Amazon to Deploy 20,000 Smart Glasses to Delivery Drivers by End of Next Year

Amazon plans to equip 5,000 delivery drivers with in-house smart glasses this year, scaling to more than 20,000 drivers by the end of next year. The company announced the rollout on its corporate news site, positioning the device as a way to guide drivers through every step of a delivery while keeping their hands free for packages.

The headset displays contextual prompts in the driver's line of sight. According to Amazon, it covers each stage of a route: confirming the correct packages are in the van, surfacing customer delivery preferences on the walk to the door, and capturing proof of delivery automatically. Additional prompts include the number of packages assigned to a particular stop and turn-by-turn navigation. One alert flags that a pet may be present at the address.

"After exploring a range of different approaches, we landed on smart glasses because they solve the core problem: They put everything a driver needs directly in their line of sight, using a design that's comfortable and familiar, so their hands are just carrying packages and their eyes stay up," Amazon said in a statement. The company added: "The glasses guide drivers through each step, from confirming the right packages are in the van to surfacing customer delivery preferences on the walk to the delivery location to capturing proof of delivery automatically."

What does the design change for drivers?

The hardware reflects a specific ergonomic decision: driver feedback during pilot testing led Amazon to move the computing hardware and battery off the headset into a small controller worn inside the delivery vest. The goal was comfort over a full shift. Amazon says it has made hundreds of updates to both software and hardware since the first prototype.

The trial phase began in 2025, with more than 300 delivery service partners (DSPs) and hundreds of their drivers using the device. Amazon characterized the feedback as "strong." The company also stated that wearing the glasses is "entirely optional" for drivers, and that the camera can be switched off at any time.

How does Amazon handle the privacy question?

The camera captures still images only, with no video or audio component, and every image is automatically anonymized. Potentially identifying information such as faces and license plates is detected and blurred.

"The blurred images are encrypted, accessible only to a limited number of people who need them to improve the delivery experience and reduce delivery errors, and automatically deleted after a short retention period," the company said.

Customers, however, appear to have no opt-out from the system beyond not shopping at Amazon. Drivers already commonly photograph packages upon delivery, so the customer-facing workflow remains largely unchanged.

Why are drivers skeptical?

On a Reddit forum for DSP van drivers, the glasses have been a frequent topic of discussion in recent months. Several commenters raised privacy concerns about wearing a camera throughout the workday, including the possibility that bathroom breaks would be captured. One Redditor predicted lawsuits once drivers realize they are being recorded and advised colleagues to carry a thermometer to document in-van temperatures, which can reportedly be far more extreme than outside conditions. The same commenter forecast: "They'll quietly make these glasses disappear here in like 8 months."

Others framed the device as a data-gathering instrument for automation. "I don't want to train my replacement," one Redditor wrote. Another posted: "We are one step away from being replaced by robots." Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fast Company regarding these concerns.

With the 2025 pilot behind it and a 20,000-driver target on the horizon, Amazon now faces the task of convincing its workforce that the device serves delivery accuracy rather than workforce data collection.