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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Amazon is developing smart delivery glasses.
- They can help identify hazards and make it easier to find packages.
- Customers’ deliveries should also be improved.
AI-powered smart glasses are having a moment, with Meta adding several new pairs to its collection last month at Meta Connect and Samsung teasing its upcoming pair this week. However, the AI smart glasses on the market have catered toward the general consumer, while the ones Amazon just launched have a different purpose: optimizing deliveries.
On Wednesday, during its “Delivering the Future” event in San Francisco, Amazon unveiled its smart delivery glasses, designed to help delivery associates deliver packages more safely and efficiently, which in turn improves customer delivery experiences.
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The glasses can scan packages, display turn-by-turn walking directions, and capture an image of the delivery hands-free, helping drivers stay focused and avoid reaching for their phones. Powering it all is AI and machine learning.
Amazon
The glasses use AI-powered sensing, computer vision, and a camera to create a “heads-up display” that can showcase navigation details, hazards, and delivery tasks, as stated in the release. As seen in the screenshot above, the in-lens display appears to function similarly to the in-lens displays found on the Even Reality smart glasses.
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For example, the glasses automatically populate delivery information, such as address and number of packages, within the driver’s field of view as soon as they park safely outside the delivery. The smart glasses also enable them to locate the package in the truck, displaying different alerts when the package is identified.
Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET
Lastly, to safely deliver the driver to the destination, it navigates them to the delivery address with turn-by-turn walking navigation powered by Amazon’s geospatial technology. If there are hazards on the way, the smart glasses will guide the delivery associate accordingly to ensure a safe delivery to their destination.
The two cameras in the front of the glasses also capture a photo of the package that was delivered to the doorstep, which is typically done using a smartphone.
The glasses can accommodate prescriptions as well as light-adjusting lenses. Additionally, the glasses feature a small controller worn in the delivery vest for operational controls, a swappable battery for all-day use, and a dedicated emergency button.
Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET
I had the chance to try out the glasses at the event, and the in-lens display shows the text exactly as pictured. Then, with the controller in my pocket, I was able to go from one page to another, shifting from just seeing the address and customer notes to the package verification page and, lastly, the step-by-step navigation.
Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET
They also felt comfortable on the bridge of my nose, though I was only wearing them for the duration of the five-minute demo. The weight distribution of the battery pack and controller also felt comfortable, likely because it was resting on the vest, which has pockets positioned perfectly to accommodate long wear.
Amazon said in the blog post that the glasses were designed with input from the drivers themselves. Hundreds tested early versions and provided feedback that influenced the design and comfort of the glasses.
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I chatted with a DA who uses it to complete deliveries in the SF area. He confirmed that they are comfortable and convenient to use, and the battery pack lasts him all day.
In the future, the company anticipates that the glasses will be able to detect real-time mistakes, alerting the driver if they mistakenly drop the package at the wrong house or apartment, send notifications when a pet is in the yard, and perform other functions.
The company did not provide an exact timeline for when to expect your driver to arrive at your door wearing the smart glasses, or when the rollout will start.
Disclosure: The cost of Sabrina Ortiz’s travel to San Francisco, California, for Delivering the Future event was covered by Amazon, a common industry practice for long-distance trips. The judgments and opinions of ZDNET’s writers and editors are always independent of the companies we cover.
