Amazon has combined AI with computer vision technology to develop a pair of smartglasses designed help navigate a fast and safe path to deliver orders to a customer’s doorstep even faster.
Announced at Amazon’s Delivering the Future event in San Francisco, the glasses incorporate AI-powered sensing capabilities and computer vision which utilise the onboard cameras to create a hands-free solution to supply navigation details and potential hazards.
As soon as the delivery associate safely parks at a delivery location, the glasses automatically activate and provide delivery information and instructions which can be seem in their eyeline instead of looking at a smartphone in their hand.
It starts with pointing out correct package inside their vehicle to the corresponding address.
The display in the glasses then offers directions to the delivery spot at that address using Amazon’s geospatial technology rather than checking their phone.
The AI glasses will also point any hazards and help the delivery associate navigate complex environments like apartment buildings.
Amazon developed the AI glasses with the people who will end up wearing them – the delivery associates – with a goal to get the device right.
Hundreds of DAs have been testing the AI glasses in the field during the development stage and providing important feedback that shaped the final product.
Things like comfort and the clarity of the displays were optimised during the testing phase.
“I felt safer the whole time because the glasses have the info right in my field of view,” explains Kaleb M, a DA working for Maddox Logistics Corporation in Omaha, NE who tested the technology.
“Instead of having to look down at a phone, you can keep your eyes forward and look past the display—you’re always focused on what’s ahead.”
The glasses have a small controller that is worn in the delivery vest that contain operational controls.
It also has a swappable battery to ensure it lasts all-day and a dedicated emergency button to reach emergency services along their routes if needed.
And the AI glasses will continue to be refined even further.
Amazon says it will be adding features in the future including real-time error detection where the glasses can alert the DA if they have delivered a package that does not match the address or apartment number.
The AI glasses will also be able to detect hazards like low light areas and adjust the lenses accordingly.
It will even provide a notification of the AI glasses detect if there is a pet on the property as well.
* Stephen Fenech travelled to San Francisco as a guest of Amazon
