To improve security and precaution, Amazon is evaluating a wearable gadget that alerts warehouse workers when they’re violating social distancing guidelines, as per a memo gotten by CNBC. Beginning Wednesday, the devices will be rolled out at an Amazon storage facility in Kent, Washington.
Amazon has likewise explored cameras equipped with social distancing software. in the past. It is now checking a wearable gadget that notifies satisfaction center workers when they’re breaking rules of social distancing.
The gadget is a clear plastic sleeve wearable with a clip that includes an LED light and audio system, according to a memo seen by CNBC.
As and when workers tend to come too near to one another, the device discharges a loud beeping sound and the light flashes. The center in Kent, Washington, will start deploying the gadget beginning Wednesday, according to a private online group for warehouse workers.
Amazon hopes that the technology will assist workers and teams “work safer” in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, the memo states. Initially, Amazon is evaluating the gadget with daytime warehouse workers.
Employees can pick up the wearable from stations located throughout their facility and will receive directions on how to use it. Workers return the device at the end of their shift and they can share feedback about the device by scanning a QR code. Employees have the liberty of not using the device if they do not desire to.
An Amazon representative validated the company just recently started a small pilot of the wearable gadget at one of its storage facilities. The spokesperson mentioned that the company will use feedback from groups testing the gadget “to continue to repeat.”
Its memo states “We’re excited to check this innovation with you and get your feedback to understand if it’s an efficient tool to keep you safe, Additionally, if we are ever alerted of a COVID-19 diagnosis, the information recorded from the devices of partners who had close contact can be utilized to conduct contact tracing.”
The tests come as Amazon is likewise experimenting with other safety steps to enforce social distancing rules at its storage facilities.
On Tuesday, Amazon, even more, announced it’s rolling out “Distance Assistants” at a handful of facilities across the U.S. A video camera is hooked up to a screen and a regional computing device that informs users as they stroll by whether they’re keeping proper distancing.
Amazon has included additional functions like floor markers in high-traffic locations as a method of encouraging people on how to practice safe distancing. It has also added jobs at warehouses where employees are in charge of monitoring whether employees follow these guidelines. The business was likewise counting on its “top maker discovering technologists” to detect locations where it can enhance social distancing in its centers by examining CCTV footage.
The business has, however, had its share of criticism too. A number of its storage facility employees, state lawyers, and likewise political leaders have slammed its slow speed of offering individual protective devices, temperature level checks, and other tools for boosting staff member security. throughout the pandemic. Its CEO Jeffery Beroz has pressed back on these allegations, saying Amazon has gone to great lengths to secure employees from the coronavirus.