Ring, known for its doorbell cameras, launches a home security drone and an enterprise security robot

Ring, the Amazon-owned home security company, is launching its own robotics division, with an eye toward automating security at both the home and the office. The company announced Ring Robotics on Tuesday, debuting two new devices that are sure to stir more than a little bit of controversy.

The first new device is a home security drone that users will be able to deploy to patrol their domiciles when they’re out. The other item that the company is launching is a roving enterprise security robot, designed for businesses. First, the drone. Ring calls the device a “flying indoor security camera” — which should give you a pretty good idea of what it’s supposed to do and how it’s supposed to work. Ring Drone Cam is designed to fly from room to room, inspecting what is happening in a user’s house and, if there’s trouble, to alert them. It has been built to integrate with Ring’s other home security devices, so, for instance, if a Ring alarm goes off in a particular part of the home (say, the back door), the bot will supposedly fly to that location and investigate. When it’s not in use, the drone stays inactive in a docking bay. The drone shoots video in 2K and it also comes equipped with LED lights so that it can keep watch at night and record video in low light. It can be controlled via Amazon’s Alexa Home Map, and the bot can also be scheduled to patrol the house at specific times — so, if you know you’re going to be out for the night or even on vacation, the drone can keep you apprised of what’s happening while you’re away. Now let’s turn to Ring Rover Cam. Like the drone, this roving robot can be set to patrol specific routes, at specific times, within the user’s business. The robot streams video in continuous 4K, which is viewable via Ring’s mobile app, and a trigger can be set to automatically record if it detects a human. It also comes with a periscope camera, which can be adjusted to see over specific obstacles, and it includes two-way audio — meaning that, should the remote user need to communicate with a person at the store (be that an employee or a burglar), they can speak to them through the robot. Ring says that both devices are powered by the same proprietary AI system, known as AI Pilot. The company says this system leverages “specialized vision models, sensors, and cloud processing to see, think, and navigate autonomously.” Both devices, using this software, are designed to develop a detailed schematic of your house or office purely by exploring the space for themselves, the company says.