Amazon Reportedly Developing Alexa Smart Glasses

Amazon’s Alexa smart assistant has already transitioned from just being on the Echo speakers to being an AI assistant on smartphones. Now, a new report claims that Amazon is planning to put Alexa on a pair of smart glasses.

This new Amazon Alexa smart glasses was first reported by the Financial Times citing people familiar with Amazon’s plans. According to the source, the Alexa-powered smart glasses will be able to work anytime and anywhere and are designed to look like a regular pair of eyeglasses.

The Amazon Alexa smart glasses will be tethered to a smartphone. The device will also apparently include bone-conduction audio technology, so that the wearer of the smart glasses will be able to hear Alexa’s responses without the need to wear additional headphones.

The bone-conduction audio technology is a bit reminiscent to what Xiaomi used last year for its bezel-less Mi Mix smartphone. There are also some headphone makers that are already using the same kind of technology, like the Trekz Titanium from Chinese company Aftershockz.

Bone conduction audio tech uses vibration to deliver sound to the users ear. This works by having the earpiece pressed against the jawbone, the bone behind the ear or right on the ear itself. Amazon's Alexa glasses will presumably have a built-in microphone so users can give out voice commands.

The Amazon Alexa smart glasses won’t feature a display of any kind nor a camera like the Google Glass, according to Engadget. The idea behind this new pair of Alexa smart glasses is providing users faster access to the AI assistant without opening their smartphone. This would be quite useful when users are driving or doing something else that requires their attention.

The lack of a display and a camera may also means longer battery life, which the original Google Glass was heavily criticized for. Concerns over privacy may also be smaller because of the absence of a camera.

Google Glass founder Babak Parviz is believed to be closely involved in the development of the new Amazon Alexa glasses. Parviz was first hired by Amazon back in 2014, accoridng to The Verge. Meanwhile, other researchers, engineers and designers involved with Google Glass are already part of Amazon.

Aside from the Alexa glasses, Amazon is also believed to be working on a new home security camera. FT’s report claims that this would be an expansion of Amazon's smart home line-up and will be able to connect with the company’s other Echo devices. For example, the new Amazon security camera’s live feed can be viewed on the Echo Show’s screen, according to CNET.

"One or both” of these new Amazon products may be launched before the end of 2017. The report also mentioned that Amazon may announce the new device/s alongside updated versions of the company’s Echo home speakers.

Amazon has already seen success with its Echo speakers and it even prompted Google and Apple to come out with their own smart home speakers. However, Amazon’s plan to release a pair of Alexa-powered smart glasses is seen as a huge risk for the company.

Wearable technology, specifically smart glasses, haven’t faired well. The Google Glass was discontinued back in 2015, but was reintroduced this year as an enterprise-only product. However, Amazon’s take on the smart glasses is different and relies more on artificial intelligence.