Next steps

There is a range of features we can add to the system to expand its functionality. Each of these has been listed here.

Upgrading from Ethernet to a wireless system

Attaching an Ethernet cable to your system may be inconvenient for a number of reasons. Therefore, we could upgrade the system to use wireless technology. One popular choice is XBee.

Note

You can read more about XBee at http://www.digi.com/xbee/.

There is also further information on using XBee with the Arduino Wireless shield, at http://arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoWirelessShield.

Checking the shipping details

Currently, we don't know which parcel has been delivered. Therefore, it would be useful to log into a shipping website to check which parcel has arrived.

A useful Python library called packagetrack is available for this purpose. It can be found at https://pypi.python.org/pypi/packagetrack/0.2.

With this package installed, you can import it to your Python application. The web service can then log into UPS, for example, and...