IT Convergence Technology Research Laboratory

areas for Research & Development

  Customer Interface Improvement Technology

Regarding the customer interface improvement technology, the department is conducting research on technologies designed to allow customers to request mail services via diverse media such as the Internet and mobile devices anywhere, anytime, and to enable post offices to automatically acquire mail acceptance information to ensure mail volume forecasting and the provision of value-added services.

Regarding the customer interface improvement technology, to boost mail acceptance efficiency and customer convenience, the department is developing the automatic acceptance system and the acceptance information management system for bulk mail.

The automatic acceptance system for bulk mail is a Web-based system designed to allow corporate customers to request the acceptance of their bulk mail with electronic indicia to post offices and mail sorting centers. The bulk mail acceptance information management system, which is based on roll cages, is a Web-based acceptance system designed to provide individual hub-based mail flow information and clearance information via the inputting of roll cage-based bulk mail acceptance information and the attachment of identification barcodes so as to boost mail logistics efficiency.

  Postal Logistics Process Technology

The focus of this research is to effectively apply RFID technologies to postal objects to improve the visibility of assets and to reduce the logistics cost caused by the inefficiency of the barcode based process. Our research area include business process optimization, development of information system and RFID hardware customization.

Based on the result of analysis on feasibility and expected outcome, roll case is chosen as the first target object. An RFID tag is attached to each roll cage and the roll cage is tracked every time it passes through the gate of the mail center. This eliminates the cost of barcode scans of roll cages and the correctness of the information is expected to be improved.

The research area is divided into three categories such as business process optimization, RFID software development, and RFID hardware customization. The target point where the RFID would be applied is decided through analyzing the existing business process and the new business process that utilizes the RFID is derived. Through the research on software, we have developed our own RFID middleware and application softwares that implement the new business process. Those softwares we have developed are now integrated with the legacy information system, PostNet. We also have been working on the hardware customization to reduce the effect of the interference among RFID readers in a single mail center. We have shown that 100% read rate can be guaranteed in our environment.

Furthermore, the scheme including the IT introduction plan to improve the process efficiency is drawn. The methodology for postal information standard code system is studied as well. The IT technologies including the advanced automation technology, telematics technology, robot technology , and u-computing technology will be applied in terms of practical postal business. For example, the research goal of postal information standard code architecture is to solve lots of problems provoked from the various kinds of bar code scheme. It also establishes the long-term road-map including the investigation, design and propagation of the standard postal code architecture. The pending issues such as customer bar code and the registered mail ID granting method are reviewed in long-term point of view.

In another field of postal logistics process technology, the department is developing intelligent postal technologies for tracking and tracing ordinary mail as well as key fundamental technologies aimed at providing diverse online postal services over online networks / mobile devices.

Regarding the technology for intelligent mail services, the department is developing the technology for high-density 4-state barcodes - including such information as customer ID, mail ID, and delivery point. It is also conducting research on technologies designed to attach these bar codes to ensure visibility throughout the whole process of acceptance-division-transport-delivery, and to provide an address change service (ACS), as well as confirmation of tracking and tracing, seamless acceptance, and quality management services.

Research on key fundamental technologies for online postal services is being conducted to develop the necessary fundamental technologies and the relevant systems, in order to provide diverse online services suitable for the new u-Post environment. Postal acceptance systems and service models are being formulated using the Internet, mobile, and IPTV, and other diverse means of communication.
To prove the forwarding of all online documents in the e-mail environment, the department is developing e-document-proving technologies, as well as POD technologies designed to send online e-documents in applications requiring security, to remote-print them, and to deliver them. Postal service systems for non-designated addresses are being developed to provide customers with the delivery locations of publicity materials using GIS technology. Also, unmanned acceptance systems are being developed to allow customers to request and handle mail acceptance services at post offices.

  Real-time Postal Logistics Operation Technology

The research goal is the development of the planning based real-time postal logistics operation system for postal logistics infrastructure of Korea Post.

Based on the information of the PostNet of Korea Post, the center has implemented the optimal operation planning systems and has also designed the mathematical model through the use of the management science methodology including integer programming model and simulation model.

So far, the center has developed the national mail delivery network planning system, the control region adjustment system for mail centers, the staff scheduling system for mail centers, and the cost evaluation system for logistics business based on the real-time postal logistics integrated operation system design. The development of postal logistics network design technology is currently progressed so that the policy-maker of Korea Post can simulate the load of postal infrastructure as well as establish the response plan against the real-time change of mail volume.

It is expected that the limitation of the analysis work by human hand can be overcome and the optimal operation planning can be established through the system development. By shortening the time to be required in the operation planning, it can be flexibly manageable with the situation that the mail volume abruptly changes.

  Postal Automation Network Technology

Based on Hangul address recognition technology, the center has developed the carrier sequencing machine and proved its efficiency. Through technology transfer, this has been delivered since 2006 and will be installed at 400 post offices in Korea, which means it plays an important role to strengthen Korean postal technology industry.

Now, the center aims to construct a nationally integrated network among sort machines at mail centers and information system to provide enhanced service as well as better performance in processing mail.

  Roughly, there are two main topics in this research :

• Developing Hangul address recognition technology
• Developing a machine-independent platform for sort machines

This study on developing Hangul address recognition focuses on postal code system and technologies using address information and the main purpose is increasing address recognition rate. Recognition of the “new addressing system” as well as method for forwarding service is also included within this technology.

Due to the policy of new addressing system, Korea Post faces to adapt it to process mail. Therefore, upgrading address recognition software is indispensable. Since address recognition software were provided by variant machine venders, those are dependent on mail processing machines and upgrading software is quite expensive. For the scalability of address recognition software and some functions of sort machines, separation between machine controller and other functional software like OCR, VCS and etc., will be realized. This machine-independent platform can make it easier to upgrade software regarding address recognition.

The scope of postal automation network technology research is to set a standard interface to communicate between various machine controllers and other functional software, to provide centralized sort plan management system, to utilize Hangul address recognition technology and to integrate all sort machines into one network so that the information obtained from one machine can be reused by other machines. Through this technology, seamless information flow from collection to delivery of mail can be produced and value added service- forwarding, track and trace service and etc.-, improved address recognition rate and increased efficiency in postal processing can be achieved.