Intelligent Mail Delivery System with OCR Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mailcenters face inefficiencies in processing and tracking incoming mail, leading to significant resources being spent on unwanted mail due to lack of tracking and accounting mechanisms, resulting in financial and time losses.
Innovation Solution
An intelligent mail processing system that uses mailpiece identifiers, optical character recognition, and electronic notifications to categorize and manage mail, allowing customers to provide instructions on processing through a web interface, and automates sorting and delivery based on predefined workflows.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If mail is processed as it arrives with conventional hand delivery methods, then mail processing can be performed with simple operations, but tremendous amounts of money and time are spent receiving, sorting, distributing and delivering unwanted mail
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary scanning and identification of incoming mail to determine its nature (wanted or unwanted) before processing. By scanning mail items with OCR technology and comparing against a database of expected mail, the system identifies unwanted mail in advance and directs it to a holding area, preventing unnecessary sorting, distributing and delivery operations from being performed on unwanted mail.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces manual hand delivery and sorting operations with automated scanning, OCR recognition, and robotic handling. Mail items are scanned using optical scanners and processed through software algorithms that automatically categorize them, eliminating the need for manual inspection and handling of each mail item.
2Loss of information
If no tracking and tallying provisions are implemented, then mail processing operations remain simple, but mailcenters have no idea where incoming mail comes from, who the mail is going to, sizes of incoming mail or classes of incoming mail
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses optical scanning and OCR technology to automatically capture and extract information from mail items. Scanners read barcodes, ZIP codes, and other identifying marks, while OCR software recognizes printed text to determine sender, recipient, size, and mail class information, replacing manual tracking methods with automated information capture.
Solution Approach 2:
The tracking system is integrated into the existing mail processing workflow, serving multiple functions simultaneously: identifying mail origin, determining destination, categorizing by size and class, and generating routing instructions. This multi-functional approach consolidates what would otherwise require separate tracking systems into a unified solution.
3Productivity
If manual sorting and delivery of all incoming mail is performed, then all mail can be delivered, but a large percentage of unwanted mail is delivered and immediately thrown away by the mail service customer
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary identification and categorization of mail items before they enter the main sorting and delivery workflow. By scanning and analyzing mail items upfront, the system separates wanted mail from unwanted mail, directing only wanted mail through the full processing chain to customers, while unwanted mail is diverted to holding areas or destruction facilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system extracts and removes unwanted mail from the processing stream before it reaches customers. Through automated identification and routing, unwanted mail is separated from the main flow and directed to alternative destinations, preventing it from being delivered to customers where it would be immediately discarded.
Data Source
AI summary
Intelligent tools are provided to enable a mailcenter in a campus to provide mail service to mail service customers and perform processing of mail, in an automated manner as much as possible. Such processing may be performed include scanning and obtaining mail information from a mailpiece, and then sending such mail information to the mail service customer (as specified addressee of the mailpiece) by electronic notification via a corresponding electronic address.