The U.S. Postal Service created a tree ornament that provides live updates of your shipment’s tracking information.
We’ve all ordered those items that at the time seemed so important to us we couldn’t help but refresh the package’s tracking page to see if things had been updated. Odds are they weren’t, and you were left disappointed for a few moments, until the next false glimmer of hope entered your mind, and the ritual repeated itself.
USPS
Now you can stare at a beautiful ornament instead of pulling out your phone or laptop to see an item’s shipment status. USPS’s bluntly named “The Most Wonderful Ornament” changes color as the status of your shipment changes. When your package is shipped, the ornament is blue, when it is delivered it will glow red, and perhaps most magically (and least useful), it turns green when you open the package.
This holiday fun is made possible through the use of a sensor, or tracker, attached to the inside of each box. The ornament, which has USPS’s tracking system built in, will continuously communicate with the tracker and react to the information it gathers.
USPS is doing a very limited trial of the product this year, but is planning on a wider release in future holiday seasons after all of the kinks are worked out. While this may not be the world-changing Internet of Things device we have all been waiting for, it’s a refreshingly innocent (fingers crossed) product to light up your home during the holidays.
It is just a shame that if you do decide to buy one, you will have to wait for one more package without a glowing ornament to ease your anxiety.