The world’s largest eCommerce company Amazon has unveiled plans to install video cameras powered by artificial intelligence (AI) in its branded delivery vans.
The move marks an effort made by Amazon to improve safety of both drivers and the communities in which they deliver. The company recently started rolling out camera-based safety technology across its delivery fleet, it said in an emailed statement released recently. “This technology will provide drivers real-time alerts to help them stay safe when they are on the road,” the statement added.
The company’s plans were earlier disclosed in an instructional video about the cameras. In the video Amazon said that the cameras, developed by transportation technology company Netradyne, use AI to provide warnings about speeding and distracted driving among other things.
They have been shown to reduce collisions and improve driver behavior, Amazon’s Karolina Haraldsdottir, a senior manager for last-mile safety, said in the video.
Amazon has come under some scrutiny in the past for accidents involving delivery drivers. “Our intention with this technology is to set up drivers for success and provide them with support for being safer on road and handling incidents if and when they happen,” Ms. Haraldsdottir is seen saying in the video.
The video explains that while the cameras will constantly record video, they only upload footage if triggered by actions like driver drowsiness, hard braking or following vehicles too closely.
