Yesterday, Amazon's all-electric vans started making deliveries. Today, we found out how Amazon is trying to make them the safest delivery vehicles by testing an AI camera system that monitors the driver's performance.
As CNBC reports, Amazon is currently testing the Driveri fleet safety platform developed by Netradyne, which is advertised as "the only Fleet Safety Platform that captures and analyzes 100% of driving time, identifying areas for improvement as well as driver recognition opportunities." It's an AI-enabled device that analyzes the performance of a driver to help judge driver compliance and trends, as well as providing notifications and alerts both to the driver and the team monitoring them.
"We are investing in safety across our operations and recently started rolling out industry leading camera-based safety technology across our delivery fleet," Amazon spokesperson Deborah Bass said in a statement. "This technology will provide drivers real-time alerts to help them stay safe when they are on the road."
Further confirmation of how far along Amazon is in implementing this tech was discovered in an unlisted Vimeo video. Karolina Haraldsdottir, Senior Manager, Last Mile Safety, explains in the video how the Driveri system can help keep everyone safe as Amazon deliveries happen. As well as cutting down of collisions, Haraldsdottir also suggests the system will help when an incident does occur.
Driveri is a single unit installed in the delivery van and consists of four cameras. One faces the road, one faces the driver, and the other two view each side of the van, offering 270-degrees of coverage. There's no live viewing or audio, so the driver can't be watched or listened to as they drive. However, this hasn't stopped drivers stating anonymously that they felt it could be used as "a punishment system" and like "Big Brother."
The video goes on to explain there's 16 signals that will trigger Driveri to upload recorded footage for later review. The four most serious will also trigger an audio alert for the driver, they include failing to stop, speeding, distracted driving, and following another vehicle too closely. Drivers can trigger a recording upload manually if they feel it necessary, for example, when an incident happens.