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Slides
from Fall 2002
presentation (PDF)
(sponsors only)
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USPS Concept Truck (with Lear)
A postal vehicle outfitted with safety
features.
| Who: |
From the USPS: Ken Paul, Media
Lab liaison
From Lear: Winston Maue, Media Lab liaison
From the Media Lab: Prof.
Ted Selker and Betty Lou
McClanahan
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| When: |
Fall 2002
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| Where: |
MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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| Why: |
- The USPS has supported technology around
transportation for 200 years (Examples: the Pony Express, trains,
pneumatic tubes, airplanes, Segway).
- McClanahan suggested collaboration; invited Lear (automotive
supplier).
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| How: |
- Process rather than a solution
- Finding fit
- Communicating/brainstorming
- Energy, creativity, enthusiasm
- Collaboration with other sponsors
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Details
The USPS brought in local postal folks—drivers and carriers—and
"sparks flew" in brainstorming sessions with Media Lab researchers.
The
USPS had many concerns to address, including:
- 200,000 vehicles
and an engineering staff of five;
- Self-insured and concerned with the
societal cost of accidents, fuel-efficiency, and the need to find
new revenue sources;
- Safety is paramount.
Problems and Solutions
The main concerns of USPS drivers: rollaways and driveaways.
- Lear developed a
seat with an electronic emergency brake triggered by sensors in the seat;
the truck sets the brake automatically when
the driver exits the vehicle;
- Lear has a headrest that adjusts automatically
to prevent whiplash;
- The seat was also heated and cooled.
Postal vehicles
are so commonplace that people do not notice them on the road.
- Valance lighting was added to the sides of the
truck, in order to make it as visible as possible;
- Valences also prevent moisture from damaging cameras;
- Ticker-tape advertising was possible as well.
The truck
is a bulky vehicle with many blindspots.
- Context-aware cameras were installed around the
outside of the vehicle, with displays giving the driver complete views
of sides and rear of truck;
- Obstacle detection display: ultra-sonic sensors
detect objects in blind spots and cause the seat to vibrate, and lights
to shine, if there is a danger (vibration increases in intensity as
vehicle gets closer to obstacle).
Reducing
the time it takes to load the truck.
- RF Manifest and Delivery: RFID tags on the packages
help the driver locate which packages go where (with the help of GPS);
- Also
helps prevent forgotten/missed deliveries.
Increasing sources of revenue.
- Selker installed mobile
billboards on the sides of the truck that could be used to sell advertising.
Possibilities for the future
- The trucks might carry consumer products/hot sellers
(Amazon.com books, etc.).
- Home health care:
- Drivers already unofficially check on elderly/homebound people
as they do their routes—they could begin to do it as a service;
- They could pick up testing results for medical industry.
- Drivers could collect meter data for utilities.
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