Amazon Astro: Every Command Available for the Home Robot

Amazon Astro, the company’s $1,600 home robot, is more than a smart display on wheels. It can grab you a beer, patrol your home and even beatbox. Plus, this robot’s personality and cute face makes it feel like a friend. For now, Amazon is still selling Astro by invite only, but that likely won’t be the case forever.

As it gets more and more polished, Astro will likely start to roll out to a larger audience. With a price tag so high, the question for most people is, what does Astro do that’s worth that value?

We put together a list of everything Astro can do — so you can decide whether it’s really worth the money for you.

Home security

Astro’s biggest selling point for many people will be its home security features. Not only can it listen for breaking glass or alarms, using Alexa Guard, but it can also pair with a Ring Protect Pro subscription to patrol your home while you’re away, sending notifications if it senses anything out of the ordinary.

In addition to the automated features, you can also take control of Astro remotely and drive it around your house, checking on the pets or kids — or making sure you turned off the stove. To get a higher-angle view, you can raise Astro’s periscope camera to see above countertop height.

Commands:

• “Astro, patrol the house.”
• “Astro, I’m leaving.”
• “Astro, disarm.”
• “Astro, set monitoring to Home.” 
• “Astro, check on the stove.”
• “Astro, show me the [front yard/back yard] security camera.” (This requires a compatible home security camera that is installed and connected to Astro.)
• “Astro, lock the [front/back/garage] door.” (This requires a compatible smart lock that is installed and connected to Astro.)

Errands

While Astro doesn’t include a vacuum, it can still get a lot done while it zooms around your house. That includes finding people (using face ID), following people, delivering snacks or drinks and charging your phone with a USB-C port.

Commands:

• “Astro, go to [name] in the [room name].”
• “Astro, find [name].”
• “Astro, follow me.”
• “Astro, remind [name] to take out the trash.”
• “Astro, take this to the [room name].”
• “Astro, create a to-do.”
• “Astro, go to the charger.”
• “Astro, find my phone.”

Play

If you’ve got kids, Astro can be a pretty compelling (albeit expensive) toy. Although Alexa is on board, Astro very much has a personality of its own. You can ask Astro to dance, beatbox, rap, burp, imitate various animals, speak, sing and plenty more — and each request will be met with some cute movement, expression and sound.

If you have a dog, Astro can pair with a Furbo pet camera to buzz around, launching treats along the way.

In addition to the more novel stuff, Astro can also play music and stream TV shows on its screen, just like an Echo Show smart display. It can even follow you around while it plays it.

Commands:

• “Astro, play [song].”
• “Astro, beatbox.”
• “Astro, sing.”
• “Astro, act like a bumblebee.”
• “Astro, act like a bird.”
• “Astro, act like a dog.”
• “Astro, act like a monkey.”
• “Astro, let’s dance.”
• “Astro, take a selfie.”
• “Astro, play [podcast].”
• “Astro, do the robot.”
• “Astro, rap.”
• “Astro, burp.”
• “Astro, [pause, play, resume, stop, fast-forward, rewind].”
• “Astro, say something.”
• “Astro, tell me a joke.”
• “Astro, can you whistle?”

Communication

Again, like an Amazon Echo, Astro can help facilitate communication, letting you video chat with far-away friends or family. And unlike countertop-bound smart displays, Astro can even follow you around while you chat.

Commands:

• “Astro, call [name].”
• “Astro, hang up,” or, “Astro, end the call.”
• “Astro, drop in on the living room.”
• “Astro, drop in on [name].”
• “Astro, call for help.” 
• “Astro, send a message to [name].”
• “Astro, video call [name].”
• “Astro, answer the call.”
• “Astro, play messages.”
• “Astro, are you hungry?” (This command will allow Astro to communicate if it needs a recharge, maintenance or anything else to keep running smoothly.)

Everything Alexa can do…

We’ve written a different article to go in-depth with everything Alexa can do. Astro has Alexa built in, so that means everything there, Astro can do, too. You can buy supplies with Amazon Prime, video chat, play music and a lot more.

Behold, the complete list of commands you can give to Amazon’s Alexa and our roundup of the best Alexa skills.

We’re still learning. And so is Astro

Our relationship with Astro is exciting and ongoing. Considering Astro came out less than two years ago, Amazon is still tinkering with its home robot, meaning we still don’t definitively know every command or skill Astro is capable of — but we’re working on it. 

Astro is still a new-fashioned machine, so it will inevitably develop and improve over time. As we continue testing and our relationship with Astro grows, we will continue to update this story with more information.

For more information on our adorable robot friend, read about Astro’s data protection features and our full Amazon Astro review. Plus, check out our 22-minute Amazon Astro review video.