Amazon reportedly working on Echo Frames for delivery drivers

Amazon is processing astute glasses for transportation drivers, Reuters reports. The purpose is to springiness drivers turn-by-turn directions, thereby shaving seconds disconnected of each delivery.

Citing anonymous Amazon sources, Reuters says the task is portion of Amazon’s efforts to summation ratio successful the past 100 yards of a delivery. Codenamed “Amelia”, the astute glasses are based disconnected the existing Echo Frames platform. Unlike the existent audio-only Frames they would person an embedded show that could springiness a operator much precise directions — for example, turning near oregon close aft getting disconnected an elevator. Amazon is besides exploring camera capabilities utilizing that embedded display, enabling drivers to instrumentality photos of packages arsenic impervious of delivery. Theoretically, doing each this would let drivers to transportation much packages due to the fact that the glasses are hands-free, portion each those saved seconds would let drivers to compression successful much location deliveries successful a azygous shift.

That said, it mightiness beryllium a bully agelong portion earlier Amazon drivers athletics astute glasses — if they ever do. Adding displays to mean glasses oregon audio-based astute glasses similar the existent Echo Frames is besides a pugnacious engineering situation — 1 that galore companies person failed at. Amazon is reportedly having issues making glasses with a artillery that tin past a afloat eight-hour displacement portion besides being airy capable to deterioration each day. Another occupation is galore radical already person corrective lenses, and frankincense far, user astute glasses haven’t ever been susceptible of accommodating each prescription. It’ll besides person to person its full fleet of drivers — galore of which are third-party contractors — to follow the technology. It could instrumentality years for Amazon to stitchery capable information connected that past 100 yards (i.e., gathering layouts, sidewalks, streets, driveways, etc.) to marque its imaginativeness a reality.

It’s not wholly astonishing to spot Amazon research endeavor options for its astute glasses tech. Reuters’ sources besides stated that the last-gen Echo Frames sold less than 10,000 units — disappointing erstwhile compared to how successful the Ray-Ban Meta glasses person been. (Both were released astir the aforesaid clip past year.) Pivoting to endeavor has besides agelong been the playbook for underperforming astute glasses and AR headsets, including Google Glass, Magic Leap, and Microsoft HoloLens. Also unclear is whether Amazon volition support this purely for its ain transportation web oregon prosecute third-party endeavor contracts. That said, it’s imaginable that immoderate of this tech volition besides marque its mode to consumers. The study notes that Amazon is moving connected an embedded surface for aboriginal Echo Frames glasses that could amusement up sometime successful Q2 2026.