Tiny gadget delivers a letter’s route (U.S)
The U.S. Postal Service commissioned Burlingame-based TrackingTheWorld to create the world’s first letter-tracking GPS device that will ensure letters never again are lost in the postal Bermuda Triangle. Dubbed the Letter Logger, the device stores GPS coordinates throughout its journey and stores information on its micro-SD flash memory card so the post office can keep tabs on the letter’s location.
The Letter Logger weighs just two ounces and is 3.9-by-1.5 inches. It is placed inside a regular No. 10 envelope and can operate for two weeks. The recipient of the chip can then upload the GPS data onto their computer and see the envelope’s route on Google Earth.
The gadget was released in February, when it was named gadget of the month by Popular Science magazine. The product is only a quarter-inch thick and costs USD 6.75 apiece.
The USPS does employ a variety of tracking devices to its letters and packages and uses GPS to track vehicles, but it does not have a GPS system to track individual letters, spokesman James Wigdel said.
In addition to avoiding lost mail, the device will help the postal service, and delivery companies such as UPS and DHL, minimize the amount of time a letter is being sent, Daggett said.
The U.S. Postal Service commissioned Burlingame-based TrackingTheWorld to create the world’s first letter-tracking GPS device that will ensure letters never again are lost in the postal Bermuda Triangle. Dubbed the Letter Logger, the device stores GPS coordinates throughout its journey and stores information on its micro-SD flash memory card so the post office can keep tabs on the letter’s location.
The Letter Logger weighs just two ounces and is 3.9-by-1.5 inches. It is placed inside a regular No. 10 envelope and can operate for two weeks. The recipient of the chip can then upload the GPS data onto their computer and see the envelope’s route on Google Earth.
The gadget was released in February, when it was named gadget of the month by Popular Science magazine. The product is only a quarter-inch thick and costs $6.75 apiece.
The USPS does employ a variety of tracking devices to its letters and packages and uses GPS to track vehicles, but it does not have a GPS system to track individual letters, spokesman James Wigdel said.
In addition to avoiding lost mail, the device will help the postal service, and delivery companies such as UPS and DHL, minimize the amount of time a letter is being sent, Daggett said.
The company is tackling the postal industry after it helped law enforcement, Tour de France riders and companies around the world when it introduced the World Tracker a few years ago.
That GPS device, about the size of a pager and priced at USD 500, has been placed inside cars and other items in areas that have been prone to thefts. When unsuspecting thieves swipe goods containing the device, police can then track the location of the stolen items.
