Amazon moves to shave seconds off deliveries with secret smart glasses

Amazon is reportedly working on a pair of smart glasses designed specifically for delivery drivers, as the company is looking for a method to reduce the time it takes for a delivery to reach its destination.

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The unannounced project comes from Reuters in an exclusive report that cites people familiar with the project who spoke under the condition of anonymity due to the project's confidential nature. According to the report, the new smart glasses are designed to assist drivers with the final stretch of the delivery journey, the steps taken from the courier vehicle to the customer's door. While this may sound like the simplest part of the journey, it's actually a major concern of Amazon's as there are many things that can occur during this period that can result in delays that stack up over the course of a day.

Amazon's delivery smart glasses would provide drivers with turn-by-turn navigation on a small embedded screen. The heads-up display (HUD) would inform drivers of their route and each stop within the screen. An example of this would be a driver being required to go up an elevator. The glasses would be able to provide left and right directions for the driver once the elevator doors open to the correct level. Additionally, the glasses would be able to navigate drivers around obstacles such as gates, fences, and even aggressive dogs.

However, the sources that spoke with Reuters warned the smartglasses could be completely scrapped if Amazon engineers are unable to reach internal expectations. Internally the glasses are referred to as Amelia, and would also be capable of taking photos of delivered packages as proof for customers.

Unfortunately, the same sources claim Amazon is struggling to create a pair of delivery glasses that have enough battery to last an entire eight-hour shift. The glasses can't be too heavy, or drivers will report discomfort and choose not to wear them, which means the battery within them needs to be lightweight but also capable of lasting a long time. Additionally, components such as cameras, screens, sensors, and navigation processing all require power, and Amazon delivery drivers can visit more than 100 customers per shift. That is quite a lot of navigation, images, processing, etc, happening per shift.

There is also the fundamental problem of convincing Amazon's thousands of delivery drivers to actually wear them, which the sources speaking to Reuters say many could find uncomfortable, distracting, or ugly. Additionally, there is also the problem of drivers that are already wearing glasses. However, Amazon could simply make it a contractual agreement to wear the glasses.