Amazon is developing smart eyeglasses for its delivery drivers to guide them to, around and within buildings, as it tries to make deliveries faster and smoother for consumers. If successful, the glasses would provide drivers with turn-by-turn navigation on a small embedded screen, along with their routes and at each stop. Those directions could shave valuable seconds off each delivery by providing left or right directions off elevators and around obstacles such as gates or aggressive dogs. With millions of packages delivered daily, seconds add up. The glasses would free drivers from using handheld GPS devices, allowing them to carry more packages. Amazon is attempting to reduce delivery costs per package as it fights increased competition from Walmart, which has stepped up its e-commerce efforts and cut prices. The big chain store is paying independent delivery drivers new incentives to deliver online orders during the holiday season. That’s why Amazon is scrambling to get the new glasses out of the development stage and onto its drivers. Right now, they’re having trouble making a battery that can last a full 8-hour shift while remaining light enough to wear all day.
