UPDATED 13:38 EST / SEPTEMBER 20 2017

EMERGING TECH

Amazon is reportedly developing Alexa-powered smart glasses

Amazon.com Inc. is actively working to get Alexa on more devices beyond its own Echo smart speakers.

The company recently released a development kit to help other hardware makers make use of the voice assistant, and now it’s reportedly preparing to take the effort to a whole new level. Insiders have told the Financial Times that Amazon is building a pair of smart glasses with Alexa built in. The spectacles, which would represent the company’s first entry into the wearables market, will reportedly tether to the user’s handset and enable them to interact with the voice assistant on the go.

The sources didn’t specify whether the device includes a microphone, or if users will have to issue commands via their smartphone. But they did say that the glasses will feature a bone-conduction audio system so that Alexa can be heard without the need for headphones or a speaker. Amazon has fitted these components onto a frame designed to look like a regular pair of glasses.

If the information is accurate, this minimalist design approach is likely inspired at least partially by the recently relaunched Google Glass. Amazon recruited the former head of the project in 2014 and later brought over many of the other original team members, according to FT.

The sources said that the company is pursuing the smart glasses project in parallel with an initiative to develop a home security camera. It’s reportedly designed to work with Amazon’s Alexa-enabled Echo products (pictured), which the tipsters claim are poised to receive upgrades as well. The new devices could launch as early as this year.

The home security camera would pit Amazon directly against Google Inc.’s Nest division, as well as numerous smaller competitors. But the online retail giant has a lot of experience taking on new markets.

The most notable example is Amazon Inc.’s $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Market Inc. earlier this year.  A few days before the deal was finalized, the company had already slashed the organic food chain’s prices and announced plans to provide exclusive offers for Prime members.

The pace of Amazon’s expansion could increase even further once its second headquarters opens. Codenamed HQ2, the planned campus will cost over $5 billion to build and is set to employ about 50,000 staffers at full capacity. Amazon is currently scouting for a city to house the development.

Image: Amazon

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