TL;DR
Ring says customers will not be able to manually pilot its planned Drone Cam; the product is designed to follow preset routes using its AI Pilot system. A CBS News demonstration captured two crashes during manual-control testing, and Ring has not said whether that incident influenced the product decision.
Ring says its planned Drone Cam will not offer customers manual flight controls, confirming that the home security drone will use its AI Pilot system to fly preset patrol routes instead. The clarification follows a CBS News demonstration in which an early version crashed twice while Ring founder Jamie Siminoff showed reporter Jo Ling Kent how manual app controls worked.
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In the CBS Mornings video, Kent asks Siminoff whether she can control the drone. He replies, “Yeah, so we can load manual controls,” as the demonstration shows controls integrated into a mobile app. The drone then crashes twice during manual piloting. CBS News captured the second incident, in which the drone hit a wall after it did not respond to the controls.
Siminoff attributed the second crash to a loss of internet connectivity. “If it loses connectivity, it’s supposed to stop and land,” he said in the video. “It did not there.” Ring had earlier told CBS News that collision-avoidance technology malfunctioned during the first crash, and declined to share the drone’s recording from before that incident.
Ring did not demonstrate manual piloting in its own presentation to The Verge and said the product works on preset flight paths. Spokesperson Sam McGee said the company explored multiple features during development but chose autonomous patrols. Ring did not answer The Verge’s question about whether it made that decision after the CBS demonstration.
Ring’s Drone Cam will fly without manual controls
The planned home security drone will patrol preset routes using AI Pilot. A CBS News demonstration showed an early model crash twice during manual-control testing.
What customers can expect
Ring says the product is designed for autonomous patrols.
- No manual flight controls
- Preset patrol routes
- Autonomous navigation
- Patrols designated points
What happened in the demo
CBS News captured two crashes while an early version was being piloted manually.
Ring told CBS News that collision-avoidance technology malfunctioned.
The drone hit a wall after it did not respond to controls; Siminoff attributed this to lost internet connectivity.
Questions still open
The demonstration raises concerns, but does not establish how the retail version will perform.
- Ring has not said whether the crashes influenced its decision.
- The cause of the second crash and the final product’s safeguards remain unclear.
- The report gives a planned January launch, but no year or exact date.
A Security Drone Without Pilot Controls
The choice defines how customers will be able to use a device intended to patrol inside a home. Without manual controls, users will not be able to steer the drone themselves; its operation will depend on Ring’s preset routes and autonomous navigation. That may simplify the intended experience, but it also means customers must rely on the system to move through rooms and respond appropriately when conditions change.
The demonstration also puts attention on the drone’s stated response to connectivity loss. Siminoff said the craft is supposed to stop and land when its internet connection drops, but the CBS footage showed it failed to do so during the second crash. The video does not establish why the drone behaved that way, or whether the failure is representative of the final product. Still, reliability during a connection interruption is directly relevant to a device expected to fly indoors around people and household objects.
Ring’s decision not to offer manual flight means customers would not have that option as a fallback if autonomous behavior is unsuitable in a particular situation. The company has not detailed the final product’s safeguards, so the demonstration raises questions rather than proving how the retail version will perform.
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From Manual Demo to Preset Patrols
The Drone Cam is a planned Ring home-security product that the company expects to launch in January, according to the report. Ring’s stated design relies on an “AI Pilot” to navigate autonomously, avoid obstacles and patrol designated points. The year for the planned January launch was not specified.
The CBS News demonstration indicates that manual app controls were available on an early development version. It does not show that Ring intended to make them a customer feature, and the company has not explained when or why it settled on autonomous-only operation. In a separate demonstration for The Verge, Ring declined to show the app and said the drone operates on pre-programmed routes.
Ring spokesperson Sam McGee described autonomous patrols as the feature offering the best customer benefit and experience. That is the company’s explanation for the product direction; it does not address whether the CBS crashes affected development or what changes, if any, were made afterward.
““Yeah, so we can load manual controls.””
— Ring founder Jamie Siminoff, during the CBS News demonstration
Questions About Crashes and Connectivity
Ring has not said whether the CBS demonstration influenced its decision to remove manual controls, despite being asked about the timing. The report also does not establish what caused the first crash beyond Ring’s statement that collision-avoidance technology malfunctioned, or why the drone did not stop and land during the second incident after connectivity was lost.
It remains unclear whether the early model’s behavior reflects the version planned for sale, what technical changes have been made since the demonstration, and what safeguards the finished product will use when it encounters obstacles or loses its connection. Ring has not provided the pre-crash recording from the first incident, according to the account, leaving additional details unavailable.
Details Expected Before January Launch
Ring’s next opportunity to clarify the product will come as it approaches its planned January launch. The company has not provided further details here about the launch date, final specifications, connectivity-loss safeguards or changes made after the two crashes. Those details will help show how the customer version is meant to handle indoor navigation and interruptions.
For now, the confirmed product plan is autonomous patrols along preset routes, with no manual flight controls for customers. Whether Ring will address the CBS demonstration directly or release further information about the drone’s safety and operation remains unknown.
Source: rss
Key Questions
Will customers be able to pilot Ring’s Drone Cam manually?
No. Ring says the planned product will fly autonomously along preset patrol routes using its AI Pilot system, without a manual-control option for customers.
What happened in the CBS News demonstration?
An early version of the drone crashed twice during manual-control testing. CBS News captured the second crash, when the drone hit a wall after it did not respond to the app controls.
What did Ring say caused the crashes?
Ring reportedly told CBS News that collision-avoidance technology malfunctioned in the first crash. Siminoff attributed the second to lost internet connectivity and said the drone was supposed to stop and land, but did not. The available account does not independently establish the causes.
Did the crashes cause Ring to remove manual controls?
That has not been established. Ring did not answer The Verge’s question about whether the decision followed the CBS demonstration. Its spokesperson said the company explored features during development and selected autonomous patrols.
When is the Drone Cam expected to launch?
The report says Ring plans to launch it in January but does not specify the year or an exact date.
Source: theverge.com
