According to Reuters,Amazonis developing aSmart glasses,Designed to provide its couriers with navigation to, around and into buildings, to optimize the last leg of the parcel's journey to the customer's home smoother.
According to people familiar with the matter, the glasses will have a small screen built into them, through theProvide detailed route navigation for couriers, including information on turns, elevator options and obstacle avoidance. The move aims to improve delivery efficiency by saving valuable time. In addition, the smart glasses will free up the hands of couriers, allowing them to carry more packages.
Amazon's move is aimed at lowering delivery costs per package in response to pressure from rivals such as Walmart. Walmart has recently ramped up its e-commerce business and is trying to boost online order delivery for the holiday season by offering additional incentives to independent couriers.
Yet people familiar with the matter warned that if Amazon's smart glasses don't live up to expectations, or for financial or other reasons, the project could be shelved or delayed. They said.Development of the glasses could take years.
An Amazon spokesperson said, "We continue to innovate to create a safer and better delivery experience for couriers. We do not comment on product roadmaps."
Amazon has been building its own distribution network in recent years, including air, long-haul and suburban warehouses. The move is aimed at reducing reliance on couriers such as UPS and FedEx to improve delivery speeds and reduce costs. Amazon's distribution costs rose 8% in the third quarter to $23.5 billion (currently about 169.026 billion yuan).
The "last mile" of parcel delivery has always been a major challenge for the logistics industry, involving complex route planning, staff scheduling and fuel consumption. It is estimated that more than half of the cost of delivering a product to a customer's door comes from the last kilometer.
The smart glasses Amazon is reportedly developing are based on Amazon's Echo Frames smart glasses, which allow users to control the virtual assistant Alexa through voice commands.
Codenamed Amelia, the courier glasses will display navigation information via a small screen on the lenses and can take photos of delivered packages as credentials. It's worth noting that Amazon released a chatbot called Amelia in September, but it has nothing to do with the delivery glasses.
However, the technology is still in the developmental stage and the challenges are battery life and weight. In addition, collecting complete data, including information on houses, sidewalks, streets, curbs and driveways, could take years.
Amazon's consumer wearables, Echo Frames, have been selling poorly. The latest generation of Echo Frames reportedly sold less than 10,000 units.