Amazon is equipping North American delivery drivers with AI-powered smart glasses as part of a $4 billion investment to enhance speed, safety, and efficiency in last-mile delivery, signalling a major shift in logistics technology.
Amazon is integrating cutting-edge artificial intelligence, robotics, and wearable computing into its delivery network, marking a significant leap in last-mile logistics. On October 22, Amazon confirmed it is equipping its North American deliv...
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ery drivers with AI-powered smart glasses designed to accelerate delivery operations, enhance safety, and improve overall efficiency. This innovation is part of a broader $4 billion investment aiming to transform the company’s same-day and next-day delivery infrastructure, expand coverage to rural areas, and elevate the Prime membership experience.
The smart glasses, internally codenamed “Amelia,” fuse computer-vision overlays, AI sensing, and real-time navigation into a heads-up display that acts as a visual co-pilot for drivers. When a delivery vehicle parks, the system automatically activates, providing hands-free guidance through package pickups, walking directions, and proof-of-delivery workflows—all without the need for drivers to handle smartphones or other devices. The glasses display key information such as route highlights, package codes, door identifiers, and turn-by-turn navigation directly in the driver’s field of view. The package verification process also leverages AI-enabled computer vision to confirm deliveries automatically, reducing errors and manual scanning burdens.
Accompanying the glasses is a vest-mounted controller featuring a swappable battery, emergency-alert button, microphone array, and operational controls. This setup ensures the glasses can operate throughout the day while enhancing driver safety, allowing them to keep their eyes on their surroundings. The glasses support prescription lenses and feature transitional lenses that adjust automatically to ambient light. Drivers also maintain control over privacy aspects, such as the option to deactivate cameras and sensors.
This innovation has been co-developed with input from hundreds of Delivery Associates (DAs) who work with Amazon’s Delivery Service Partners (DSPs). Expected benefits include improved hazard detection (such as low light conditions and pets in yards) and future functionalities like erroneous package drop-off alerts, which would notify drivers if a package is mistakenly left at the wrong address.
Amazon is already piloting these smart glasses in major North American metropolitan areas, with plans to refine the technology before extending the rollout to European markets by 2026. Initial production runs are expected to reach around 100,000 units. Early feedback suggests the glasses could save drivers up to 30 minutes per shift, enhancing both speed and safety during the critical “last 100 yards” of delivery.
The smart glasses debut as part of Amazon’s wider, AI-first overhaul of its logistics network, which includes several complementary innovations. The company has regionalized inventory across 12 hubs, positioning goods closer to customers and enabling same-day delivery coverage to over 95% of the U.S. population by late 2025, a jump from 72% in 2023. AI demand modelling forecasts order surges at granular ZIP-code levels, allowing more responsive inventory management.
Amazon is also expanding its eco-friendly fleet with e-cargo bikes and electric vans to reduce emissions, alongside deploying advanced robotics such as “Blue Jay”—a multi-arm robotic system increasing warehouse throughput threefold while reducing worker injury risks. The company’s “Project Eluna,” an agentic AI system, predicts bottlenecks and adjusts operations in real time, potentially reducing logistics costs by around 15%. Sustainability is also improved through AI-driven initiatives like the “Packaging Decision Engine,” which optimizes packaging to reduce waste by 25%.
In parallel with these physical logistics upgrades, Amazon is advancing its digital commerce capabilities via agentic AI that autonomously optimizes seller advertising, inventory forecasts, and marketplace compliance. This dual focus underscores Amazon’s strategic vision to blend physical delivery networks with intelligent digital assistance, effectively creating a comprehensive, adaptive fulfillment ecosystem.
The introduction of AI wearables such as Amazon’s smart glasses highlights a broader industry shift that focuses not just on consumer-facing novelty but operational augmentation. Analysts like Dr. Mark Mahaney of Evercore ISI emphasize that Amazon’s glasses exemplify how AI hardware can translate vast logistical data into live, actionable decision support at the point of delivery.
While Amazon’s workforce has seen reductions in some areas due to automation, the company plans to hire 250,000 temporary workers for the upcoming holiday season, balancing technological advances with human labour demands. Despite a recent decline in its stock price, Amazon’s integration of robotics, AI, and wearables signals a fundamental shift in the economics of fulfilment, promising significant efficiency gains and improved customer experience as it pushes toward more intelligent and sustainable logistics solutions by 2026.
Industry observers note that Amazon is not merely automating for cost-cutting but creating an “intelligent logistics organism,” where fulfilment networks continuously learn, adapt, and optimize to meet real-time demands. This pioneering approach places Amazon at the forefront of 21st-century commerce, redefining how goods move from warehouse to doorstep in an increasingly competitive and environmentally conscious market.
Source: Noah Wire Services
