Ring's New Drone Flies Room to Room to Guard Your Home — and Its Robot Patrols Your Business

Amazon's Ring is moving beyond the doorbell. The home security company has launched Ring Robotics, a new robotics business, with two autonomous security devices: a flying indoor camera for homes and a roving patrol robot for businesses.

The two products, the Ring Drone Cam and the Ring Rover Cam, were announced on Tuesday, November 10. They are the first devices under the Ring Robotics name, which the company describes as "a new category of autonomous, mobile security."

Both devices are powered by the same proprietary system, called AI Pilot. According to Ring, the system combines cameras, vision models, on-device sensors and cloud processing to map a space, identify patrol points and navigate around obstacles. The devices build a detailed map of a home or office by exploring it themselves, and they can then patrol on a schedule, on demand, or in response to an alarm.

The drone that flies to check on your home

The Ring Drone Cam is a flying indoor security camera designed to patrol a home when the owner is away. It flies from room to room along routes the owner sets, and it can also fly to investigate when another Ring device is triggered — for example, if a Ring alarm goes off at the back door.

The drone weighs 165 grams and carries a 2K camera with LED lights so it can record in low light, a 1080p camera underneath and a downward-facing light. Its battery supports about eight to ten minutes of flight. When it is not in use, the drone stays inactive in a docking bay with its camera off.

It can be controlled through Amazon's Alexa Home Map, and owners can schedule it to patrol at set times, such as while they are out for the night or on holiday. The drone will ship in the United States on January 27, 2027, priced at $249.99. Ring is only taking email sign-ups for now, because the device has not yet received the authorisation it needs from the Federal Communications Commission and cannot be offered for sale until that is granted.

The robot that patrols businesses

The Ring Rover Cam is a purpose-built security robot for commercial spaces. It patrols autonomously on a schedule or when needed, streams video in continuous 4K through Ring's mobile app, and can be set to record automatically if it detects a person. It has a periscope camera that can be adjusted to see over counters and shelving, and two-way audio so a remote user can speak to someone in the store — whether that is an employee or an intruder.

The Rover is available to pre-order in the United States and will ship on December 16, 2026, priced at $999.99. Scheduled flights and patrols, and reviewing the Rover's recorded video, require a Ring Protect subscription plan.

The Rover will look familiar to anyone who followed Amazon's earlier robot. It draws on feedback from customers of Amazon Astro, the home robot announced in 2021 as a domestic helper and later repositioned as a business security guard. Astro never took off, and Amazon discontinued it in 2024, about seven months into its second life as a small-business security device.

A second attempt at a flying camera

The drone is also a second attempt. Ring unveiled a flying indoor camera called the Always Home Cam in 2020, also priced at $249.99, but it never reached the general public. Ring founder Jamie Siminoff said the company has been working on a drone concept since 2016, two years before Amazon acquired Ring, and that earlier versions were shelved because they were not good enough. Siminoff now believes the Drone Cam is ready, and says customers have long asked for security coverage in areas that fixed cameras cannot reach, or where they do not want a camera permanently installed.

Privacy questions remain

Privacy concerns have long followed Ring, with critics arguing that its cameras have created unofficial surveillance networks that police departments can tap into. Similar questions are likely to follow the new devices, given that both can move through a home or business and record what they see.

Ring says both devices were built with "privacy and security" in mind. Videos recorded by the devices are protected by TAKE — Throw Away the Key Encryption — which the company calls its strongest default encryption yet. It is not yet clear whether there will be an option to store video locally; Ring cameras generally record to the cloud.

For now, the launch is a bet that security can move. "Together, it's like having a guard on patrol who never clocks out," Ring said of the two devices. "Ring Rover can do a sweep of the floor after close and investigate when a sensor trips at 2 a.m. — streaming it all to your phone, wherever you are."

Sources

• Reuters — Amazon's Ring launches flying camera, autonomous security robot
• TechCrunch — Ring, known for its doorbell cameras, launches a home security drone and an enterprise security robot
• About Amazon — Ring announces Ring Robotics, ushering in a new era of security