DeliveryPoint

Each delivery/collection point in the system will contain at least some basic electronics and typically also a user interface panel either on it or in the property to which the DeliveryPoint relates. These sub-systems:

Box Identification

Each DeliveryPoint will contain an RFID reader that can determine the unique identity of any boxes within or attached to the DeliveryPoint. This ensures that the correct boxes are taken by the delivery staff.

Staff Interaction

DeliveryPoints will interact with systems carried or worn by delivery staff - so that hatches can be opened and boxes released or latched as the appropriate member of staff approaches the DeliveryPoint.

Customer Interaction

On a built-in kitchen unit, a single display unit with a touch screen will show the residents which boxes are present and will allow them to specify which boxes are to be taken away empty or to be delivered to other addresses.

Where exterior cabinets or DeliveryPost are used, the user interaction may be in two parts. On the DeliveryPost or DeliveryCabinet itself, a sensor may be used to detect the approach of the owner in a similar way to that described above for staff. This could be interacting with the user's mobile phone, for example, to identify them and allow them access to the DeliveryPoint. Alternatively a number pad or biometric device such as a fingerprint sensor could be used. Indoors, the touch-screen unit lets the customer see which boxes are present in or attached to their outdoor DeliveryPoint and, as with the built-in unit, lets them specify what should happen to the returning/empty boxes.

Communicate with the rest of the system

Each DeliveryPoint will contain a wireless transceiver through which it can communicate with the central localnet systems over the internet. Where the property is connected to the internet via broadband this will typically be a Wi-Fi connection but in more rural locations it may be a cellular phone connection.

Infrastructure