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China is giving everyone a personal postcode so delivery drones can find them
The codes will make automated deliveries cheaper and easier as China contends with an aging population
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This article originally appeared on ABACUS
One day, self-driving cars and drones could be responsible for delivering packages to your door. And in China, it could become easier than ever for the machines to find people thanks to unique personal postcodes.
China is developing “Personal Address ID” codes, which will be a unique five- or six-character code that links to a person’s address, the Development and Research Center of the State Post Bureau announced. The new codes could be ready as early as next year, according to Beijing Youth Daily, the official newspaper of Beijing’s Communist Youth League.
The State Post Bureau refuted earlier media reports that said the new codes would replace China’s traditional postcode system.
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Part of the push for the new codes comes from the fact that they’re easier for machines to interpret, according to Beijing Youth Daily. The digits can also be represented by QR codes, a popular way of transmitting information in China. The ease of use means it could cut costs for delivery companies, whose customers are increasingly turning to ecommerce.
How the QR code conquered China
China generates 180 million packages a day, the bureau said in a seminar in July. The Beijing Youth Daily cited experts saying the codes could help reduce delivery personnel by 41% and delivery costs by 44%. It will also provide more accurate location data to delivery drones and self-driving delivery cars, helping to speed up automation in the delivery industry.
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