Clemson Taps Tech for Contactless Package Retrieval

Students at Clemson University can avoid trips to the mail center and pick up their packages in a secure, contactless environment, thanks to technology from Ricoh. The institution has installed more than 500 Ricoh Intelligent Lockers on campus, expanding on an overall revamp of its campus mail and print centers.

When Clemson's mail services team receives students' packages, the packages are scanned and then delivered to Intelligent Lockers all over campus. Students then receive an e-mail notification to collect their package from a locker close to their residence. Students can unlock the locker and retrieve their package using a one-time release code, or via contactless options such as tapping their student ID card or scanning a QR code.

The university piloted the technology during move-in week, during which more than 1,400 packages were delivered. Student wait time at the mail center decreased by 13 percent, and 99 percent of students who used the lockers said they were extremely satisfied with their overall experience, according to a news announcement.

"Our biggest complaint has been from students who were not included in the original pilot, they also want access to the Intelligent Lockers," said Lori Brierre, strategic operations director for Procurement and Business Services at Clemson, in a statement. "We're thankful to be rolling it out for more students this fall. Our students like to do things on their own time, on their own terms and ideally in a very streamlined fashion — and now with the coronavirus pandemic, we anticipate options for contactless pickup to be a new ask."

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • college students in a classroom focus on a silver laptop, with a neural network diagram on the monitor in the background

    Report: 93% of Students Believe Gen AI Training Belongs in Degree Programs

    The vast majority of today's college students — 93% — believe generative AI training should be included in degree programs, according to a recent Coursera report. What's more, 86% of students consider gen AI the most crucial technical skill for career preparation, prioritizing it above in-demand skills such as data strategy and software development.

  • laptop with a neural network image, surrounded by books, notebooks, a magnifying glass, a pencil cup, and a desk lamp

    D2L Lumi AI Updates Add Personalized Study Supports

    Learning platform D2L has announced new artificial intelligence features for D2L Lumi that help provide more personalized study supports for students.

  • three glowing stacks of tech-themed icons

    Research: LLMs Need a Translation Layer to Launch Complex Cyber Attacks

    While large language models have been touted for their potential in cybersecurity, they are still far from executing real-world cyber attacks — unless given help from a new kind of abstraction layer, according to researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and Anthropic.

  • young man in a denim jacket scans his phone at a card reader outside a modern glass building

    Colleges Roll Out Mobile Credential Technology

    Allegion US has announced a partnership with Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) and Denison College, in conjunction with Transact + CBORD, to install mobile credential technologies campuswide. Implementing Mobile Student ID into Apple Wallet and Google Wallet will allow students access to campus facilities, amenities, and residence halls using just their phones.