Pre-affixed Accessor Codes for Parcel Retrieval at Security Checkpoints
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current logistics for parcel delivery at security checkpoints are inefficient, as passengers must delay their journey to enter data for retrieval of confiscated items, causing bottlenecks and delays.
Innovation Solution
A system using pre-affixed accessor codes on envelopes, accessible via smartphone, allows passengers to initiate parcel shipment without leaving the security area, enabling on-demand generation of labels and integration with kiosks for payment and delivery information processing, facilitating seamless parcel retrieval and shipping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If passengers must stop at security checkpoints to enter data for parcel retrieval, then item security and tracking are ensured, but journey time increases and bottlenecks occur
Solution Approach 1:
Accessor codes are pre-generated and pre-affixed to envelopes before they reach the security checkpoint. This preliminary action allows the parcel identification and tracking setup to be completed in advance, eliminating the need for passengers to stop and enter data at the checkpoint, thus resolving the contradiction between security reliability and journey time.
2Loss of information
If passengers stop to complete parcel shipment data entry, then delivery information is captured, but security checkpoint efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Delivery information is captured through pre-positioned accessor codes that contain or link to delivery details before the checkpoint. Passengers can retrieve this information later via smartphone, eliminating the need to stop at the checkpoint for data entry while ensuring no delivery information is lost.
Solution Approach 2:
A smartphone application acts as an intermediary between the accessor code and the delivery information system. The smartphone reads the accessor code and retrieves delivery information, allowing passengers to complete data capture without physically stopping at the checkpoint, thus maintaining checkpoint efficiency while capturing all necessary delivery information.
3Loss of information
If manual data entry is required at checkpoints, then delivery details are recorded, but passenger throughput is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Manual mechanical data entry is replaced with automated optical/electronic scanning of accessor codes using smartphone cameras or checkpoint scanners. This substitution eliminates the need for manual typing or form-filling, capturing delivery details automatically while maintaining high passenger throughput by removing the bottleneck of manual data collection.
4Ease of operation
If passengers carry confiscated items through security, then item retrieval is possible, but security protocols are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The item itself is extracted from the passenger's possession and placed in a secure envelope at the checkpoint. Only the lightweight accessor code (in the form of a printed label or digital record) remains with the passenger. This extraction allows easy retrieval through code verification while maintaining security protocols by keeping the actual item in secure custody until proper authorization is confirmed.
Data Source
AI summary
When a security screen at a security checkpoint identifies a forbidden item carried by a passenger, the passenger may be directed to a checkin station for a retrieval service. At the checkin station, passenger puts item into an envelope, and takes a physical receipt without delaying to enter delivery data. The physical receipt may be preprinted with an accessor code to a database that will give the passenger a tracking code and access to a database record to enter delivery and payment information. The accessor code may be a QR code, bar or machine vision code, an RFID tag that can be scanned by a sensor in a phone, a URL with a unique code to be typed, etc. Retrieval service may permit passenger to enter delivery data once the time constraint is relieved. Retrieval service may use a commercial delivery service such as UPS, FedEx, DHL, or a government Postal Service.