In recent years, U.S. Postal Service management and lawmakers have spoken of the need to make changes that “reflect the reality” of a world in which the demand to send mail has diminished.

To the USPS inspector general, however, reality could be the very dimension holding the agency back from improving services and cutting costs. The auditor suggested the Postal Service leverage “augmented reality” to grow business, an emerging technology that adds a “digital layer of information on top of real world images.”

Augmented reality requires four tools: back-end software, a mobile phone, an application and an Internet connection. AR users often wear glasses that display the digital layer of information, but they can also use the camera on their phones. Developing the software and buying new devices would require a steep investment by the Postal Service -- AR glasses range from $400 to $1,500 a piece -- but the efficiencies they can bring about would outweigh that price, the IG said.

Letter carriers could benefit the most from an investment in augmented reality. With AR glasses, they could better load and unload their vehicles. While looking at the back of their truck, the glasses could add a layer of information displaying exactly where the letter carriers should place each package (see the IG’s illustration of this process below).