While looking for packages in the back of vans only takes a few minutes at each stop for a delivery driver, that time can add up when delivering packages to over a hundred Amazon customers each day.
Vision-Assisted Package Retrieval (VAPR) means that 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.
The idea of VAPR 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.
John Colucci, Product Manager, Amazon Transportation says: “We had to think about factors that are unique to the delivery experience, such as lighting and space constraints inside vans.
"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.
How it works: Once the van arrives at a delivery location, 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.
Bobby Garcia, a driver with Bloomfield Logistics, who has been testing VAPR in the North Boston, Massachusetts area said: "Before, it could take me anywhere between two and five minutes to empty a tote and organize packages for the next stops.
"Now, with VAPR, this whole step just takes me about a minute. It’s made my life so much easier.”
Michelle Gardner, Logistice UK's Deputy Director - Policy commented: "
