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RC Mailcars
They'll notify you via a ring that they'll be around soon | |
Small remote control mailcar drives slowly (so as not to cause anyone injury) near curb. Path decided according to people who are listed and who requested the service. It can be given at various chosen frequencies (daily, weekly, monthly, morning-evening etc).
The mailcar itself is the shape of a
small street bump, so that real cars simply go over it. A GPS tracks the cars path, and when close to your home gives you a cellular ring. If you answer the ring and press star, it will detect your phone's presence when its near you and stop. You can dial to it and ask it to release your mail, which is automatically released like a printer. If the mail has not been retrieved an error message will be sent to you, and the mailcar will attempt to pull the mail back in.
Perhaps it would be better to have a drawer open (like with the vending machines). Then you could send small packages.
RC Cart Network
RC Cart Network
Similar idea of mine [pashute, Mar 11 2010]
[link]
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So long as you can ensure this will be slower then regular mail, I'll vote for it. |
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Will save energy, instead of big cars taking mail around, and will save traffic congestion. Hundreds of these tiny cars in a large city could get valuables from one place to other, without driving big cars and trucks. |
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I like it. Driving over it at 50 mph with a pothole on one side would make it flip and be destroyed, though. If it wasn't going to be heavy enough to be theft-proof, it would have to have a car alarm and shocker to deter theives from taking them. The operator could deliver the shock to the dedicated team of theives. |
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I dispute the energy saving angle. Around here, mail is delivered by small (100cc) motorbike, pushbike and electric scooter. |
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However: forget using these to deliver mail to your home. Let the system locate you by your cellphone and deliver to the nearest kerb, wherever you happen to be at the time. This would be an ancillary service to the regular mail delivery, for items that you simply must have straight away. They would more or less take the place of bicycle couriers, although somewhat less satisfying to strike with your car. |
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