The photograph suggests an unreleased security camera with Amazon branding. The lens appears to be circled by a blue ring light, which gives the camera a similar styling as the popular virtual home assistant. The front of the camera also appears to have LEDs for night vision, though the stand-style design suggests indoor use.
Amazon hasn’t confirmed any sort of development of an Alexa camera, so the photo is just that — a leak of a device that may or may not ever make it to the market. But, with the popularity of the Echo, it wouldn’t be too surprising to learn that Amazon was working on additional accessories to give the assistant more capabilities than what is possible with some new software.
Of course, the only thing connecting the leaked photo with Alexa is a similar design, which means it could just be a regular home security camera.
While the photo shouldn’t be taken as anything more than a rumor, adding eyes could give virtual assistants a big boost. The Amazon Echo is praised for its ability to constantly evolve and a new accessory like a connected security camera could certainly take that up a notch.
The Mylestone skill has already proven that object and scene recognition software can give Alexa the ability to understand what’s going on in a photograph — interpreting what is happening through a live security camera feed wouldn’t be too much of a stretch. Imagine being able to connect Alexa to a video baby monitor, or to ask Alexa if the doorbell is your Amazon package or the pizza delivery guy.
For now, the possibility of giving Alexa eyes is just a rumor but it’s one many Echo users likely wouldn’t mind seeing.
