It Hasn't Been Launched In A Year, Amazon Stops Astro Robot Production

Amazon for Business robot (photo: Amazon Astro Instagram)

JAKARTA Amazon, an American technology company, has stopped production of the Astro for Business robot. Not only its production, the robot's performance will be forced discontinued on September 25. With this decision made, the 20-pound robot will stop functioning forever. For customers who have purchased the wheeled robot, Amazon will provide a full refund of 2,349.99 US dollars (Rp38 million). Amazon will also provide additional funds of US$300 (Rp4.9 million). The company did not mention how many robotic units have been sold to date. Therefore, the loss from the halt to this robot is unpredictable. Lindo St. Angel, Amazon's Deputy President of Hardware Engineering, said that their security robots were forcibly stopped because they would focus on Astro for Home, a type robot that was designed for home.

"To accelerate our continued progress and research to make Astro the best home robot, we have decided to stop supporting Astro for Business," Angel said, quoted by The Verge. Customers who previously used Astro for Business will get an invitation to try Astro for Home. Angel did not say when Astro for Home will be launched, but it looks like it is still under development. "There is still a lot of work to be done, but I am happy with this change and where this change will take us to the next stage on our journey," Angel said.