POPSCI--A three-inch sensor box could be affixed to the bottom of postal vehicles, while an infrared signal would scan the vehicle's surroundings. A SIM card could connect (via cellphone signal) to a central data server, where sensor information would be processed.
 
Telematics, a mash-up of telecommunications and informatics, is the science of scanning the world with wireless devices to extract data, sending this data to a computer network, and using the information to do anything from tracking packages to monitoring the highway speed of grocery trucks. UPS relies heavily on telematics, as does GM with its OnStar navigation system. The federal government could do a better job of capitalizing on the science, according to Michael J. Ravnitzky. So he started thinking about one of the largest mobile networks on Earth: the post office.Read more!
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