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Amazon.com Inc announced on Thursday a drone to record security video inside homes and auto products to alert vehicle owners to attempted theft.
The news reflects Amazon’s growing security business since the acquisition of smart doorbell maker Ring in 2018, an effort that attracted scrutiny from civil liberties advocates. It also represents Amazon’s latest push into shoppers’ homes, which evolved from package delivery years ago to devices that allow consumers to turn off lights or stream media using voice commands.
Amazon’s indoor drone, the Ring Always Home Cam available next year, aims to capture video where customers might not otherwise have static cameras. You can show users a video where an alarm has been triggered, said Amazon Vice President Daniel Rausch.
“It is very comforting to be able to see inside your house,” he said in an interview. The device only records while flying, Ring said.
The company also announced a car device that sounds an alarm when a theft or hit is detected. It featured a vehicle security camera and Ring Car Connect software that works with other vehicle cameras for video playback and alerts. Tesla Inc is the first automaker whose models are supported.
Ring devices have come under fire from civil liberties advocates such as the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which has said the company should end partnerships with law enforcement.
“Amazon and other companies offer a high-speed digital mechanism by which people can make swift judgments about who belongs and who does not belong to their neighborhood and summon the police to confront them,” EFF staff wrote in a blog post. in June.
Ring president Leila Rouhi said in an interview that the company will never proactively share videos with law enforcement; users control what to share. Ring’s goal is to provide peace of mind, she said.
(Also read: Amazon may soon replace delivery vans with drones in the US.)
Amazon also announced a cloud-based gaming service called Luna, Echo spherical speakers, and features for its Alexa voice assistant, like the ability to delete all previous recordings. Multiple subscriptions help Amazon monetize products.
The new devices arrive as Amazon is working to maintain its share of the US smart speaker market against rivals Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc.’s Google.
Shares of Amazon closed up 0.7%.
This story has been published from a news agency feed with no changes to the text. Only the title has been changed.
