The United States Postal Service today awarded Lockheed Martin a contract valued at approximately $93 million to replace existing optical imaging cameras on equipment used to sort mail.

The new program, called the Wide Field of View (WFOV) Camera System, improves the read rate of POSTNET bar codes so that fewer items are rejected and more letters can be sorted automatically. In addition, the enhanced software reads two-dimensional Information Based Indicia (IBI), including electronic postage generated by Web-based or stand-alone computerized applications authorized by the U.S. Postal Service.

"The WFOV camera system increases the ability of the U.S. Postal Service to meet its mail delivery and security goals, while providing a framework for enhanced recognition and identification initiatives," said Judy Marks, president of Distribution Technologies, the Lockheed Martin business unit selected as the program's prime contractor. "The contract demonstrates Lockheed Martin's continued investment into the technologies that are fundamental to the U.S. Postal Services' advanced recognition capabilities."

Lockheed Martin's WFOV system enhances letter processing by capturing an image of the entire envelope instead of just the bottom four inches, which typically is the location of a bar code on letter mail. The new system will be installed on Delivery Barcode Sorters (DBCS) and Carrier Sequence Barcode Sorters (CSBCS). 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.

The WFOV camera system provides more advanced letter processing and bar code reading capabilities than existing DBCS and CSBCS camera systems, which are nearly a decade old. The expanded image height allows the U.S. Postal Service to take full advantage of the IBI mark used with electronic postage and other nonaddress information on the envelope.

Lockheed Martin is responsible for the development and deployment of 9,000 WFOV camera systems at U.S. Postal Service facilities. Beginning in the late summer of 2002, the systems will be installed at more than 1,600 locations throughout the United States over a two-year period.

Lockheed Martin Distribution Technologies, Owego, N.Y., designs, produces and integrates mail automation, material handling, recognition and information processing systems for postal services, package delivery operations, corporate mail centers, and distribution, fulfillment and manufacturing centers worldwide. Distribution Technologies is a business unit of Lockheed Martin Systems Integration - Owego, which is a business segment of Lockheed Martin Corporation, Bethesda, Md.

For information on Lockheed Martin Distribution Technologies visit: http://www.lmdtech.com/.

  POSTNET Barcode Certification is a U.S. Postal Service application.

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SOURCE: Lockheed Martin