FEBRUARY 22--Lockheed Martin Distribution Technologies (Owego, NY) has selected the Fairchild Imaging Fairchild Imaging (Milpitas, CA; www.fairchildimaging.com) CAM 8525 as the core imaging module for its wide-field-of-view (WFOV) camera system. In December 2001, Lockheed Martin was awarded a contract by the US Postal Service (USPS) to provide the WFOV camera system to postal facilities throughout the United States.
The new program will replace the existing optical imaging cameras on the equipment used to sort mail. The WFOV system improves the read rate of the POSTNET barcodes so that fewer items are rejected and more letters can be sorted automatically. In addition, the enhanced system reads two-dimensional information-based indicia, including electronic postage generated by Web-based or stand-alone computerized applications authorized by the USPS.
Lockheed Martin's WFOV system enhances letter processing by capturing an image of the entire envelope instead of just the bottom four inches, where the barcode on letter mail is typically located. The new system will be installed on delivery barcode sorters and carrier sequence barcode sorters. These two pieces of equipment are the backbone of postal delivery systems, as nearly every piece of letter mail crosses one or both of these machines during a mail-processing cycle.
Lockheed Martin is responsible for the development and deployment of 9000 WFOV camera systems to USPS facilities. Beginning in the late summer of 2002, the systems will be installed at more than 1600 locations throughout the United States over a two-year period. Fairchild Imaging will begin deliveries of the CAM 8525, for installation in the WFOV, in late spring.
