OCR helps speed mail during the holidays
The British Forces Post Office (BFPO) has a twin role, that of service provider and also of morale booster. As a result it has always been keen to embrace the latest technology to optimise its function in support of forces serving abroad. Prime Vision is therefore delighted to be playing its part, particularly at this time of year when efficient communication between family and friends is especially important.
Working with the main integrator partner, Crisplant, Prime Vision has provided BFPO with a complete turnkey hardware and software solution. This included the installation of two CCD line scan cameras, dimensioning systems, servers and Prime Vision OCR for parcels and mixed mail. The system is complemented by our video coding solution for processing any exceptions.
The parcel traffic includes a high percentage of free-form addresses and special codes representing destinations all over the globe. Typically, more than 50% of the address details are hand-written, the automatic capture of which is a particular strength of Prime Vision’s patented OCR software.
Families of British service personnel are also able to send packages up to 2kg, free of charge. The automation of this unique service was therefore one of the special requirements of this project.
“This was a great project to be involved with,” explained Prime Vision’s CEO Eddy Thans. “BFPO was already very experienced in the use of OCR for letter mail and the requirement was therefore to develop an enhanced system that incorporated parcels too.”