Smart Glasses May Forever Change Home Delivery Services (According To Amazon)

Amazon's Echo Frames smart glasses are not particularly smart in the same vein as the fancy options with XR applications, like the RayNeo Air 2S or the Xreal Air 2. They, however, make up for those pricey display perks with utilitarian tricks like Alexa integration, calling, and music playback, among others. Now, Amazon is hoping that smart glasses will help speed up package deliveries in the near future. 

According to a Reuters report that cites multiple internal sources, the e-commerce titan wants to push smart glasses to assist drivers with turn-by-turn navigation. "Amazon is developing smart eyeglasses for its delivery drivers to guide them to, around and within buildings," says the report.

Notably, the glasses Amazon is developing for its delivery agents would come with "a small embedded screen." One of the objectives is to relieve drivers from the chore of taking guidance from handheld GPS devices, while also making it easier for them to navigate past infrastructure obstacles as well as pets.

The device is reportedly being developed on the same foundation as the existing line-up of Echo Frames smart glasses. Code named Amelia, the wearable gadget will include only a single display unit, instead of the dual-screen format that most XR glasses have adopted these days.

The core objective of the Amazon smart glasses project for drivers, however, is to save on the cost of logistics. The company is hoping that armed with display units, drivers will save a precious few seconds on their job, and that would help the company's delivery operations become more cost-effective in the face of thinning margins and tight competition. Specifically, Amazon is aiming to reduce friction in the last phase of delivery, which is also said to be the one that ends up consuming more fuel and requires more legwork.

According to estimates cited in the report, roughly half of the shipping expenses are incurred in the final delivery stage. In addition to increasing the pace, the smart glasses will help streamline the handover process. It seems the smart glasses will also come equipped with cameras, allowing the agents to click pictures of the package as proof of delivery. Right now, the biggest challenge for Amazon is collecting navigation data on streets and homes to create a navigation interface.

On top of it, there are engineering hurdles to tackle, especially with developing a battery architecture that would last a full shift for workers while also achieving a form factor that is not too cumbersome to wear. Also, it's worth pointing out that the project is still in the early phase of development, and could also be nixed down the road depending on a multitude of factors.