Business Insider has obtained information indicating that Amazon is working on developing an artificial intelligence that could make robots in smart homes a bit more useful.
Amazon’s new robot project is called “Burnham” and utilizes generative AI, the type of AI used, for example, in ChatGPT, to enhance the functionality of the robots. Robots with Burnham would be able to understand what they see in front of them and initiate conversations with humans, waiting for possible commands based on that.
For example, the robot could detect if someone has forgotten to turn off a stove burner or shut off the tap in the sink, and then notify its owner. Another example mentioned is that the robot could detect broken glass on the floor and prioritize sweeping it up before notifying its owner of the accident.
However, it seems that Burnham won’t appear in Amazon robots anytime soon. According to the documents obtained by Business Insider, Amazon states that there is still a long way to go before Burnham can be integrated into actual products. Until then, people will probably have to settle for Amazon’s smart home robot Astro, which was introduced in 2021. It costs $1,600 and has received mixed reviews as it is considered to have limited capabilities in the smart home.
