Amazon’s $1,450 Home Robot Never Really Took Off. Now it Wants to Build Another One.

Amazon is taking another shot at putting robots inside American homes even though its first attempt reached only a few thousand customers and left some questioning whether their devices have much of a future.

The company has assembled a new team to develop what its job listings describe as a "new-to-world robot product," CNBC reported Sunday after reviewing recruitment postings and employee profiles.

One engineering listing, which has since been removed, described a robot capable of navigating changing home environments and operating independently alongside family members. Another sought employees to help create robots that are useful and enjoyable to interact with.

Amazon has not disclosed what the machine will look like, what household tasks it might perform or when customers could buy one.

The effort follows the limited rollout of Astro, the Alexa-powered home robot introduced in September 2021. The wheeled device could recognize faces, move between rooms, carry small items in a storage compartment and patrol a house while its owners were away.

Astro carried a regular price of $1,449.99, although Amazon initially offered it for $999.99 through an invitation-only program.

Five years later, it has never become a mainstream household gadget. CNBC reported that Amazon shipped Astro to only a few thousand customers, with some owners now concerned about its long-term future.

The company also launched a business-oriented version in 2023, designed for security monitoring in commercial spaces, but discontinued it less than a year later. Amazon says it continues to support customers who own the original household model.

That hasn't stopped Amazon from pursuing founder Jeff Bezos' ambition of building robots for everyday life.

In March, Amazon acquired New York-based Fauna Robotics, a startup developing smaller humanoid robots designed to interact with people rather than work behind safety barriers in factories.

Its first product, Sprout, stands just 3.5 feet tall and has a soft exterior, movable eyebrows and a pair of arms with grippers. The $50,000 robot can walk, sit, crawl, dance and pick up small objects, although it is currently aimed at developers and researchers rather than ordinary consumers.

Fauna's January product announcement identified Disney, Boston Dynamics and researchers at New York University among its early customers. The robot's software also allows developers to experiment with different AI models and applications.

When Fauna announced its acquisition on March 24, it said it would continue selling Sprout's Creator Edition and supporting existing customers.

The startup is now part of Amazon's Personal Robotics Group, which includes employees previously involved in developing Kindle, Echo and other consumer devices at its Lab126 research division.

Amazon is also recruiting specialists to design how people interact with robots and how the machines respond to problems in customers' homes. An October posting sought a field support engineer to handle troubleshooting and repairs, while another position focused on creating a robot that people would feel comfortable living alongside, CNBC found.

Amazon already operates more than one million robots across its warehouses, where machines move inventory, sort packages and assist workers. But living rooms introduce obstacles that fulfillment centers do not have to contend with.

The technology has changed considerably since Astro's introduction. Improvements in AI models, sensors, batteries and mechanical components have encouraged companies to pursue robots capable of performing more complicated tasks.