Amazon introduces smart AR glasses for delivery drivers

Amazon has developed smart glasses for its delivery drivers: The Smart Glasses are intended to help package couriers navigate complex neighborhoods more easily and detect potential dangers. The glasses are also said to be capable of scanning packages and capturing a delivery receipt. Currently, a smartphone has to be used for this.

Amazon has now announced the Smart Glasses project for delivery drivers in a blog post, after Reuters reported on it last year. "The glasses enable a hands-free experience and make it less necessary to constantly look back and forth between the smartphone, the package, and the surroundings," Amazon writes in the blog post.

This is complemented by AI-powered sensor technology and image recognition. Amazon's smart glasses are also equipped with cameras. Amazon overlays the collected information onto a green head-up display, which shows information about packages, navigation, and potential dangers, among other things.

Smart glasses with interchangeable battery

The head-up display is supposed to activate automatically after a driver has parked. Before the actual delivery begins, the smart glasses help select the correct package. The glasses are controlled via a controller worn in the package couriers' delivery vest. An interchangeable battery for the glasses is also located there, allowing them to be used all day. Lenses with prescription strength can also be installed.

Amazon emphasizes that the glasses and their functions were developed together with package couriers. One delivery driver is quoted as saying that he feels safer thanks to the glasses because he doesn't have to constantly look at his phone. Amazon places the main emphasis on this safety in the blog post. The fact that such glasses are also likely to speed up the delivery process and thus save costs is not explicitly mentioned.

According to Amazon, the development of the glasses is still ongoing – whether and to what extent they are already being used in practice is unclear. The blog post also does not address the question of where the navigation data will come from. Reuters writes in its report from last year that for the project, Amazon would have to collect precise information on every house, every sidewalk, and every driveway. This could take a long time and could mean that the glasses will only be used in the USA for the time being.

(dahe)