The smart mailbox : The modern day mailbox

Sammanfattning: We often check our virtual mailbox several times a day but often forget to check our actual mailbox. This project aims to create a smart mailbox. This is defined as a mailbox that can notify the recipient that mail has been delivered and give access to the right person. The notification process is done by a barcode-scanner that scans incoming letters and identifies the recipient. An e-mail is then sent to them, notifying that a letter has arrived. A study on different types of barcodes has been done with the conclusion that Code-128 was the most appropriate to use for this project. The scanning accuracy of the mailbox was tested and it was found that a familiar user can correctly scan a letter in 90% of attempts. Giving access to the right person was done with radio frequency identification (RFID), using an RFID reader and RFID tags. The mailbox was programmed in such a way that scanning the authorized tag gave access to the contents of the box by unlocking and opening the lid. The final product is a proof of concept of a smart mailbox. Its purpose is to visualise and test our theories. The project also aims to prove the benefits of implementing more information into the standards of IMB (Intelligent mail barcode)