USPS reportedly pilots road-scanning cameras on 100 Washington-area vehicles

Forward recording begins when vehicles leave the facility

According to 404 Media, USPS is conducting a limited pilot with dashcam company Next Base in the Washington, DC area. The letter described 100 vehicles fitted with cameras that scan and analyze roads and signage and map roadways and sidewalks. It said the cameras face forward from inside the trucks, do not record audio, and begin recording once a vehicle is in drive and away from a postal facility. The pilot was slated to begin September 21 and last several months.

USPS trucks already had 360-degree cameras that captured the outside of the vehicle for a period of time, according to the report. The available account does not establish a like-for-like comparison of those cameras with the new pilot.

The reported change is a limited Washington, DC-area pilot using forward-facing Next Base cameras in 100 postal vehicles to scan and analyze roads and signs, and map roadways and sidewalks.

The reported pilot would use vehicles already traveling through communities to collect roadway-related data. USPS said the pilot's findings would inform future decisions; the report does not establish a broader deployment.