Locally developed IoT based delivery lockers are being placed in Metrorail stations
The smart delivery locker service is going to be launched soon at the metro rail stations of the capital. Through this automatic delivery box, Metrorail users can collect the delivery of the products ordered on their e-commerce platform without the presence of a deliveryman, just through smartphone through OTP very easily and conveniently from these smart lockers installed at Metrorail stations. The lockers are built and managed by the country's locally developed IoT technology.
An agreement in this regard was signed between a2i and Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) at Prabasi Kalyan Bhaban in the capital on Sunday. The Project Director (Joint Secretary) of a2i Dr. Dewan Muhammad Humayun Kabir and Secretary (Joint Secretary) DMTCL Muhammad Abdur Rauf signed the agreement on behalf of their respective institutions.
Under this agreement, a2i will conditionally use certain spaces in all Metrorail stations under MRT-6 on a commercial basis subject to the terms and conditions set out in DMTCL's Rent/Lease Policy 2023. Internet-connected IoT technology will be used to deploy and manage the infrastructure of this country's first smart-delivery locker system. In turn, these spaces will be used to ensure cost-effective delivery of various government emergency services, including facilitating and expediting payment of various government services and e-ticketing services.
As a result of the agreement between DMTCL-a2i, Metrorail commuters will be able to collect the delivery of their purchased products on the country's leading e-commerce platform from Smart Locker DigiBox installed at Metrorail stations at convenient times before or after their regular daily Metrorail journey. For this reason, entering the OTP (One Time Password) received on your smartphone on the display screen of the Smart Locker located at the metro rail station will automatically open the specific locker, and the customer can collect his purchased products from that locker himself. It does not require the presence of a deliveryman.
The a2i and DMTCL hope that Metrorail passengers will benefit from this innovative technology. Overall, the addition of these smart-lockers to the rapidly growing e-commerce sector in the country's product delivery is sure to save the country's consumers valuable time, labor and money.
While speaking as the chief guest, the Managing Director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited, M. A. N. Siddik said, "We have brought under CCTV coverage, connected face detector technology to ensure the safety of Metrorail and its users. Currently we are working on ensuring IT efficiency for the police force in charge of Metrorail.” Praising a2i, he said, “MRT will be on hand with any such technology driven initiative. The people of the country will benefit from this in the future.”
He also said, “One of the accessories of Smart Bangladesh is MRT. We once thought with great uncertainty how the Metrorail would run by remote control, automatically, with trains arriving every three minutes. With the help of ICT they are now real. We have already ensured cashless service in many cases in MRT. We have ensured a disabled-friendly Metrorail experience. We have been able to roll out the MRT ahead of schedule by leveraging the ICT developments achieved through a2i using indigenous innovations, an example of which is rare in the world. In line with that, this IoT Smart Locker of a2i will be a new addition to our journey towards Smart Bangladesh.”
Mohammad Abdur Rauf, Company Secretary (Joint Secretary) of DMTCL said, “This attachment of a2i is commendable in the journey that DMTCL is doing to make the daily life of the capital easier by adding MRT 6 Metrorail to build Smart Bangladesh. The initiative of signing this agreement today is to make people's lives smarter by installing this DigiBox at every Metrorail station with the aim of providing smart Bangladesh benefit to Metrorail users."
Mentioning the foresight of the Prime Minister, the Project Director (Joint Secretary) of a2i Dr. Dewan Muhammad Humayun Kabir said, “When she talked about the dream of Digital Bangladesh, it seemed unrealistic to most people. However, if we had not been technology-friendly since then, we could not have prevented the catastrophe during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the lockdown, through e-commerce, the services of 333 have delivered daily commodities to the common people. Coming to this stage of achieving Digital Bangladesh, we have now started working on building Smart Bangladesh. We want to make all services disability-friendly.” Appreciating the sincerity of the present leadership of DMTCL, he said, “Metrorails have been made accessible.
Citing the example of Surokkha App, he said, "We want to create solutions for our country in our own technology with our own skilled manpower."
DMTCL is ready to provide full cooperation for the safety of DigiBox, said Md Aftabuddin Talukder, Project Director of MRT Line-6 of DMTCL. He expressed his expectations about this new initiative and said, "As the project manager of MRT Line 6, we are going to build a total of 17 stations, we will be a partner in the continuation of building Smart Bangladesh through a2i through the digitization of such advanced technology at each station."
A2i's Smart Locker service at metro stations is not limited to just product transactions. Consistently, all digital services and transactions of the government will also be included in its scope, said a2i Project Policy Advisor Anir Chowdhury. He said, 'a2i has more than 1,600 government services under its MyGov project. DigiBox will work hand in hand with MyGov to make citizens' lives easier. We will also work on the implementation so that someone who applies for his passport through the Smart Locker kiosk of a Metrorail station can get the delivery of that passport through the Smart Locker of another Metrorail station. And, the payment of all government fees in this process will be done through government payment service EkPay.”
Rezwanul Haque Jami, Head of Commercial Strategy of a2i said, “With the signing of this agreement today, the journey of smart lockers in metro rail stations is starting, not only for Bangladesh, but also for any metro rail station in South East Asia. Not only that, only South Korea and Japan have IoT-enabled smart lockers at metro stations in the entire Asian continent. In that regard, DMTCL and MRT-6 have created a history as pioneers themselves.”
Apart from them, the senior officials of DMTCL and a2i were also present at the signing ceremony.
