Things to Follow at UPS

I've started exploring a UPS employee bulletin board, and they have mixed reviews about technology upgrades. They seem to have a particularly interesting corporate culture.

I got one email response that seemed very enthusiastic about combining PicoP with the DIAD.. which is the little gizmo drivers carry around -- seen below.

"Can you imagine pointing a DIAD toward an address and having it project the address on the windshield or having a fixed overhead camera display a sort position rather than requiring a paper label?" 

Yes we can. I suspect UPS could save square miles of sticky label material. I think you could get cool things as well, such as scanning a package label and having the picture of the person who is supposed to receive the package projected onto it.

So far the only indications are that this will project some kind of image onto boxes as they are sorted. The future potential of PicoP at UPS has a lot more potential than that!

Or here..

"UPS revolutionized the package delivery business in 1991 when it developed and deployed the first Delivery Information Acquisition Device, known as the DIAD. Two decades later, UPS continues its pioneering development efforts with the fifth generation of the DIAD - the DIAD V."

DIAD V – 2010

• First device in industry to switch on-the-fly between cellular carriers independent of cellular technology.
• Faster WiFi support (600 mbps) enables larger and richer content downloads such as training videos
• A state-of-the-art color display and microprocessor with expanded memory to support driver training and future applications including navigation
• About half the size (3.5”) and weight (1.3 pounds) of DIAD IV.
• A color, auto-focus, flash camera could be used to enhance proof-of-delivery and to help resolve customer claims.
• An aggressive multi-dimensional imager to decode many symbologies, including UPS linear barcodes, without requiring the driver to rotate the DIAD to capture the barcode. 

DIAD