AUTOMATED PARCEL DELIVERY ROOM
Systems and methods are provided for automatically tracking the presence and location of parcels in a parcel room and/or in a parcel storage device, using computer vision techniques. A camera and computer vision system track each parcel delivered to the room and monitors the location of each parcel in a parcel storage system. The system automatically identifies recipients and alerts if parcels are removed from the room by unauthorized individuals.
1 . A parcel delivery room management system, comprising:
a camera;
a parcel storage device;
a computer vision system configured to:
identify new parcels delivered to the parcel delivery room; and
track placement of parcels on the parcel storage device based upon parcel location information received from the camera; and
a user interface configured to inform a user of a location of a parcel on the parcel storage device intended for delivery to the user.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the computer vision system is further configured to obtain recipient information from parcels.
3 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a parcel scanner configured to obtain recipient information from parcels.
4 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the parcel scanner comprises a barcode reader, QR code reader, optical character recognition (OCR) system, or a combination thereof.
5 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising an alarm configured to alert when a parcel is removed by an incorrect recipient based upon information received from the computer-vision system, the delivery kiosk, or a combination thereof, the alert comprising an audible alert, a visual alert, a notification sent to a property manager, or a combination thereof.
6 . The system of claim 3 , further comprising a kiosk, wherein the kiosk comprises the parcel scanner and/or the user interface.
7 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a kiosk, wherein the kiosk comprises the user interface.
8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the parcel storage device comprises one or more weight sensors.
9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the parcel storage device comprises a plurality of parcel position indicators that indicate a location on the parcel storage device where a parcel is to be placed.
10 . A method comprising:
scanning a first parcel to identify a recipient of the parcel based upon a mailing label affixed to the parcel;
notifying the recipient that the parcel is available to be retrieved;
based upon information provided by a camera system, tracking a position of the parcel on a parcel storage device using a computer vision system until the parcel is retrieved.
11 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
indicating an initial position on the parcel storage device for a carrier to place the parcel.
12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the step of tracking the position of the parcel on the parcel storage device comprises updating a stored indication of the position of the parcel in response to the parcel being moved within the parcel storage device.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the stored indication of the position of the parcel is associated with a unique identifier of the parcel.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the unique identifier is based at least in part on one or more physical characteristics of the parcel.
15 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
responsive to the parcel being removed from the parcel storage device, sounding an alarm.
16 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
providing an access code to the recipient;
subsequent to the parcel being placed on the parcel storage device, receiving the access code; and
responsive to receiving the access code, allowing the parcel to be removed from the parcel storage device without sounding an alarm.
17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the step of receiving the access code is performed using a kiosk comprising a user interface.
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the kiosk comprises a scanner used to perform the step of scanning the parcel.
19 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the access code is received via a user interface in signal communication with the computer vision system.
20 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the step of scanning the parcel is performed using a barcode reader, QR code reader, optical character recognition (OCR) system, or a combination thereof.