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Patent summary
Amazon filed a patent application for AR safety glasses designed for warehouse workers, titled "Augmented reality user interface to facilitate implementation." The application describes AR glasses that connect to a worn or carried computing device.
Intended use in warehouses
The AR safety glasses are intended to help navigate Amazon's large warehouses, which often exceed 90,000 square meters, and display on-screen directions for the next item to pull from a shelf.
Tracking capabilities and privacy concerns
According to the patent application, the AR safety glasses can track multiple variables, including "orientation data, pitch, yaw, and accelerometer data." As critics have noted, this could mean Amazon can track walking speed, exact location, and worker whereabouts.
In some embodiments, the wearable computing device can be configured to provide worker instructions or visual indicators to a worker wearing a wearable computing device that is not moving.
Technical details from the filing
The patent was filed in March 2017. It shows that AR glasses connected to a worn or carried computing device can overlay route-planning directions from one item to the next within the field of view. The system can also instruct workers to place specific items in designated locations within the warehouse.
Other AR initiatives
Amazon is investing significantly in AR. A previously revealed patent application described an AR fitting room.
Specifically, that filing describes a mirror that lets a person try on clothes in a virtual environment. Unlike a normal mirror, the clothes are not physical but appear through AR digital mapping.
The device uses a combination of displays, cameras, and related technologies to provide customers with an AR fitting experience. Although the mirror can reflect the user, the rendering is not fully realistic, which may reflect a functional compromise for future fitting mirrors.
Amazon is currently patenting the device. Last year, Amazon acquired 3D body modeling company Body Labs, which provides 3D body modeling technology. That company mainly helps apparel retailers better recommend sizes to consumers to reduce returns.
