Amazon has launched smart glasses for its delivery associates (DAs) as part of its Delivery Service Partner programme, which began in 2018.
The glasses enable drivers to scan packages, follow turn-by-turn walking directions, and capture proof of delivery without using their phones.
AI-Powered technology guides Amazon delivery process
The glasses use AI-powered sensing capabilities and computer vision, along with cameras to create a heads-up display. The display provides navigation details, hazard warnings, and delivery tasks. When drivers park at a delivery location, the glasses activate and show delivery information in their field of view.
The system guides drivers from locating packages inside their vehicles to finding the corresponding homes. The display offers walking turn-by-turn navigation to the delivery address, using Amazon’s geospatial technology.
The glasses direct drivers to delivery locations without requiring them to check their phones. If hazards exist or drivers need to navigate apartment buildings, the glasses provide guidance.
Hundreds of DAs tested versions of the glasses and provided feedback. Their input influenced the glasses’ comfort for all-day use and the clarity of the displays.
“I felt safer the whole time because the glasses have the info right in my field of view. Instead of having to look down at a phone, you can keep your eyes forward and look past the displayโyouโre always focused on whatโs ahead,” Kaleb M., a DA working for Maddox Logistics Corporation in Omaha, Nebraska, who tested the technology said in a statement.
Amazon smart glasses feature emergency button, all-day battery for drivers
The glasses include a controller worn in the delivery vest that contains operational controls and a swappable battery for all-day use. The controller features a button to reach emergency services if needed. The glasses support prescription lenses and transitional lenses that adjust to light.
Amazon has invested $16.7 billion to support Delivery Service Partners and their drivers throughout the seven-year programme history. The company has invested $1.9 billion in the Delivery Service Partner programme, launching safety initiatives and AI-powered tools.
Amazon plans future versions of the glasses to provide real-time defect detection. The glasses will notify drivers if they drop a package at a doorstep that does not correspond with the house or apartment number on the package. The technology will detect hazards like low light and adjust the lenses, notify drivers about pets in yards, and provide additional features.
The company continues refining the technology and using advancements in AI to create a system where technology supports delivery experiences from inside delivery stations, over the road, and to customers’ doorsteps.
Amazon describes the smart glasses as one step in its effort to innovate in the last-mile delivery process, creating solutions that improve safety and the work experience for delivery associates.
