Systems for autonomous item delivery

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12093879-B2
Application number	US-201715832245-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 5, 2017
Priority date	Dec 5, 2016
Publication date	Sep 17, 2024
Grant date	Sep 17, 2024

Abstract

Methods and systems for autonomous item delivery and/or pick up are provided. IN some aspects, a mothership travels along an item route. One or more autonomous delivery vehicles may be dispatched from the mothership as the mothership progresses along the route. Each of the autonomous delivery vehicles may deliver and/or pick-up one or more items at one or more item locations. In addition, as the mothership progresses along its route, it may also stop to facilitate the manual delivery and/or pick-up of additional items via a human operator. Upon completing their delivery and/or pick up tasks, the autonomous delivery vehicles return to the mothership, either at the point at which they dispatched from the mothership, or at a different location along the item delivery route.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for autonomous item delivery, comprising:
a mothership, comprising:
a freight bay, configured to store a plurality of autonomous delivery units (ADUs);
a scheduling and control computer, configured to:
identify a set of item transactions along an item route, each item transaction comprising a delivery or a pick-up of an item at a delivery point;
divide the set, based at least in part on item transaction information corresponding to the individual item transactions of the set and on a number of the plurality of ADUs that are available, into a first set of manual item transactions, each manual item transaction corresponding to an item to be delivered or picked up at a delivery point manually by a human operator, and a second set of autonomous item transactions for execution by the plurality of ADUs, wherein to divide the set, the scheduling and control computer is further configured to:
determine a number of available ADUs;
determine a subset of the set of item transactions that is ADU capable item transactions based on the item transaction information and the number of available ADUs;
order ADU capable item transactions of the subset of item transactions within a sequence of delivery points for the item route according to a distance from a start or an end of the item route to a delivery point of each of the ADU capable item transactions of the subset of item transactions;
identify a contiguous set of item transactions from the ordered ADU capable item transactions of the subset of item transactions, wherein the contiguous set of item transactions is selected from a portion of the ordered ADU capable item transactions that are closest to or furthest from the start of the item route; and
add the identified contiguous set of item transactions to the second set of autonomous item transactions to be executed by the available ADUs;
determine ADU departure and return locations based on the first set and the second set;
generate a mothership manifest indicating the item transactions in the first and second set; and
communicate the item transactions in the second set to the plurality of ADUs and the plurality of ADUs, each ADU configured to automatically:
receive item information from the mothership;
travel from the mothership to a delivery point indicated by the item information deliver or pick-up an item at the delivery point indicated by the item information;
and return to the mothership.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of ADUs comprise a GPS receiver.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the mothership further comprises a mothership control computer, configured to autonomously control the mothership along the item route.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the manifest indicates stop locations for item transactions in the first and second sets, and wherein the mothership control computer is further configured to stop the mothership at the stop locations associated with the first set and second set of item transactions.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the mothership further comprises manual driving controls to provide a means for an operator to operate the mothership along the item route.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the mothership further comprises a ramp configured to allow ingress and egress by the ADUs to and from the freight bay.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the mothership comprises automated loading means for loading an item onto an ADU.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the ADUs comprises item loading means or item drop off means.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the item loading means comprises a scoop.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein at least one of the ADUs comprises a bed, and wherein the item drop off means comprises a bed lifting means.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the mothership further comprises an item storage system located within the freight bay, and a robotic arm configured to retrieve and store items in the item storage system.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the mothership further comprises a roof structure substantially enclosing the freight bay, and wherein the roof comprises an access portal to provide ingress and egress of aerial ADUs.

13. A computer-implemented method for automated transfer of items, the method comprising:
under control of one or more processors of a mothership, the mothership having a plurality of autonomous delivery units (ADUs) located therein,
identifying a set of item transactions along an item route, each item transaction comprising a delivery or a pick-up of an item at a delivery point;
dividing the set, based at least in part on item transaction information corresponding to the individual item transactions of the set and on a number of the plurality of ADUs that are available, into a first set of manual item transactions, each manual item transaction corresponding to an item to be delivered or picked up at a delivery point manually by a human operator, and a second set of autonomous item transactions for execution by the plurality of ADUs; wherein dividing the set comprises:
determining a number of available ADUs;
determining a subset of the set of item transactions that is ADU capable item transactions based on the item transaction information and the number of available ADUs;
ordering the ADU capable item transactions of the subset within a sequence of delivery points for the item route according to a distance from a start or an end of the item route to a delivery point of each of the ADU capable item transactions of the subset of item transactions;
identifying a contiguous set of transactions from the ordered ADU capable item transactions of the subset of item transactions, wherein the contiguous set of item transactions is selected from a portion of the ordered ADU capable item transactions that are closest to or furthest from the start of the item route; and
adding the identified contiguous set of item transactions to the second set of autonomous item transactions to be executed by the available ADUs;
determining ADU departure and return locations based on the first set and the second set;
generating a mothership manifest indicating the item transactions in the first and second set;
communicating a first item transaction of the second set to a first ADU of the plurality of ADUs;
at a first ADU departure location, causing the first ADU to leave the mothership to execute the first item transaction; and
at a first ADU return location, causing the mothership to receive the first ADU subsequent to execution of the first item transaction.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13 , wherein the first ADU return location is different from the first ADU departure location, the method further comprising:
receiving, from the first ADU, a signal indicating that the first item transaction is complete; and
sending a signal to the first ADU indicating the first ADU return location.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 13 , wherein the first item transaction comprises a delivery, the method further comprising:
based at least in part on the mothership manifest, causing an automated loading mechanism of the mothership to retrieve a first item from a storage location within the mothership; and
causing the automated loading mechanism to load the item onto the first ADU.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 13 , wherein the first item transaction comprises a pick-up, the method further comprising, subsequent to the mothership receiving the first ADU:
causing an automated loading mechanism of the mothership to retr

Assignees

• United States Postal Service

Inventors

• Luckay Ryan
• Dixon Jr Robert E
• Cooil Gregory

Classifications

• B64C39/024

  of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV · CPC title

• G05D1/692

  involving a plurality of disparate vehicles · CPC title

• G05D1/644

  Optimisation of travel parameters, e.g. of energy consumption, journey time or distance · CPC title

• G05D1/695

  for maintaining a fixed relative position of the vehicles, e.g. for convoy travelling or formation flight · CPC title

• G05D1/227

  Handing over between remote control and on-board control; Handing over between remote control arrangements · CPC title