Amazon wascriticizedearlier this twelvemonth for a controversial letters patent program that detailed an “ ultrasonic bracelet ” that could be used to surveil workers . The companionship ’s newly public app for augmented realism goggles made specifically for warehouse prole is far more alarming .
The purpose of “ Augmented Reality User Interface Facilitating Fulfillment ” is , on its boldness , a means to navigate Amazon ’s often sprawling warehouses , many of which are well over a million straight pes . Goggles connected to a worn or carry computing gadget overlayer number - by - turn directions from one item to the next , according to the patent of invention app .
Where Amazon ’s Flex app seems to be a gambol tocollect on - road navigation datato finally interchange human drivers with self-reliant vehicles , in - facility routing data could be a used to train the robots many storage warehouse workers already believe will finally make them obsolete .
We ’ve reached out to Amazon for scuttlebutt on the AR goggle patent of invention program and will update if we hear back .
Amazon currently tag an astonishing amount ofindividual employee dataand distills it into punishing “ rate ” goal for each prole to hit daily . That data is mostly culled via mitt - held scanners that lumber usage and downtime . Via some combination of onboard tech and/or QR code litter around the warehouse floor , Amazon ’s imagined rootle goggles would be made to go further , cross “ predilection data , lurch , yaw , [ and ] accelerometer data point , ” meaning walking swiftness , accurate locations , and even where employees are look would be up for grabs .
Explicitly , the program program say : “ In some embodiment [ … ] the wearable computing gimmick can be configured to provide worker instructions and/or optical indicators to a doer wear down the wearable computing equipment who is not moving . ” apply the difficulty Amazon actor apparently front even block workplace for introductory necessities , like the consumption of a restroom , it takes fiddling resource to see how this AR gimmick could become an even more intrusive form of productivity harassment .
As with any patent of invention practical software , there ’s no guarantee such a twist will ever be built or disperse within warehouse , but it gives an indication of the companionship ’s thought . Holistically , Amazon seems intent to ramp up surveillance , both internally and as avendor productfor law enforcement .
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