Ring Robotics Takes Flight: A $250 Indoor Drone and a Patrol Robot Reborn From Astro
Key points
- Ring launched a new Ring Robotics line with the $249.99 Ring Drone Cam, an indoor flying camera shipping Jan. 27, 2027 pending FCC certification, and the $999.99 Ring Rover Cam, shipping Dec. 16, 2026 1 2.
- The roughly 165-gram drone flies five to eight minutes per charge and needs about eight minutes of charging per minute of flight, so it suits quick check-ins rather than constant monitoring 2 7.
- Both devices run on AI Pilot, a cloud-based navigation system. It let Ring shrink the drone, but it also means the drone can do little more than land if Wi-Fi drops 4 14.
- The Rover Cam repurposes Amazon's discontinued Astro hardware for businesses, and privacy questions around Ring, including video encryption via TAKE and its history with police, are following both products 4 11.
Two Robots, One New Brand
Ring, the Amazon-owned home security company, has introduced Ring Robotics, a new category it describes as autonomous, mobile security that patrols, investigates and responds rather than simply watching one spot 14. It launches with two products. The Ring Drone Cam is a flying indoor camera priced at $249.99, and the Ring Rover Cam is a wheeled security robot for businesses priced at $999.99 7.
The Rover Cam ships first, on Dec. 16, 2026, and is open for preorder. The Drone Cam follows on Jan. 27, 2027, and was not yet available for preorder at launch 8 9. Both are sold in the US only, and both work with the cameras, doorbells, sensors and alarms Ring customers already own 14. Ring founder Jamie Siminoff argues that people like indoor cameras but do not want them in every room, so one mobile device can cover several areas 1.
How the Drone and Rover Work
The Drone Cam is a small quadcopter, about 165 grams, with a 2K camera, a 148-degree field of view and the ability to rotate 360 degrees. It has LED lights for dark rooms, and it can fly stairs, run scheduled patrols or go out on demand 2 7. It also launches automatically when a Ring sensor or alarm trips, flying a preset route to the spot in question. Users cannot pilot it by hand 4 10. Its propellers are caged, and it records only while flying, with its camera covered when docked 6 14.
The Rover Cam inherits Astro’s two-wheeled body and periscope camera, now upgraded to 4K and extendable to roughly four feet. It adds a siren, two-way audio and a light tower that projects a ring onto the ceiling so staff can find it in a warehouse 5 10. It patrols for about 30 minutes, covers up to 5,000 square feet on a single floor, and keeps watching for people even when docked 5 7. Siminoff says it is aimed at small and medium businesses 11.
Everything is steered by AI Pilot. Customers carry the drone through the home, or let the Rover explore, and the system builds a floor plan, suggests patrol points such as a side door or corridor, and routes around obstacles 14 8. Both devices tie into Amazon’s Alexa Home Map, where users can tap a spot to send a robot there 7.
Why It Took a Decade
Siminoff says the idea dates to 2016, before Amazon bought Ring in 2018. The Always Home Cam was announced in 2020, and an invitation-only release never reached public sale 9 4. In 2025 the company pulled another attempt at the last minute 11.
He described a vicious cycle. Fixing edge cases meant more sensors and processing, which demanded more power and battery, which added weight, which forced faster rotors and bigger shrouds, which hurt flight performance 11. Doing it all on board would have pushed the price past $5,000, according to Engadget’s account 7. About a year ago the team started over and moved nearly all the intelligence into the cloud, leaving the drone with only basic skills such as landing and connecting to Wi-Fi 6 13.
The compromise is dependence. Without an internet connection the drone lands where it is, a notable weak point for a security product 2 6. Reviewers also stress the limits of the hardware. Flights are short and charging is long, so it is better for periodic sweeps than continuous coverage 10. The drone’s loud buzz is called a feature by Ring because it cannot sneak up on anyone, though some reporters suspect it is simply a byproduct of the engineering 6 12.
Privacy, Regulation and Trust
Ring says privacy is the default. Both devices show an LED when recording, and video is protected by TAKE, or Throw Away the Key Encryption, which rotates keys every few minutes 2 14. Wired notes that Ring briefly holds the key to run cloud AI features, which makes TAKE less absolute than true end-to-end encryption 4. It is also unclear whether local storage will be offered, and certain features require a Ring Protect plan 3 15.
The company’s record shapes how all of this lands. Ring has faced scrutiny over police partnerships, canceled an integration with Flock Safety, drew fire over a Super Bowl ad for its Search Party feature, and is facing a class-action suit over facial recognition 1 11 13. A privacy advocate at the Electronic Frontier Foundation told Wired that buyers should think about how a roaming camera makes others in the home feel 4. Siminoff, asked by Mashable, said Ring has earned customer trust 11.
On regulation, the drone is indoor-only and software keeps it from flying outside, which avoids FAA line-of-sight rules 1. Ring says it is still obtaining FCC certification, but that the drone complies with rules on foreign-made drones and is assembled in the US 2 4.
Astro's Second Act and the Road Ahead
The Rover Cam is the latest attempt to make Astro work. Amazon sold it as a business product at about $2,350 before discontinuing it, and Wired notes that buyers still face the risk of Amazon pulling the plug again 4 5. Ring says it kept the best of Astro, dropped the cute face and built a single-purpose security robot 14.
The launch comes as Amazon pushes deeper into the smart home against Apple and Google, with Apple reportedly working on a home robot of its own 1 13. Siminoff says he has no interest in toys 13. Whether households and small businesses will accept a camera that moves through their space on its own, and trust the company behind it, is the open question 15. Reviewers who have only seen short demos plan to test the claims once units arrive 9.
Companies mentioned: Amazon (AMZN $269.16 ▲0.8%) • Apple (AAPL $348.01 ▼0.8%) • Google (GOOGL $286.16 ▼0.7%)
Primary sources
Amazon's Ring unveils flying drone and robot to patrol homes and businesses (cnbc.com) – CNBC's report covers the $250 Ring Drone Cam and the $1,000 Ring Rover Cam. It gives the drone's textbook-sized body, eight-minute flights, LED deterrent lights and a built-in indicator when recording, plus Siminoff's remarks that it cannot fly outdoors under FAA rules. It also covers the Rover's Astro-derived design, Ring's privacy history, the Flock Safety cancellation, and the shipping dates. CNBC.
Further sources
Hands-on with Ring’s new AI drone camera for your home (theverge.com) – The Verge's hands-on describes the drone as the successor to the Always Home Cam, with 2K video, a 148-degree view and 165-gram weight. It covers the five-to-eight-minute flight time, the 8:1 charging ratio, the cloud-based AI Pilot and its Wi-Fi dependence, TAKE encryption, and FCC certification still in progress. The reviewer saw only a one-minute demo. The Verge.
Ring, known for its doorbell cameras, launches a home security drone and an enterprise security robot (techcrunch.com) – TechCrunch frames the launch as a new robotics division and covers both devices, 2K drone video, 4K Rover video, AI Pilot, TAKE encryption and the failed Astro for Business. It notes that local storage is unclear. Its drone price of $270 conflicts with other outlets' $249.99, so that figure is not used. TechCrunch.
Ring’s Indoor Drone Camera Is Back—and Now Powered by AI (wired.com) – Wired details Siminoff's account of the drone's history, the move to the cloud, and the drone landing if connectivity drops. It covers TAKE's brief server-side key window, Texas assembly, FCC and FAA considerations, hackers and noise as a safeguard, an EFF privacy expert's comments, and the Rover Cam's Astro lineage and 5,000 square foot coverage. Wired.
Amazon turned its Alexa robot into a Ring security patrol bot (theverge.com) – The Verge's Rover Cam article describes the hardware carried over from Astro, the 4K periscope camera, siren and ceiling light tower, the screen now showing status messages, about 30 minutes of battery, single-floor coverage, the earlier Astro for Business and the $999.99 preorder. The Verge.
'Let's take all the intelligence out': How Ring finally built its home surveillance drone (techradar.com) – TechRadar interview with Siminoff on the drone's history and the decision to take the intelligence out and move it to the cloud. It covers the roughly 160-gram weight, front and base cameras, the home map as a digital twin, deliberate loudness, caged propellers, Wi-Fi dependence and the Rover's reboot of Astro. TechRadar.
Amazon finally launches the $250 Ring Drone Cam and also the Ring Rover Cam (engadget.com) – Engadget covers pricing, the drone's cameras and LEDs, flight and charging behavior, and the engineering spiral that pushed earlier versions past a $5,000 price. It also covers the Rover Cam's Astro origins, 4K camera, siren and light tower, always-on person motion detection, Alexa Home Map and Ring's privacy messaging. It quotes eight to 10 minutes of flight, which differs from other outlets. Engadget.
Ring’s wheeled and flying robots will patrol your home (9to5mac.com) – 9to5Mac's short report summarizes Ring's description of AI Pilot, including floor plan creation, suggested patrol points and route planning. It confirms the Rover's Dec. 16 shipping and preorder and the drone's late January shipping. 9to5Mac.
Ring’s Flying Home Security Drone Is Finally Here, and It’s Surprisingly Affordable (cnet.com) – CNET's first look covers the $250 price, the 5.8-ounce weight, two 2K cameras, up to eight minutes of flight, an hour of recharge, claimed coverage of homes up to 3,500 square feet and a demo covering two rooms. It notes the Always Home Cam's invitation-only release and that preorders were not yet open. CNET.
I Saw Ring's New $250 Home Security Drone in Action, and It's Not Vaporware (pcmag.com) – PCMag's hands-on says the drone is no vaporware, compares its size to DJI's Neo, and notes the lack of direct piloting, the loud whine and the eight-minute flight time. It also covers the Rover Cam's 10-inch screen, 4K periscope, ceiling light ring, 30-minute battery and price versus Astro. PCMag.
Ring is launching an indoor home security drone, new Rover Cam robot (mashable.com) – Mashable gives Siminoff's account of the design spiral and the 2025 scrapped model, features of the drone, and the Rover Cam aimed at small and medium businesses. It covers Ring's privacy history including an FTC settlement, a facial recognition class action and an EFF critique, plus Siminoff's response and Apple's entry. It contains an error listing the Rover's price and date as the drone's, which is not used. Mashable.
Ring’s new drone patrols your home to keep an eye on things – even upstairs (zdnet.com) – ZDNET describes the two products, AI Pilot's patrol points, the drone's dock-return behavior and constraints from short flight time, the loudness, and the Rover's 360-degree views, periscope camera and motion recording when docked. It contains a naming slip for Astro that is not used. ZDNET.
Ring’s flying security camera is finally coming, six years late, for $250 (thenextweb.com) – The Next Web, citing Bloomberg, covers the late January launch, the two scrapped earlier versions, the cloud-based fix, 165-gram weight and 8:1 charging, software that keeps the drone indoors, the rebranded Astro, the facial recognition lawsuit, Apple's reported robot and a Siminoff quote on avoiding toys. The Next Web.
Ring announces Ring Robotics, ushering in a new era of security (aboutamazon.com) – Amazon's official announcement defines Ring Robotics and both products, and explains AI Pilot mapping, patrol points and obstacle avoidance. It lists the Drone's and Rover's features, the Rover's origin in Astro customer feedback, and privacy defaults such as LED indicators, Sleep Mode and TAKE encryption. The text was cut off at the end. Amazon (aboutamazon.com).
Ring Launches a Flying Home Camera and a Patrol Robot for Businesses (gadgetreview.com) – Gadget Review summarizes the two products and flags caveats: attribution to Ring for navigation claims, no independent evidence of deterrence, subscription needs, uncertain FCC authorization, short flight window and open questions on cloud retention and access. It notes Astro's brief life as a business product. Gadget Review.
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