With its new app store, Ring bets on AI to go beyond home security | TechCrunch

With now more than 100 million cameras in the field, Amazon-owned Ring is ready to take advantage of its sizable footprint with the launch of a new app store that will expand its cameras’ capabilities. Focused initially on areas like elder care, workforce analytics, rental management, and more, the store will allow developers of all sizes to tap into Ring’s ecosystem to reach customers. First announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, the app store arrives alongside Ring’s expansion beyond smart doorbells and cameras for people’s homes to those aimed at businesses. But the new store is also enabled by the leaps being made in AI technology, which can take advantage of Ring’s ability to see and hear things in the real world and translate that for users in specific situations. For instance, one launch partner, the SoftBank-backed company Density, has an app called Routines focused on elder care, which can leverage Ring cameras to help families keep an eye on their loved ones, like their aging parents, and be alerted to concerns like falls or changes in routines. An app from QueueFlow can help businesses better understand what wait times and congestion are like at any place where people need to wait their turn, like events, restaurants, service desks, waiting rooms, and more. An app from Minut can help Airbnb hosts monitor their accommodations, which is tied to its other camera-less sensors that track things like excessive noise and temperature. The idea, explains ...