UPS and Honeywell are teaming up to develop a new generation of hand-held computer for UPS drivers to improve communication links.
UPS will deploy more than 100,000 Honeywell mobile computers when the project is complete.
The system is known internally at UPS as the Delivery Information Acquisition Device V (DIAD V).
It features technology that provides on-the-fly switching between mobile networks, meaning the computer can automatically jump to another network provider if the preferred signal is lost to help ensure packing tracking reliability.
The new model will also feature a colour display and microprocessor with expanded memory, a colour, auto-focus flash camera to enhance proof of delivery, faster WiFi support to enable larger content downloads and a 2D imager that can decode a number of symbologies.
UPS will begin field testing the device in late 2010 with plans to begin a multi-year, global deployment in 2011. The DIAD V will be approved for operation in more than 100 countries.
“Starting in 1991, UPS was the first in its industry to equip drivers with a hand-held computer,” said David Barnes, UPS’s chief information officer. “Over the past two decades, the DIAD has become a critical component of an integrated global network that’s now tracking more than 15 million deliveries every day.”
