Ring Drone Cam and Rover Cam: Amazon's Robotic Security Push

Like a robot vacuum, the drone maps the home, suggests patrol points and then follows scheduled routes. Owners can also fly it manually for a quick look around, without putting a camera in every room.

It also works with other Ring cameras, sensors and alarms. When one of them detects an event, the drone launches on its own and flies to the activity zone to record. Two bright LED lights switch on automatically in low light. The propellers are loud by design, Amazon says, so anyone at home knows the drone is active and potential intruders are deterred.

Ring Rover Cam: a patrol robot for business

The Ring Rover Cam is aimed at business premises. With one tap it can go to any room or patrol point and perform a 360-degree scan on arrival. It supports scheduled patrols and can respond to activity detected by nearby Ring devices.

A periscope camera on an adjustable mast lets it see over counters and shelves. In Sleep Mode the periscope retracts and the microphone turns off. For deterrence it carries a siren, a light tower and two-way audio, plus a screen showing its activity status while recording.

The Rover records and streams at 4K while moving, and its person-motion detection keeps working while docked. It costs $999.99, preorders are open now and shipping starts December 16 in the US.

Ring founder Jamie Siminoff said customers had long asked for eyes where a fixed camera cannot reach, and that the answer was not more cameras but rethinking what a security device could be.