Amazon is preparing to launch a new pair of connected glasses. According to information from Reuters, the American giant is developing augmented reality glasses with a very specific goal: to improve deliveries. The “Amelia” project would not target the general public, but delivery people in order to help them in the last meters of the delivery journey. The smart glasses will be able to guide them to navigate around and inside buildings, explain five people familiar with the matter.
Amazon plans to provide real-time instructions for each delivery step, using a small, built-in screen. These precise instructions (turn right or left when exiting the elevator, go around an obstacle to the right or left, watch out for dogs, etc.) should help delivery people save precious seconds with each delivery. They could, ultimately, free them from the use of portable GPS and this would be of great interest to the famous online seller. Amazon's goal is obviously to waste less time and push delivery people to transport and deliver more and more packages.
The project also demonstrates Amazon's efforts to optimize the “last mile” in a context of very strong competition. This part of the delivery process is expensive and the brand has been trying to save money for years. It is estimated that the last mile constitutes, in some cases, up to half of the logistics costs associated with delivering a product.
Amazon already has a base for these glasses
Amazon focuses on the “last 100 meters” of the delivery journey, but is not starting from scratch for its project. Indeed, the American giant relies on Echo Frames glasses which allow you to use Alexa or listen to music. Amazon has already launched three generations of Echo glasses aimed at the general public. For its model adapted to delivery people, a camera would allow a photo of the delivered packages to be taken as proof for customers.
The absence of comments could be explained by the technical difficulties facing the company. Amazon would have difficulty designing a battery capable of lasting eight hours and light enough to be carried without causing fatigue. Furthermore, it would take years to collect enough information about each neighborhood and house to make the use of the glasses relevant. A situation which would encourage Amazon to be cautious about the chances of success of its project. At this stage, a delay or abandonment cannot be ruled out if the glasses do not work correctly, or for financial reasons.
We might have to wait years before discovering Amazon's connected glasses for delivery people. The group led by Jeff Bezos has been multiplying projects for years to improve its delivery network, going so far as to develop an aerial fleet, as well as robots or drones.
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