Cameras make DHL smile
February 1st 2009 DHL is using Vitronic's
camera-based recognition
system, VIPAC, to identify
barcodes and address
information on parcel labels
at its new €300m distribution
centre in Leipzig, Germany,
enabling the hub to process
up to 60,000 items per hour.
Nineteen VIPAC units
operate above powered
conveyors in DHL Leipzig's
goods-in area. Each uses
five auto-focus cameras to
capture images of labels on
the top and all four sides of
parcels, and an additional
fixed-focus camera
underneath the conveying
equipment, which acquires
images of the bottoms of
parcels through a small
opening.
VIPAC interprets these
images using optical
character recognition
techniques, and instructs
DHL's sorters to direct parcels
to the correct loading bay for
dispatch. The system
produces excellent read rates,
and identifies barcodes, 2D
codes, badly damaged or
marked codes, text, and
handwritten addresses. Sixsided
camera configurations
allow users to obtain label
information no matter what
the orientation of a package.
Each goods-in VIPAC unit
incorporates Vitronic's
VOLUMEC volumemeasuring
system, which
uses lasers to determine a
parcel's dimensions.
VOLUMEC calculates the
smallest possible cube that
will enclose an item,
enabling DHL Leipzig to
automate invoicing. More articles from Vitronic UK: | 
