System and method for a task management and communication system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11197597-B2
Application number	US-201916451161-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 25, 2019
Priority date	Jun 25, 2018
Publication date	Dec 14, 2021
Grant date	Dec 14, 2021

Abstract

Systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for a task management and distribution system. Systems configured as disclosed manage task distribution between various robots, drones, and autonomous vehicles. As tasks are identified as not capable of completion by the detecting robot, they are transmitted to a central task-management system which identifies a subset of robots which are capable of completing the task, determines the availability of the robots in the subset, and assigns one of those robots in the subset to complete the task.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method comprising:
while a first autonomous vehicle is performing one or more activities of an assigned first task assignment associated with a store, receiving, by a processor and from the first autonomous vehicle a second task assignment associated with the store which the first autonomous vehicle is incapable of performing, the second task assignment including one or more activities;
identifying, by the processor, a subset of autonomous vehicles within a plurality of autonomous vehicles, the subset of autonomous vehicles being capable of completing the second task assignment;
transmitting, by the processor, a request to each autonomous vehicle in the subset of autonomous vehicles;
receiving, by the processor, at least one response to the request from at least a portion of the subset of autonomous vehicles;
selecting, by the processor and based on the at least one response, a selected autonomous vehicle from the subset of autonomous vehicles to complete the second task assignment; and
transmitting, by the processor and to the selected autonomous vehicle, one or more instructions associated with the second task assignment, the one or more instructions causing the selected autonomous vehicle to perform the one or more activities of the second task assignment.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second task assignment is a cleaning task.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the cleaning task is one of vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, and disinfecting.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transmitting of the request, the receiving of the at least one response, and the transmitting of the one or more instructions associated with the second task assignment occur using a wireless communication system.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second task assignment comprises:
a task location identifying a location of the second task assignment; and
a task type identifying the one or more activities which needs to be performed for completion of the second task assignment.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the request comprises:
a location query regarding a current location of each autonomous vehicle in the subset of autonomous vehicles; and
a status query regarding a current availability of each autonomous vehicle in the subset of autonomous vehicles.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the selecting comprises:
identifying, based on the current availability of each autonomous vehicle in the subset of autonomous vehicles, available autonomous vehicles capable of completing the second task assignment associated with the store;
determining a travel time required for each of the available autonomous vehicles from the current location of each respective autonomous vehicle in the available autonomous vehicles to the location of the second task assignment, to yield travel times of the available autonomous vehicles;
ranking the available autonomous vehicles based on the travel times of the available autonomous vehicles, to yield ranked available autonomous vehicles; and
selecting a fastest time within the ranked available autonomous vehicles as the selected autonomous vehicle to complete the second task assignment.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
recording the at least one response to the request, to yield recorded data; and
modifying a selection process used for the selecting of the selected autonomous vehicle for a subsequent task iteration based on the recorded data.

9. A system comprising:
a processor; and
a computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
while a first autonomous vehicle is performing one or more activities of an assigned first task assignment associated with a store, receiving, from the first autonomous vehicle a second task assignment associated with the store which the first autonomous vehicle is incapable of performing, the second task assignment including one or more activities;
identifying a subset of autonomous vehicles within a plurality of autonomous vehicles, the subset of autonomous vehicles being capable of completing the second task assignment;
transmitting a request to each autonomous vehicle in the subset of autonomous vehicles;
receiving at least one response to the request from at least a portion of the subset of autonomous vehicles;
selecting, based on the at least one response, a selected autonomous vehicle from the subset of autonomous vehicles to complete the second task assignment; and
transmitting, to the selected autonomous vehicle, one or more instructions associated with the second task assignment, the one or more instructions causing the selected autonomous vehicle to perform the one or more activities of the second task assignment.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the second task assignment is a cleaning task.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the cleaning task is one of vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, and disinfecting.

12. The system of claim 9 , wherein the transmitting of the request, the receiving of the at least one response, and the transmitting of the one or more instructions associated with the second task assignment occur using a wireless communication system.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein the second task assignment comprises:
a task location identifying a location of the second task assignment; and
a task type identifying the one or more activities which needs to be performed for completion of the second task assignment.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the request comprises:
a location query regarding a current location of each autonomous vehicle in the subset of autonomous vehicles; and
a status query regarding a current availability of each autonomous vehicle in the subset of autonomous vehicles.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the selecting comprises:
identifying, based on the current availability of each autonomous vehicle in the subset of autonomous vehicles, available autonomous vehicles capable of completing the second task assignment associated with the store;
determining a travel time required for each of the available autonomous vehicles from the current location of each respective autonomous vehicle in the available autonomous vehicles to the location of the second task assignment, to yield travel times of the available autonomous vehicles;
ranking the available autonomous vehicles based on the travel times of the available autonomous vehicles, to yield ranked available autonomous vehicles; and
selecting a fastest time within the ranked available autonomous vehicles as the selected autonomous vehicle to complete the second task assignment.

16. The system of claim 9 , the computer-readable storage medium having additional instructions stored which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
recording the at least one response to the request, to yield recorded data; and
modifying a selection process used for the selecting of the selected autonomous vehicle for a subsequent task iteration based on the recorded data.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored which, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:
while a first autonomous vehicle is performing one or more activities of an assigned first task assignment associated with a store, receiving, from a first autonomous vehicle a second task assignment associated with the store which the first autonomous vehicle is incapable of performing, the

Assignees

• Walmart Apollo Llc

Inventors

• O'Brien John J
• High Donald R
• Mchale Brian

Classifications

• A47L9/2852

  Elements for displacement of the vacuum cleaner or the accessories therefor, e.g. wheels, casters or nozzles · CPC title

• H04W4/029

  Location-based management or tracking services · CPC title

• H04W4/44

  for communication between vehicles and infrastructures, e.g. vehicle-to-cloud [V2C] or vehicle-to-home [V2H] · CPC title

• A47L2201/06

  Control of the cleaning action for autonomous devices; Automatic detection of the surface condition before, during or after cleaning · CPC title

• A47L11/4011 Primary

  Regulation of the cleaning machine by electric means; Control systems and remote control systems therefor · CPC title