A Knowledge based Fast PIN code Validation System for Dispatch Sorting of Postal Mail 1

The postal service that delivers mail to the doorstep of the addressee is to be made efficient by making use of the available technology. Many semi skilled and repetitive sub tasks of postal mail service can be automated to make the service efficient. In this paper a knowledge based computational methodology for destination address validation leading to automatic sorting of mail in a dispatch sorting office is presented. Validation involves checking for consistency among the address components that describe the addressee, with special attention to the PIN code of the distribution post office. The proposed system employs a frame structured knowledge base devised to model the pattern of mail dispatch and the type of addresses encountered. The results of applying the methodology to a sizable set of mail addresses for validation and sorting, at the sorting office of Bagalkot, a district in Karnataka state of South India is presented. The methodology has achieved 90% efficiency in validation and sorting.