For many years now, augmented reality has been positioned as a transformative technology that could revolutionize the way humans interact with the world. While its consumer applications — such as gaming, retail and entertainment — have caught attention, AR is also quietly gaining traction in the workplace, from warehouses and manufacturing to hospitals and educational institutions.
Recent reports of Amazon developing AR glasses for its delivery drivers are part of a rising trend of firms seeking AR solutions for increasing productivity, reducing errors and simplifying complicated tasks. But how much of this is hype? Can AR glasses truly change the workplace as we know it?
AR in Action
In logistics and warehouses, AR glasses have already begun making inroads. Companies like DHL have deployed AR systems and smart glasses to assist workers in locating and picking items as part of its Vision Picking program — in 2015, DHL reported a 25% “efficiency increase” during its pilot programs.
“This is just the first step in our innovation journey — we believe augmented reality will become relevant for even more supply chain areas,” said Jan-Willem De Jong, Business Unit Director Technology, DHL Supply Chain, Benelux.
Manufacturing is another sector making use of AR. Boeing, for instance, reportedly integrated Google Glass into its aircraft production for building complex wire harnesses, and, last year, partnered with Red 6 to incorporate AR into fighter pilot training. This year, Boeing advanced this collaboration by integrating Red 6’s Augmented Reality Tactical Airborne System into its T-7A Red Hawk, intensifying the realism of training scenarios and simulating complex aerial dogfights.
In retail, several brands have been creating interactive and immersive ways to engage customers, from IKEA’s room-scanning app that visualizes furniture in a home to Toyota’s AR car customization tool. And in healthcare, AR glasses are enabling surgeons to view imaging data during procedures without turning away from the patient.
By integrating X-rays, CT scans, or other data directly into the surgical field, AR is said to help improve precision and saves time in operating rooms. Neurosurgeons at Johns Hopkins University performed the institution’s first two AR surgeries on patients in 2020, one for a spinal fusion surgery and another to remove a cancerous tumor.
“When using augmented reality in the operating room, it’s like having a GPS navigator in front of your eyes in a natural way so you don’t have to look at a separate screen to see your patient’s CT scan,” said Tomothy Witham, who led the spinal fusion surgery, and is director of the Johns Hopkins Neurosurgery Spinal Fusion Laboratory.
Meanwhile, Apple is reportedly moving forward with its own work on smart glasses, with an internal study, code-named Atlas, that aims to evaluate existing AR products and gather feedback from employees, according to a Bloomberg report. Meta and Snap have also previewed AR glasses that blend the real world with digital overlays, though the products won’t be available to consumers for a few years.
Amazon’s reported AR glasses for delivery drivers marks another step. The glasses, as envisioned, would provide turn-by-turn navigation and guidance inside buildings, helping drivers locate obscure entrances or apartments. While Amazon has yet to confirm details, according to a Reuters report — or even if the project will move beyond development — the concept aligns with the company’s relentless pursuit of efficiency.
Augmented Concerns
As AR continues to expand in the workplace, ethical concerns also become more pronounced. A key issue is the potential for surveillance and privacy violations. With AR devices capable of recording and analyzing user data, the line between productivity enhancement and intrusive monitoring can easily blur. Workers might unknowingly become subjects of constant observation, raising questions about consent and transparency in how data is collected, stored and used.
“Because large amounts of personal data may be collected, so this data can be hacked and/or used for malicious reasons,” write Mel Slater and colleagues in their 2020 study published in Frontiers in Virtual Reality. “Of particular relevance are data collection, including for example face recognition, data sharing policies (should the government or other third parties have access to what you do virtually?), scams that use someone’s data or identity and fake commercial transactions.”
Ethical concerns also emerge around the potential for AR to manipulate user behavior, particularly in sectors like retail or healthcare, where AR technologies might be used to subtly influence purchasing decisions or patient outcomes.
Cost is another obstacle. Early adopters, such as Google Glass and Microsoft HoloLens, struggled with issues like cost, limited battery life and user discomfort. While AR glasses can deliver long-term savings through improved efficiency, the upfront investment remains steep, particularly for smaller companies.
Still, the broader AR and virtual reality market is poised for growth despite recent challenges. According to IDC, global shipments of AR/VR headsets are expected to rise by 41.4% in 2025 after a slight decline in 2024. This growth is attributed to advancements in mixed reality and extended reality devices, driven by the integration of artificial intelligence and consumer-friendly designs.
However, IDC also highlights persistent barriers to AR adoption, including high costs and difficulties in scaling production. For workplace-focused AR glasses, overcoming these obstacles may be crucial.
If companies like Amazon and Apple succeed, however, AR glasses could mark the beginning of a new era for workplace technology — one where the already blurred boundaries between the physical and digital worlds may altogether disappear.
“Virtual and augmented realities have the potential to be profoundly transformative new tools with the capacity to shape how we see the world, ourselves, and our relationships,” writes Erick Jose Ramirez, associate professor of philosophy at Santa Clara University, in The Ethics of Virtual and Augmented Reality: Building Worlds. “If we want to build ethical virtual worlds, then we’ll need to be much more mindful of the relationship between how we construct our simulations and the purposes to which we put them.”
