Do not be astonished if the person delivering a package to your door is wearing smart glasses. As part of our long-term investment in safety, we are working on new technologies to help keep delivery drivers safe during COVID-19 and beyond. Amazon is testing AI-equipped glasses to give our delivery associates a hands-free edge with navigational info (think directions for turning left) so they can make faster, more accurate building-to-building delivery routes. The device provides visual cues and other helpful guidance on how to navigate obstacles. Now, after months of rigorous testing with Amazon’s prototype device codenamed Dragon Boat, the tech is ready for—wait for it—a broader field test. Dragon Boat offers quicker reaction times because it’s meant to cut down on time spent between looking at instructions and driving. Early feedback has been key in helping refine this technology.
Consumer smart glasses from companies like Meta and Samsung are pursuing entertainment and messaging; Amazon’s strategy is unapologetically utility-first. The glasses incorporate computer vision, geospatial guidance and a heads-up display to smooth out the last 50 feet — those few critical steps where delays, accidents and phone fumbling typically occur.
What the Smart Glasses Actually Do for Drivers
Once the driver parks, the screen auto-fills important information: address, unit notes, number of packages and special instructions. A camera in the van scans for labeled parcels and, upon finding the right one, confirms it without repeated scanning or phone checking. That hands-free flow can be crucial on high-volume routes, where seconds start to add up in real time.
The glasses also have turn-by-turn walking directions using Amazon’s in-house mapping and geospatial technology. Instead of looking down at a phone when walking up stairs, crossing gates, or long driveways — associates receive prompts in their field of view with alerts for obstacles and safer paths.
A smartphone photo taken directly with the glasses’ pair of cameras serves as proof of delivery. There’s a swappable battery for all-day shifts, an emergency button on the vest-mounted controller, and support for prescription or light-adjusting lenses — all features that came out of feedback from hundreds of drivers who tested it.
Safer Routes and Fewer Distractions for Drivers
Less peering at a phone, less distraction at the doorstep or the curb or on the stairs up to an apartment. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has highlighted high rates of slips, trips and falls for delivery jobs, and the National Safety Council ranks falls as one of the top causes of workplace injuries. One practical defense is a reduced-vision manual input heads-up display.
There’s also an ergonomic upside. Having to grab my phone from a pocket, swipe around and recalibrate introduces micro-friction at each step. By keeping tasks within line of sight and controls in the vest, the system offloads repetitive motion and reduces cognitive context switching — small efficiencies that add up over 150 to 200 stops.
Faster Drops and Fewer Mistakes in the Last Mile
The last mile is famously expensive and error-prone; industry analyses from McKinsey and others suggest it contributes about 40 percent to 50 percent of the cost of shipping goods. Tools that shave seconds and minimize misdeliveries can make a difference at scale.
There’s precedent: DHL’s widely publicized smart glasses pilots on warehouse picking saw productivity improvements of around 25% with accuracy gains, and even greater productivity in a back-to-back battery test against tablets. And though delivery is a different setting, the same AR principles — clear direction, confirmation cues and fewer toggles between tasks — apply to having fewer wrong doors and quicker confirmation of whether a building has multiple entrances.
Privacy and Policy Considerations for Smart Glasses
Smart glasses pose predictable questions: what, when and who records — and sees. In the area of delivery, practical cameras only provide a picture-based proof-of-delivery that consists of taking an image of the package itself (and often a placement thereof). Clear policies about the retention of data, access controls and in-use limits will matter, particularly as features like hazard detection grow.
Consumer privacy regulations such as CCPA and GDPR establish expectations for data minimization and purpose-based processing; workplace safety standards from OSHA inform how tools are deployed without creating new hazards. Look for notifications of transparency in the app and training that reinforces where cameras are aimed, and why.
What That Means for You as a Customer or Driver
For customers, the benefit is uncomplicated: more on-time arrivals, higher-quality photos and fewer detours during delivery, especially in large apartment complexes.
For drivers, it’s less juggling devices and more situational awareness, with a safety net if something goes sideways (there’s an emergency trigger and a system designed for long shifts).
Amazon has not said when it will make the service publicly available, but the trend is clear. And as AI-powered eyewear transitions from novelty to job tool, the last mile of your delivery is going to start looking just a bit different — and feeling a bit more seamless — without you ever lifting a finger.