Introduction

The post tube is a computerized delivery system using cartridges and air pressure or suction. This in concept is very similar to the devices that were in some supermarkets for taking cash from tills to accounting offices and was used in very much older stores to take cash from sales assistance to the central till position and have the change returned. However this device is much larger and can deliver to any place.

The service

The objective is to have a delivery system that can deliver a cartridge of items from any point to any point. The sending machine will have the postcode of the delivery point input and will read a barcode off the delivery tube, feeding the information to a computer that can either put the information into a Rom on the cartridge or more likely directly send information to each switch point. 

As the cartridge unit goes through the system at speed the barcode will allow the routing machines in each island to direct or pass through the cartridge delivering it ultimately to the desired delivery point.

The delivery point can be a post office within an island from which all users send and receive mail and goods or can be an individual business, office or home. In some cases islands will have delivery equipment to some premises and a central collection and dispatch point for others.

All addresses within the kingdom will have a postcode that is based on an island code and code within the island.

Use

The system will deliver post and small items. In concept over an internet connection it should be possible to order goods such as wine or individual food items from a supermarket and within minutes for it to be delivered directly to you. With wine for example it would be possible for purchasing, charging, and robot dispatch all to be handled, and people to just keep the system loaded and resolve problems. 

In concept it should be possible to use items in the kitchen and before throwing the tin or packaging away show it to a small scanner that will arrange a direct replacement to be delivered, or to select a set of meal ingredients and for them to shortly arrive fresh.

To our knowledge this type of system has not before been implemented within a community although some companies have stock picking systems that do a similar task passing items to a dispatch department.

The cartridges would all be a standard diameter, but may be able to have several different lengths. Although we have not yet defined these sizes we envisage it probably 7 inches across and varying from 12 inches long to around 24 inches long, but most likely a metric size.  The cartridges would belong to suppliers and be automatically returned to the sending system once emptied so that specialist containers could be developed.

The equipment

The equipment would not be particularly large. The tube would run around the kingdom as either a single tube system or two tubes with additional links to take heavier traffic flow. Like everything within the kingdom scalability is important and the ability to direct traffic around any unit having maintenance done.

The connections between islands would be large flexible tubes.

Initial design would indicate that the whole system can run on a combination of compressed air and vacuum, with switching along the route being done using air jets on the side of junction points. With no moving parts very high speeds are possible, allowing rapid delivery and enormous capacity.

The units in post offices, homes and offices would we envisage be about the size of a dish washer, the largest amount is the storage capability able to hold a number of received tubes, which would be a circular holder that on receiving a unit would click forward ready to hold the next. You also need within the unit space to hold some of your own dispatch tubes and of course the chute into which you put units to send or return tubes. 

To use the unit you would therefore just take out a cartridge, empty it, and put it back down the chute pressing a single return button. To send something you would put it into a tube, put the tube into the shute and key in the post code, check you had it correct and press send. Your own cartridges would be automatically returned to you. It has been suggested that you might have another button one that allows you to request an empty tube, that would be used once and then would return to the central postal system storage.

The size of the tube is a balancing operation, the larger the tube then the larger the item or bulk that can be delivered but also the larger the sending and receiving machines need to be. We envisage a size which enables most items used regularly to be delivered by this means, but there will still be a need for package delivery services and delivery services for much larger items. Whatever size tube you had you would always have some things that will be too large.

It may also be necessary to arrange with manufacturers for some items to be packaged differently, a good example of this might be breakfast cereals.

How would this service be paid for

The tube runs will be put in by developers of islands.

The utility trust will install and maintain routing equipment and individual machines will be provided by users or rented from the utility trust.

The cost of using the system will not be large, it could be charged on a unit basis of items into or out of your unit, with an option as well to make an agreed monthly subscription, which would be decided by the type of business or class of user to equate to the amount of use they would be likely to make of the system.

Another alternative that has been put forward would be a small business tax on sales turnover, that would fund the system completely and in effect making it free to use. This is attractive as the admin cost would be much smaller. Retailers already pay a fee to credit card companies and these are not passed on to customers but built within their cost model, so this would be similar.

Internet/email

We envisage this being used in conjunction with email, so that bills, and most simple documentation travels by email. Ordering and dispatch systems likewise would work with an internet type of connection.

Advantages

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Last updated: October 09, 2002.