Amazon-owned Ring has just announced a pair of new and fairly ambitious robotic security products under its new Ring Robotics lineup. On the mass-market side, there’s the Ring Drone Cam, which is essentially an indoor flying drone with a built-in camera. On the other hand, there’s the Ring Rover Cam, which is targeted at businesses for routine surveillance.
Starting with the Ring Drone Cam, it costs $249.99 and is slated to ship in the US on January 27 next year. The camera on board offers a 148-degree field of view and can rotate a full 360 degrees to capture video at up to 2K resolution. When the drone is docked, Amazon assures that the camera is turned off.
Interestingly, the drone can work either autonomously or at the user’s command. Just like a robot vacuum, it maps your home, suggests patrol points, and can then follow scheduled patrols. Users can also fly it whenever they want, in case they want a quick look around the house without installing a camera in every nook and cranny.
The drone also works in tandem with other Ring devices, such as a Ring camera, sensor, or alarm. As soon as one of them detects an event, the drone automatically launches and flies to the activity zone to capture footage. There are also two bright LED lights on board, which switch on automatically to help it capture footage in low-light environments. Amazon also notes that the drone’s propellers are loud by design. It’s an intentional decision meant to act as a deterrent, so that anyone in the house knows the Ring Drone Cam is in action.
Coming to the Ring Rover Cam, it is targeted at businesses and their premises. At a single tap, it can go check out any room or patrol point and perform a 360-degree scan on arrival, offering comprehensive security coverage. Users can also set scheduled patrols and connect it to other Ring devices in its vicinity, so that it responds to activity detected by their sensors.
It also has a periscope camera on an adjustable mast, so it can look over counters and shelves. When it’s put into Sleep Mode, the periscope retracts, and the microphone turns off. For deterrence, Amazon has built a siren and a light tower into the rover, along with two-way audio. There’s also a screen that shows the activity status when it’s recording.
Interestingly, the Ring Rover can record and stream video at a higher 4K resolution while on the move, and its person-motion detection keeps working even when it’s docked, acting as an extra security guardrail. The Ring Rover Cam costs $999.99, preorders are open now, and it starts shipping on December 16 in the US.
“For years, customers told us they wanted eyes in the places a fixed camera couldn’t reach, and peace of mind in the spots they’d never want one,” notes Ring founder Jamie Siminoff. “The honest answer wasn’t more cameras; it meant reimagining what a security device could be. That kind of invention is hard, and it takes time. But we kept at it until we got it right—and that’s Ring Robotics.”