Drone Air Traffic Control over wireless networks for package pickup and delivery

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2018350243-A1
Application number	US-201816100296-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 10, 2018
Priority date	Jun 10, 2016
Publication date	Dec 6, 2018
Grant date	—

Abstract

Systems and methods for package pickup and delivery include, in an air traffic control system configured to manage Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) flight in a geographic region, communicating to one or more UAVs over one or more wireless networks, wherein the one or more UAVs are configured to constrain flight based on coverage of the one or more wireless networks; receiving a delivery request from a company specifying a pickup location, a package, and a delivery location; selecting a UAV of the one or more UAVs for the delivery requests; and directing the UAV to pick up the package at the pickup location and to deliver the package to the delivery location, wherein the air traffic control system provides a flight plan to the UAV based on the delivery request.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A drone method for package pickup and delivery, comprising:
in an air traffic control system configured to manage Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) flight in a geographic region, communicating to one or more UAVs over one or more wireless networks, wherein the one or more UAVs are configured to constrain flight based on coverage of the one or more wireless networks; receiving a delivery request from a company specifying a pickup location, a package, and a delivery location; selecting a UAV of the one or more UAVs for the delivery requests; and directing the UAV to pick up the package at the pickup location and to deliver the package to the delivery location, wherein the air traffic control system provides a flight plan to the UAV based on the delivery request.

2 . The drone method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving a second delivery request from a second company specifying a second pickup location, a second package, and a second delivery location; selecting a second UAV of the one or more UAVs for the delivery requests; and directing the second UAV to pick up the second package at the second pickup location and to deliver the second package to the second delivery location, wherein the air traffic control system provides a second flight plan to the second UAV based on the second delivery request.

3 . The drone method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving a second delivery request from a second company specifying a second pickup location, a second package, and a second delivery location; and directing the UAV to pick up the second package at the second pickup location and to deliver the second package to the second delivery location, wherein the air traffic control system provides a second flight plan to the UAV based on the second delivery request.

4 . The drone method of claim 1 , wherein the UAV comprises an antenna communicatively coupled to the one or more wireless networks, and wherein the flight is constrained based on the antenna monitoring cell signal strength during the flight and adjusting the flight based therein whenever the cell signal strength is lost or degraded.

5 . The drone method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving flight information from the UAV during the flight; and providing updates to the flight plan based on the flight information.

6 . The drone method of claim 1 , wherein the air traffic control system maintains location information for the UAV based on the communicating.

7 . The drone method of claim 6 , wherein the location information is determined based on a combination of triangulation by the plurality of cell towers and a determination by the UAV based on a location identification network.

8 . The drone method of claim 6 , further comprising:
assigning the UAV a specified flying lane and ensuring the UAV is within the specified flying lane based on the communicating.

9 . The drone method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving photographs and/or video of the delivery location subsequent to delivery of the package; and providing the photographs and/or video as a response to the delivery request.

10 . The drone method of claim 1 , wherein the directing comprises providing a delivery technique comprising one of landing, dropping via a tether, dropping to a doorstep, dropping to a mailbox, dropping to a porch, and dropping to a garage.

11 . A drone air traffic control system comprising:
a processor and a network interface communicatively coupled to one another; and memory storing instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to:
communicate to one or more Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) over one or more wireless networks, wherein the one or more UAVs are configured to constrain flight based on coverage of the one or more wireless networks;
receive a delivery request from a company specifying a pickup location, a package, and a delivery location;
select a UAV of the one or more UAVs for the delivery requests; and
direct the UAV to pick up the package at the pickup location and to deliver the package to the delivery location, wherein the air traffic control system provides a flight plan to the UAV based on the delivery request.

12 . The drone air traffic control system of claim 11 , wherein the memory storing instructions that, when executed, further cause the processor to:
receive a second delivery request from a second company specifying a second pickup location, a second package, and a second delivery location; select a second UAV of the one or more UAVs for the delivery requests; and direct the second UAV to pick up the second package at the second pickup location and to deliver the second package to the second delivery location, wherein the air traffic control system provides a second flight plan to the second UAV based on the second delivery request

13 . The drone air traffic control system of claim 11 , wherein the memory storing instructions that, when executed, further cause the processor to:
receive a second delivery request from a second company specifying a second pickup location, a second package, and a second delivery location; direct the UAV to pick up the second package at the second pickup location and to deliver the second package to the second delivery location, wherein the air traffic control system provides a second flight plan to the UAV based on the second delivery request

14 . The drone air traffic control system of claim 11 , wherein the UAV comprises an antenna communicatively coupled to the one or more wireless networks, and wherein the flight is constrained based on the antenna monitoring cell signal strength during the flight and adjusting the flight based therein whenever the cell signal strength is lost or degraded.

15 . The drone air traffic control system of claim 11 , wherein the memory storing instructions that, when executed, further cause the processor to:
receive flight information from the UAV during the flight; and provide updates to the flight plan based on the flight information.

16 . The drone air traffic control system of claim 11 , wherein the air traffic control system maintains location information for the UAV based on communication.

17 . The drone air traffic control system of claim 16 , wherein the location information is determined based on a combination of triangulation by the plurality of cell towers and a determination by the UAV based on a location identification network.

18 . The drone air traffic control system of claim 11 , wherein the memory storing instructions that, when executed, further cause the processor to:
assign the UAV a specified flying lane and ensuring the UAV is within the specified flying lane based on communication.

19 . The drone air traffic control system of claim 11 , wherein the memory storing instructions that, when executed, further cause the processor to:
receive photographs and/or video of the delivery location subsequent to delivery of the package; and provide the photographs and/or video as a response to the delivery request.

20 . The drone air traffic control system of claim 11 , wherein a delivery technique comprising one of landing, dropping via a tether, dropping to a doorstep, dropping to a mailbox, dropping to a porch, and dropping to a garage is provided to the UAV.

Assignees

• Etak Systems Llc

Inventors

• Priest Lee

Classifications

• B64U2201/20

  Remote controls · CPC title

• B64U2201/00

  UAVs characterised by their flight controls · CPC title

• B64U2101/30

  for imaging, photography or videography · CPC title

• G06Q10/083

  Shipping · CPC title

• H04W4/44

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