Amazon patent details hand-tracking wristbands for warehouse workers

Companies are all about making sure you're working, and they're using increasingly high-tech solutions to do so. One firm in London uses AI to analyze your daily behavior, while the FreshTeam messaging app can track employee locations. Now, Amazon was just awarded a patent for a wristband that tracks warehouse workers' hand movements.

The patents, originally filed in 2016, may likely never see the light of day. As Gizomodo points out, the wristband system has three parts, with an ultrasonic unit for the wrist, various ultrasonic devices placed around the work area and a module to manage all that data. The patent also points to a haptic feedback module, which could buzz employees for various reasons, including notifying them of breaks or to help them find items in the warehouse, Apple Watch navigation-style.

While legal, of course, a system like this should likely raise privacy concerns, though as Geekwire notes, the patent itself positions such a wristband as a labor-saving device, helping employees perform their tasks more efficiently and connecting to the inventory system.