BURLINGAME (Map, News) - An area company is using cutting-edge technology to bring snail mail into the 21st century.

The U.S. Postal Service commissioned Burlingame-based TrackingTheWorld to create the world’s first letter-tracking GPS device that will ensure letters never again are lost in the postal Bermuda Triangle. Dubbed the Letter Logger, the device stores GPS coordinates throughout its journey and stores information on its micro-SD flash memory card so the post office can keep tabs on the letter’s location.

The Letter Logger weighs just two ounces and is 3.9-by-1.5 inches. It is placed inside a regular No. 10 envelope and can operate for two weeks. The recipient of the chip can then upload the GPS data onto their computer and see the envelope’s route on Google Earth.

“This product is the easiest and most convenient tool of its kind,” said Gilbert Walz, the company’s CEO.

The gadget was released in February, when it was named gadget of the month by Popular Science magazine. The product is only a quarter-inch thick and costs $6.75 apiece.

“It’s actually the smallest device out there,” said Jude Daggett, a partner at TrackingTheWorld.

The USPS does employ a variety of tracking devices to its letters and packages and uses GPS to track vehicles, but it does not have a GPS system to track individual letters, spokesman James Wigdel said.

In addition to avoiding lost mail, the device will help the postal service, and delivery companies such as UPS and DHL, minimize the amount of time a letter is being sent, Daggett said.

The company is tackling the postal industry after it helped law enforcement, Tour de France riders and companies around the world when it introduced the World Tracker a few years ago.

That GPS device, about the size of a pager and priced at $500, has been placed inside cars and other items in areas that have been prone to thefts. When unsuspecting thieves swipe goods containing the device, police can then track the location of the stolen items.

San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office used the device last year to locate more than $30,000 worth of home appliances that thieves took out of unsold homes. The device also helped investigators make six arrests.

On a more practical level, riders of famous bicycle contests such as the Tour de France and Tour de California have worn the devices as a way of tracking their exact route during the race, Daggett said.

mrosenberg@examiner.com

How it works

The small GPS device known as Letter Logger is being touted by Burlingame-based TrackingTheWorld as a solution to help the U.S. Postal Service spot bottlenecks in the system. Here’s how it works:

» Inserted into standard envelope and sent through USPS

» Motion detector in device pulls info from a satellite

» Every few minutes, envelope’s location and time recorded onto memory card in device

» Data syncs with GPS locations via Google Earth

Source: TrackingtheWorld

Comments from Examiner Readers

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Examiner Reader said:
Wind turbines certainly generate clean energy (preferrable), but I wish leaders would allocate some of their design engineers to study how to protect the wildlife (birds) fatalities. It seems easy enough to place a cage around the turbines, just like the smaller, domestic models that protect children from getting their fingers clipped by the fan blades. I'm sure there's a way to make this look attractive in a super-size turbine.

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11:46 AM MST on Thu., Apr. 10, 2008 re: "Defense, technology firms� needs make Baltimore the place to be for IT positions"

Examiner Reader said:
The Dice Report. �Baltimore-Washington has the third-highest average salary for IT professionals at $81,750 a year, ahead of the national average of $74,570.� WOW and yet the jobs which I applied for are paying way below the average. Usually a company asked what salary range I'm looking for, and usually that's a sign of we can't afford you. I answered negotiable, they pursuit for a number. When I give them a number I don't hear from them. Most of the positions I come across are bombarded with responsibilities and has a failure of matching the pay.

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11:07 AM MST on Mon., Mar. 24, 2008 re: "U.Md. study shows MBAs lead to higher salaries in IT sector"

Terence said:
What the article failed to address is that if you have an a non-business major and have an engineering or computer science degree, it is advisable to pursue an MBA degree and as such you would tend to pursue something like an IT degree and in that case, the jump in salary is significant. If you have a business undergrad in IT and pursue an MBA, that jump is significantly less. I still do not understand why students would do both an undergrad and grad in business. Really the textbooks are almost the same, the delivery is the difference. In some cases, classes are cross-taught at both the undergrad and grad. Pursuing a masters of science in marketing, operations and IT is the appropriate route not an MBA for undegrad in business. Just IMHO

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7:34 AM MST on Thu., Mar. 13, 2008 re: "Businesses, educators agree they must unite to address tech job shortage"

Iconic Xer. said:
I find this story missing a critical and informative element. Sure, tech companies and institutions such as NASA may be losing *employees* to retirement. But that doesn't mean there aren't *lots* of tech professionals around. Quite the opposite. There's an abundance of them. Companies have got to change their cultures, compensation and engagement of workers to be in alignment with the preference of many tech professionals to work outside of organizations, to work for multiple companies, to be flexible, nimble and not dependent on one industry or company for survival. It's a generational thing, really, with your GenXers (27-47 in 2008) heavily leaning in this direction. Re: the lack of kids entering STEM. It has nothing to do with them not wanting to be cool. They are achievement, affluence and team-oriented. Sing their song and they'll come in droves. Sing *your* song & they won't hear you ... or even bother trying. And, mistakenly, you'll conclude they're not interested. What

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10:17 AM MST on Fri., May. 11, 2007 re: "Schools to lease land for phone towers"

Examiner Reader said:
Possible health risk of cancer too! See international studies.

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9:26 AM MST on Fri., May. 11, 2007 re: "Schools to lease land for phone towers"

Examiner Reader said:
You can't stop it now and usually there is a reason its done that way

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