Last-mile logistics—that final leg where a package goes from the truck to the customer's home—is receiving a significant dose of innovation. Amazon is testing a prototype of AI-powered glasses with several hundred delivery drivers in the US, promising to make their routes safer, faster, and more efficient.
How do these AI glasses work? They consist of glasses with a small display embedded in the right lens, which activates when the driver stops. Key instructions appear on the display: the building number, the floor, a small map of the area, directions to the exact destination, etc. They also include cameras that record the package and the destination without the customer having to provide any additional information.
In addition, to complete the equipment, the driver wears a connected vest with a small controller and a replaceable battery. Everything is designed for practicality throughout a delivery day.
According to preliminary data, delivery drivers using these glasses saved up to 30 minutes per shift thanks to a more direct flow of information, fewer package searches, and improved pedestrian navigation.
The improvement in safety is also noteworthy: by keeping their gaze forward and not checking a mobile phone, drivers can be more attentive to their surroundings, garage doors, pedestrians, and dark areas.
Last-mile automation: These glasses mark another step in the robotization and digitization of tasks that previously relied more on phones, paperwork, or manual consultation.
Improved efficiency and cost: Saving time on each delivery reduces costs for the company and allows more packages to be handled with the same resources.
Transforms the delivery driver's job: The tool changes, the routine changes. But it also raises questions: What about privacy? What about the workload that is now expected to be reduced?
This is symbolic of a larger trend: It's not just about Amazon; it's an example of how AI, augmented reality, and lightweight hardware are combining to transform everyday jobs. Other companies in the sector will react, and the logistics service will be transformed.
Privacy and surveillance are sensitive issues. The glasses have integrated cameras and are connected to Amazon's system. Although the company claims that users control the sensors, the presence of recording and automatic recognition raises ethical dilemmas.
This method has an impact on the employee: It can improve the workload, but also increase the pressure to make every minute count and deliver more packages.
This Amazon initiative can be seen as a preview of what's to come: faster deliveries, integrated wearable technology, lightweight hardware that assists people instead of immediately replacing them. However, it also reminds us that transformation isn't instantaneous and that devices like these glasses require time to mature.
For the end consumer, this means potentially even faster and more accurate deliveries, with fewer errors like "wrong package," "wrong floor," or "door locked." For the company, it represents a competitive advantage. For the delivery driver, it means a change of tools… and perhaps a change of work schedule.
Amazon is bringing artificial intelligence to the daily operations of deliveries. AI-powered glasses for delivery drivers are not just a gadget; they are part of a strategy for efficiency, digitalization, and transformation of logistics work. But like all disruptive innovations, they come with caveats: privacy, working conditions, hidden costs.
If all goes well, these glasses could be a key part of the next generation of last-mile logistics. And while they won't replace the delivery driver (who remains essential), they will provide them with a powerful tool to do their job better. And that's something that concerns us all: as consumers, workers, and citizens.
Technology advances, but it hasn't done so on its own; it depends on how we implement it, what criteria we use, and what values we prioritize. In this case: safety, efficiency, and humanity. And in that, it seems Amazon has made a clear commitment. Others will follow.
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