Amazon has introduced AI-powered smart glasses for its delivery drivers—codename “Amelia”—which provide hands-free navigation, package scanning, hazard alerts, and proof-of-delivery photo capture, aiming to streamline last-mile logistics and improve driver experience.
Smarter Wearables for the Last 100 Yards
Amazon has officially revealed its latest innovation in logistics wearable technology: smart glasses designed for delivery personnel, leveraging computer vision and AI to support navigation, package processing, and safety features. The device, known internally as “Amelia,” is currently being tested by hundreds of Delivery Associates (DAs) in North America.
According to Amazon, once a driver parks, the glasses automatically activate and display relevant visual prompts—such as step-by-step delivery instructions, which packages to pick from the vehicle, and walking navigation to the delivery point—directly in the driver’s field of vision. The wearable system is paired with a controller-vest containing a swappable battery pack, emergency button, and operational controls.
Built with Driver Input
Amazon emphasizes the design process was heavily influenced by driver feedback, involving hundreds of DAs to optimize comfort, clarity, and all-day wearability. The glasses support prescription and transitional lenses and are meant to reduce the need for drivers to slip their eyes from their surroundings to handheld devices. “Instead of having to look down at a phone, you can keep your eyes forward and look past the display—you’re always focused on what’s ahead,” said a driver tester.
Next-Gen Features on the Roadmap
Looking ahead, Amazon plans to enhance the glasses with advanced AI features such as real-time defect detection (e.g., alerting the driver if a package is being left at the wrong address), low-light mode, pet and hazard detection, and adaptive lens adjustments. These additions aim to enhance safety, efficiency, and accuracy across delivery routes.
Why It Matters
- The final “last-100-yards” of delivery remains a major cost and complexity bottleneck in e-commerce logistics. By providing drivers with wearable AI tools, Amazon is attempting to shave seconds off each stop, reduce reliance on handheld devices, and improve overall throughput.
- Wearables that help drivers maintain situational awareness while handling tasks can enhance safety and lower error rates—especially important in environments with obstacles like stairs, elevators, pets, or bad lighting.
- The technology reflects Amazon’s broader ambition to integrate AI not just in warehousing and routing, but at the human–device interface—layering automation onto the human workforce rather than fully replacing it (at least for now).
- From a competitive perspective, as delivery expectations (same-day, one-day) escalate, innovations like these may become key differentiators—impacting driver experience, operational costs, and customer satisfaction.
What to Watch
Consumer-version spillover: Amazon is reportedly also working on AR/AI glasses for consumers (codenamed “Jayhawk”) — how features rolled out for drivers may influence or scale into future consumer devices.
The timeline and scale of rollout: Will Amazon deploy the glasses across its full Delivery Service Partner (DSP) network, or keep them in limited pilot phases initially?
Real-world metrics: How much time is saved per stop? What are the observable effects on driver fatigue, error rates, or customer satisfaction?
Privacy and labour implications: Wearables with cameras and sensors raise questions about monitoring, consent, and data collection—drivers and regulators will be watching how these are addressed.
