The e-commerce market is seeing another wave of innovation that may change how deliveries are handled in the future. Amazon driver eyeglasses are currently in development, with smart technology meant to help them navigate routes more efficiently. The glasses are envisioned to have small, embedded screens with turn-by-turn navigation, with live route tracking meant to shave off precious delivery time. Beyond just navigating the road, the glasses would also help them when contending with gates, on-site directions, elevators, and even unexpected obstacles like aggressive animals.
According to representatives from Amazon, the project aims to improve delivery service for consumers while making the entire process smoother and safer for the drivers in their employment. This development would essentially improve the “last mile” for deliveries, where most complications occur. With Echo Frames already available in the market, this seems to be the next step in the company’s smart glasses efforts with a more streamlined objective.
Smart eyewear tech permeating the market
While Amazon is still perfecting the in-house tech and logistics to make its driver-focused eyewear a reality, it has already made strides in the general smart glasses market with Echo Frames. These are marketed as smart audio frames, focusing on connectivity with Amazon Alexa for the assistant’s existing music, commands, and smart home interaction features.
Of course, the company faces competition from countless players in the race to create accessible, wearable tech. Ray-Ban smart glasses are among the buzziest and most widely purchased products in the smart eyewear market, already the top-selling product in 60% of Ray-Ban stores across Europe. The top eyewear brand is at the forefront of this movement primarily because it collaborated with tech giant Meta. This partnership has enabled the brand’s collection to interact smoothly with Meta AI, with built-in features that directly connect the glasses to Meta platforms like Instagram and Facebook. Aside from connecting to the smart assistant in real-time, it can also produce and capture sound from a five-mic array and record videos and images through a discreet 12-megapixel ultrawide media.
While Ray-Ban has primarily cornered the general market due to its social media capabilities and mix of audio and video capture, other brands are also dipping their toes and contributing to the promising future of smart glasses. For instance, the Xreal Air 2 uses Sony MicroLED panels to provide wearers with a high-fidelity augmented reality (AR) experience. Its pro variant even comes with dimming control, so you can control how much you see on your screen in relation to your actual environment. It also connects with the Steam Deck and ROG Ally for handheld gaming.
Amazon’s delivery performance and goals
Although growing concerns have been raised regarding Amazon’s delivery practices, it retains a lion’s share of the e-commerce market. Its net sales have doubled in the UK since 2018, making it the company’s biggest European market after Germany. The current perception is generally favourable, with 89% of consumers more likely to buy from the platform than any other e-commerce site.
The company still aims to improve its delivery performance to maintain its foothold, hence its continued efforts with smart glasses for its drivers. On top of this, it is partnering with other major retailers to make box-free returns and parcel pick-up easier for consumers. The most recent development in this field is a collaboration with over 700 Asda supermarkets in the UK. Here, customers can combine their weekly shopping with parcel collection and returns in one location without needing labels and boxes. This is meant to make the process easier while reducing the need for additional packaging, one of the biggest concerns people have had with growing e-commerce shopping.
Additionally, Amazon is leveraging more tech by test-flying delivery drones in the UK. The drones would enable shipments beyond human controllers’ line of sight, so the machines can reliably deliver packages without constant monitoring. These test flights will also check for safety concerns like potential collisions with other drones, aircrafts, and high-rise obstacles. Despite scaling back its operations on this goal, it remains a primary objective for the company’s future delivery plans.Shipping innovations are key to modern business efficiency and sustainability. The 2024 Saxony-Anhalt Business Award saw Ramme Electric Machines GmbH win in the “Companies” category for their highly efficient electric motors that support reduced pollutant emissions in the shipping industry. By delving into robotics and smart solutions, Amazon positions itself at the forefront of a shipping revolution.
