Amazon is an amazing company and obsess about the smallest of details, the latest obsession has resulted in AI Vision-Assisted Package Retrieval, cutting seconds of the time it takes to deliver a parcel.
So what happens when your delivery gets close is that the driver will empty the next tote of parcels onto a shelf in their van. They then have to identify which of the parcels is for you, and in the past this meant reading the labels to find the right one.
This might sound a tiny problem, looking for packages in the back of vans only takes a few minutes at each stop for a delivery driver but that time can add up when delivering packages to over a hundred Amazon customers each day.
With Vision-Assisted Package Retrieval (VAPR), a new AI-powered solution, delivery drivers will no longer have to spend time organizing packages by stops, reading labels, or manually checking key identifiers like a customer’s name or address to ensure they have the right packages. They simply have to look for VAPR’s green light; grab, and go.
VAPR will automatically project a green “O” on all packages that will be delivered at that stop and a red “X” on all other packages. Through an audio and visual cue, VAPR will prompt the driver, confirming it has found the right packages, before the driver needs to enter the cargo area. The technology also removes the need for drivers to use a mobile device throughout the process.
VAPR was built by training machine learning models to recognize different labels and packages, in various lighting conditions and package characteristics. The technology was also optimized for an in-van environment, and paired with specially designed automotive light projectors and cameras, all integrated with the van’s delivery route navigation system.
We had to think about factors that are unique to the delivery experience, such as lighting and space constraints inside vans.
– John Colucci, product manager, Amazon Transportation
The idea for Vision-Assisted Package Retrieval began at the start of 2020, when a team within Amazon Transportation took the initiative to imagine a world where technology is used as an invisible force to help drivers. A few years later, and thanks to the feedback from drivers piloting the tech, VAPR will be rolled out in 1,000 Amazon electric delivery vans from Rivian by early 2025.
