Amazon.com has launched an artificial intelligence-based tracking system to enforce social distancing at its offices and warehouses to help reduce any risk of contracting the new coronavirus among its workers.
The world’s largest online retailer faces scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers and unions over whether it is doing enough to protect staff from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Monitors set up in the company’s warehouses will highlight workers keeping a safe distance in green circles, while workers who are closer will be highlighted in red circles, Amazon said.
The system, called Distance Assistant, uses camera footage in Amazon’s buildings to also help identify high-traffic areas.
Amazon is testing a wearable device that lights up and makes an audio alert when workers are too close to each other, Reuters reported. The device is to be piloted from Wednesday at a warehouse outside Seattle.
The company has also been hiring for roles like social distancing ambassadors and guardians. Responsibilities of such hires range from frequent audits at warehouses to verifying that headcount does not exceed seating limits in break rooms.
Amazon, which will open source the technology behind its Distance Assistant system, is not the first company to turn to AI to track compliance with social distancing.
Several firms have told Reuters that AI camera-based software will be crucial to staying open, as it will allow them to show not only workers and customers, but also insurers and regulators, that they are monitoring and enforcing safe practices.
Amazon said on Tuesday that its tracking system is live at a handful of buildings, adding that it has plans to deploy hundreds of such units over the next few weeks.