robot, so it's not there yet, but imagine a Roomba-type base station but with a water hook-up, and a robot with a water tank and an extendable hose-arm. For how many house plants I have, how much work it is to water them regularly, and how much better the robot could do the job if it watered plants daily (but only exactly the amount it needed by using a moisture probe), this is definitely something I would consider. The problem of course is that all of these actually useful robots are purpose-specific; none are general. A Roomba is not a lawnmower is not a plant waterer. The Amazon device tried to be a general purpose robot, but because it doesn't have vacuums or grass cutters or a water hose or anything used to actually accomplish a specific task, it's good for nothing. I can walk aimlessly around my apartment too, but I don't need a robot for that!