Smart Courier System

Project Title

Smart Courier System

Project Area of Specialization Electrical/Electronic EngineeringProject Summary

• In this project we are going to use Weighing machine, User interface, Web application, Thermal printer, Conveyor belt system, Stamping system, Bar code scanner and some other components.
• First of all, customer will put its parcel in the company envelop and place this envelope on the weighing machine. After weighing the parcel, customer will go on the user interface where he/she will put his/her information and information about the destination. According to customer’s information (parcel weight and the destination city) a Bar code will be generated on slip. The customer will have to pay his/her bill by scanning QR code with Easypaisa or any other app. A paper will be print out from the thermal printer that contains the whole information about the parcel. The customer will then patch this paper on his/her parcel’s envelop where already written a sentence that “Patch the printed paper here”. Then this parcel will go on the conveyor belt system. On receiving the parcel, the conveyor belt system will start automatically and the conveyor belt stamp system will be available for stamping of the company name as well as date on the parcel.
• The parcel will then move on the sheet that is 2 to 3 feet long. After reaching the parcel on this sheet the conveyor belt will stop automatically. Here we use the Bar code scanner above the sheet to scan the Bar code and for sorting out different cities couriers according to the destination that customer has already set.
• At the last stage we have use some boxes that are specific for different cities couriers. As this sheet will rotate to the front of any box of city according to programming that are set for some specific cities. After this, the sheet will bend automatically and the parcel will drop down in a box of that specific city.

Project Objectives

Now a day's world is moving towards automation as well as industries but there are some small industries which are using manual system till now. Pakistan’s courier system is also included in one of those industries which need to be automated because automation increases the quality of work.

The primary objective of this project is automation of courier system. Other objectives are as follows:

• To provide the Customer Satisfaction/ Customer friendly.
• To make the Courier Service Fast.
• To make the Courier Service more Reliable.
• To make the Courier Service easy to handle.
• Fulfil the customer service goals and provide him complete and detailed report about his shipment.

Project Implementation Method

Methodology:

By using this weighing system, we can measure weight of any object up to 10kg (because here we are using a load cell of 10kg only for demo purpose later on we can increase this capacity as per requirement).

As we put the parcel on the system then load cell will provide output in mV’s to the Amplifier module. Amplifier module will amplify these mV’s into V’s and will provide it to the Arduino. Arduino will process on this I/O and provide O/P to the I2c LCD interface module and module will display the weight by providing O/P to LCD. As we put the parcel on the conveyor belt then IR sensor will detect this parcel and give input    power to DC motor. DC motor will be coupled with the roller of conveyor belt as DC motor will rotate it will rotate the conveyor belt.IR sensors on the conveyor belt will stop the conveyor belt at specific points for some while according to the requirement to perform different tasks.

Flow Diagram:

Benefits of the Project

This project has following benefits:

• 24/7 Availability:

As the manual courier system only available for maximum 8 to 10 hours and one or two vacation in a week and you also must pay the officer who handles the whole process.

But in this project, once its implemented, a customer can send or submit its courier at any time when he frees and can be safe from any inconvenience and can save his/her precious time.

• Cheap System:

As we see different projects that contain the weighing system, most of them uses weighing machines and different scales that are too much costly but in our project we have make our own weighing system that uses load cell which are cheaper than the other weighing machines and because it is a digital system so it is more efficient and effective.

Other than this, we are also using Arduino mega (microcontroller-based board) instead of PLC’S that are too much costly and difficult to program.

• Fast process:

Manual courier system is a slow process and takes a lot of time because it require to initially fill the information from the sender on  the envelop paper then the officer will save this information on the system while if we implement this project in industry it only requires to  put sender’s  information itself on the system by using user interface.

• Backup and location:

All this information will also be saved automatically at internet cloud through Web application and the admin will have fully control on this application and the customer can investigate in case of any difficulty and can check its location anytime.

• Sorting:

This project also has the feature of sorting out different cities couriers automatically that makes it more beneficial and easier for postman.  

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

There are following technical details of final deliverable:

• First, there will be weighing machine in the project. Weighing machine consist of the sheet, motor and load cell connected with Arduino.
• Then second one is conveyor belt system which consist of Dc motor, motor coupler, rollers and belt. It is used to carry the parcel towards boxes by passing through process needed to sort out. It also has stamp system. Stamp system consist of motor.
• Then there is sorting system that contains Bar code scanner and motor. It will drop the parcel according to the bar code information about city. Motor is used to rotate the sheet toward accurate box.

Final Deliverable of the Project HW/SW integrated systemCore Industry OthersOther IndustriesCore Technology OthersOther TechnologiesSustainable Development Goals Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Partnerships to achieve the GoalRequired Resources

Item Name	Type	No. of Units	Per Unit Cost (in Rs)	Total (in Rs)
			Total in (Rs)	34200
Arduino Mega	Equipment	1	1050	1050
Sensors	Equipment	4	150	600
DC Motor	Equipment	1	3000	3000
Stepper motor	Equipment	1	1800	1800
Sweeper Motor	Equipment	2	2000	4000
Conveyor Belt System	Equipment	1	2500	2500
Bar Code Scanner	Equipment	1	4500	4500
Adapter for Supply 12 v	Equipment	1	2500	2500
Thermal printer	Equipment	1	3900	3900
LCD	Equipment	1	350	350
Traveling	Miscellaneous	5	1000	5000
Mechanical work	Miscellaneous	1	5000	5000