Amazon might be known as an online retailer for all kinds of things you can think of, but the company also has some pretty big ambitions. For example we’ve seen how they’re trying to get into our homes with devices like the Dash buttons and the Amazon Echo series of smart speakers, and now it looks like Amazon could be interested in our health as well.
In a report from CNBC, word has it that Amazon has a secret health team that is dedicated to working on electronic medical records, telemedicine, and so on. This team is dubbed “1492” and is apparently named after the year that Columbus first landed in the Americas, although what that has to do with health/medicine is unclear.
It seems that taking health/medicine hi-tech and into the digital age seems to be popular these days. We have heard rumors that Apple also has a secret health team that are working on medical devices/sensors, like a blood-free glucose sensor for the Apple Watch. We’re not sure if Amazon has plans for wearables, but if they did then their 1492 team seems like a pretty good place to start.
The report claims that Amazon is also exploring how existing Amazon products, such as the Echo and Dash Wand, could have health applications. Perhaps devices like the Echo Show with its display could allow for users to hold video calls with their doctors, who knows? In any case take it with a grain of salt, but in case it wasn’t clear by now, Amazon’s ambitions are clearly beyond that of just being an online retailer.