A system for planning package delivery using autonomous mobile vehicles.
The system optimizes cargo delivery by planning autonomous vehicle operations and cargo handling personnel schedules independently, reducing costs and improving efficiency by allowing personnel to travel directly to delivery points, aligning with vehicle stops for optimal resource utilization.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- TOYOTA JIDOSHA KK
- Filing Date
- 2024-10-30
- Publication Date
- 2026-05-15
AI Technical Summary
Conventional delivery systems with autonomous vehicles face inefficiencies when fully autonomous vehicles require human cargo handling personnel for loading and unloading, especially in complex routes or areas with unavailable map data, leading to unnecessary standby time and inefficient planning.
A system that plans cargo delivery operations for autonomous vehicles separately from cargo handling personnel, minimizing vehicle and personnel costs by allowing personnel to move independently and aligning their schedules with vehicle stops for efficient cargo handling.
This approach enhances delivery efficiency by reducing costs and increasing the number of orders processed, as cargo handling personnel travel directly to delivery points without riding on vehicles, aligning their schedules with vehicle stops for optimal resource utilization.
Smart Images
Figure 2026079194000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a system for formulating a plan for delivering goods by a vehicle or other moving body. More specifically, as a delivery plan for goods using an autonomous moving body, it relates to a system for formulating a plan for the operation of the moving body as well as a plan for the movement and cargo handling work of cargo handling workers.
Background Art
[0002] Various techniques have been proposed for generating and formulating a plan for delivering goods using a computer so as to reduce the cost in delivering goods by a vehicle or other moving body. For example, in Patent Document 1, a distribution base movement system is proposed that aims to reduce the overall loss caused by a plurality of moving bodies delivering goods returning to the distribution base for loading the goods. Such a system constitutes a distribution base for delivering goods to a plurality of moving bodies responsible for delivering goods in each area, and includes a vehicle for the movable distribution base, position information of the vehicle for the distribution base, position information of a place where the vehicle for the distribution base can park and goods can be transferred between the vehicle for the distribution base and the moving body, and an information acquisition unit that acquires information regarding a delivery request by a user. Based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit, a movement plan including the destination and timing of movement of the vehicle for the distribution base is created so as to reduce the overall loss caused by the plurality of moving bodies moving to the goods transfer location with the vehicle for the distribution base for loading the goods. A movement plan creation unit is provided, and a notification unit that notifies the vehicle for the distribution base of the movement plan created by the movement plan creation unit and notifies the moving body of the position information of the vehicle for the distribution base based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit.
Prior Art Documents
Patent Documents
[0003]
Patent Document 1
Summary of the Invention
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0004] Conventional mobile vehicles used for cargo delivery typically have at least one driver on board, and the driver often also acts as the loading and unloading crew (hereinafter referred to as "cargo handling personnel"). Therefore, when planning or generating a delivery plan for multiple packages being delivered from multiple origins to multiple destinations by mobile vehicle, it is usually assumed that the mobile vehicle and at least one cargo handling personnel (driver) will be traveling together. However, if the mobile vehicle for cargo delivery becomes a fully autonomous, self-driving vehicle, it is not necessary for a driver for driving and monitoring, i.e., at least one cargo handling personnel, to be on board at all times. In fact, if at least one cargo handling personnel is always traveling with the mobile vehicle, the cargo handling personnel will be constantly on standby while the mobile vehicle is moving, which can lead to inefficient planning. Regarding delivery systems using autonomous vehicles, a system has been proposed that generates plans based on the premise that loading and unloading of goods is completely automated using automated transport robots that can handle all loading and unloading tasks independently. However, in cases where the delivery location is far from public roads and requires navigating complex routes, or where map data is unavailable, fully automated delivery, including loading and unloading, is difficult without using extremely advanced autonomous vehicles. Therefore, in delivery planning for fully autonomous vehicles, it is more realistic to plan for delivery in cooperation with humans, such as delivering goods unmanned up to a certain point, and then having humans handle the rest of the delivery. In other words, when a fully autonomous vehicle is used for delivery, loading and unloading personnel are still necessary, but they do not necessarily need to move with the vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to move the loading and unloading personnel separately from the vehicle as needed to improve delivery efficiency. In this invention, this finding is utilized in a system for planning package delivery when the mobile vehicle for package delivery becomes a fully autonomous, self-driving vehicle.
[0005] In view of the above circumstances, the main object of the present invention is a system for formulating a cargo delivery plan when a cargo delivery vehicle is a fully autonomous, self-driving vehicle (a cargo delivery plan formulation system using a self-driving vehicle), which formulates an operation plan for the cargo delivery vehicle and a work plan for cargo handling personnel (a plan for movement between points and cargo handling operations) so that cargo delivery can be achieved more efficiently.
[0006] A further objective of the present invention is to provide a configuration for a cargo delivery planning system using an autonomous mobile vehicle that allows for the planning of work schedules for cargo handling personnel who may be able to move separately from the cargo delivery vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]
[0007] According to the present invention, the above problem is solved by a package delivery planning system using an autonomously driven mobile vehicle, Information storage means configured to store delivery order information, delivery vehicle information, cargo handling personnel information, and transportation cost information, A mobile vehicle operation planning means configured to use the delivery order information, the delivery vehicle information, and the movement cost information to formulate an operation plan for the mobile vehicle for transporting the goods between the delivery source and the delivery destination in the delivery order information, such that the movement cost of the mobile vehicle is minimized. A cargo handling personnel work planning means is configured to use the operation plan of the mobile body, the delivery order information, the cargo handling personnel information, and the movement cost information to formulate a work plan for cargo handling personnel for cargo handling operations at the delivery source and destination points of the cargo in the delivery order information, such that the cargo handling personnel can move separately from the mobile body and the cost of the cargo handling personnel is minimized. A plan presentation means that presents the aforementioned planned operation plan for the mobile vehicle and the aforementioned planned work plan for the cargo handling personnel. This is achieved by a system including the above. Furthermore, the system of the present invention is realized by operation according to a program of any computer device.
[0008] In the above configuration, the "autonomously driven mobile body" may be a vehicle such as an automobile or other mobile body that can move completely autonomously and without a driver. In this specification, unless otherwise specified, the term "mobile body" refers to the autonomously driven mobile body. In the present invention, the "package delivery planning system" is a system that plans the operation of a mobile body to transport each package from its origin to its destination in order to fulfill one or more orders (orders for package delivery), and plans to arrange for workers (cargo handling personnel) to perform loading and unloading operations (cargo handling operations) at the locations and times where such workers are needed at the origin and destination (cargo handling personnel work plan). The "origin" is the point where the mobile body receives and loads the package from the origin, and the "destination" is the point where the package is unloaded from the mobile body and delivered to the destination (consignee, etc.). The origin may be the starting and ending point for the mobile body and cargo handling personnel.
[0009] Also, "Delivery order information" refers to information relating to each of one or more delivery orders, including the origin and destination locations of the packages, the time or time slot for handover at the origin and destination, whether cargo handling personnel are required, the skills required for cargo handling (cargo handling skills), the volume and / or weight of the packages, and the length of time required for cargo handling, which is information necessary for formulating the operation plan of the moving objects and the work plan of the cargo handling personnel. "Delivery vehicle information" refers to information about one or more vehicles used for transporting goods, including the load capacity and / or volume of each vehicle, the starting point, the destination point, the driving range, the operating hours, and whether or not cargo handling personnel are required to be on board, which is necessary for planning the operation of the vehicles. "Cargo handling personnel information" refers to information about one or more cargo handling personnel who perform cargo handling work, including each person's achievable cargo handling skills, available working hours, available working hours, starting point, return point, means of transportation (walking, public transport, car, bicycle, etc.), employment costs (wages per unit of cargo handling work, wages per unit of time on duty, etc.), and whether or not they can hitch a ride on a moving vehicle, which is information necessary for planning the cargo handling personnel's work schedule. "Movement cost information" refers to information regarding the movement of the moving object and the handling personnel, including the cost, travel time, and travel distance required for the movement of the moving object for all combinations of the origin and destination points of the cargo and the departure and arrival points of the moving object for all orders, as well as the travel cost, travel time, and travel distance of the handling personnel for all combinations of the origin and destination points of the cargo and the departure and arrival points of the handling personnel for all orders requiring handling personnel for handling operations, as well as the travel cost, travel time, and travel distance of the handling personnel. This information is necessary for formulating the operation plan of the moving object and the work plan of the handling personnel. The "operation plan for the mobile unit" may include, for each mobile unit, the starting point, each intermediate point along the route for transporting the cargo (the source and destination of the cargo), and the return point (which may be the same as the starting point), as well as the arrival and departure times for each of them, and whether or not cargo handling personnel are required at each intermediate point. The "mobile unit's operation cost" is the estimated cost required to carry out the operation plan for the mobile unit. The "work plan for cargo handling personnel" may include, for each cargo handling personnel, the starting point, the location where the cargo handling work will be performed, the return point (which may be the same as the starting point), the content of the cargo handling work to be performed, the arrival and departure times at each location, and the means of transportation between each location. The "cost of cargo handling personnel" refers to the cost required to execute the work plan for cargo handling personnel (including travel costs and work costs).
[0010] In the system of the present invention described above, the operation plan for the mobile vehicle and the work plan for the cargo handling personnel are designed to minimize the movement costs of the mobile vehicle and the costs of the cargo handling personnel, respectively, under the condition that the cargo handling personnel can move separately from the mobile vehicle. Herein, the cargo handling personnel do not necessarily ride along with the mobile vehicle, and the plan is designed so that they can move to the source or destination of the cargo and perform cargo handling work in a way that further reduces the costs of the cargo handling personnel, so it is expected that cargo delivery can be achieved more efficiently.
[0011] In the system configuration of the present invention described above, the operational plan for the mobile body that minimizes the mobile body's movement cost may be determined by estimating the movement cost for all possible combinations of movement sequences between each point of each mobile body to achieve the delivery of the ordered cargo each day, and adopting the movement sequence with the minimum movement cost as the operational plan for the mobile body. On the other hand, the work plan for cargo handling personnel that minimizes the cost of cargo handling personnel may be determined by estimating the cost of cargo handling personnel for all possible combinations of work sequences at each point of each cargo handling personnel to achieve the delivery of the ordered cargo each day, and adopting the work sequence with the minimum cost of cargo handling personnel as the work plan for cargo handling personnel. In this regard, it is preferable that cargo handling personnel arrive at the source or destination of the cargo requiring cargo handling work during the time (stopover time) between the arrival and departure of the mobile body transporting the cargo, and be in a state where cargo handling work can be performed. Therefore, in the system of the present invention, the cargo handling personnel work planning means may be configured so that the working time of the cargo handling personnel at the source or destination of delivery in the cargo handling personnel work plan is aligned with the stopping time of the mobile body at the source or destination of delivery in the mobile body's operation plan. Such alignment may be performed by aligning the working time of the cargo handling personnel at one point for a shipment of one order with the stopping time of the mobile body, whichever is later. Furthermore, if the work point of one cargo handling operation by one cargo handling personnel and the work point of the next cargo handling operation by one cargo handling personnel coincide with the passing point and the next passing point of one mobile body, and the cargo handling personnel can hitch a ride on the mobile body (if they are using their own means of transportation such as a vehicle, they cannot hitch a ride), and the mobile body can accommodate the cargo handling personnel, the cargo handling personnel work plan may be modified so that the cargo handling personnel travel on the mobile body.
[0012] Furthermore, in the system of the present invention described above, a mobile vehicle operation plan is formulated so that for the transport of a single order of cargo, a mobile vehicle capable of transporting that cargo (a mobile vehicle whose weight or volume of cargo is below a limit) is assigned. If there are multiple mobile vehicles capable of transporting the cargo, the one with the lowest transport cost will be selected. In addition, the cargo handling personnel work planning means may be configured to formulate a work plan for cargo handling personnel so that the work skills required for loading and unloading cargo at the source or destination point match the work skills recorded in the cargo handling personnel information of the cargo handling personnel assigned to the work at the source or destination point, thereby ensuring that the loading and unloading of cargo at each point is reliably achieved.
[0013] In the system of the present invention, periods of unavailability (unavailable periods) may be registered in the delivery vehicle information for each mobile vehicle used for cargo delivery, and mobile vehicles in such periods may be excluded from the operation plan. The start time of the unavailability period may be changed depending on the order status. Also, for example, there may be mobile vehicles that are used only when there are many orders. Similarly, periods of unavailability (unavailable periods) may be registered in the cargo handling personnel information for each cargo handling personnel, and cargo handling personnel in such periods may be excluded from the work plan. The start time of the unavailability period may be changed depending on the order status. Also, for example, there may be cargo handling personnel that are only employed when there are many orders.
[0014] In the process of formulating the daily operation plan for the moving vehicle and the work plan for the cargo handling personnel in the system of the present invention described above, more specifically, orders to be processed each day are selected in any order, for example, in order of earliest delivery time or in order of earliest order placement. Each time an order is selected, the sequence of vehicle movement and the sequence of cargo handling personnel work that minimize the vehicle movement cost and the cargo handling personnel cost are detected as described above. This process may continue until the volume of orders to be processed reaches the maximum amount that can be processed in that day, that is, until it becomes impossible to arrange for a vehicle or cargo handling personnel. When the volume of cargo delivery orders exceeds the maximum amount that can be processed in one day, some orders may not be selected (orders exceeding the limit will be processed on the following day or later).
[0015] In this regard, in a mobile vehicle operation plan and cargo handling personnel work plan formulated according to such processing, the costs of mobile vehicle movement and cargo handling personnel are minimized for the selected orders and their order. However, if the selected orders are changed, the order of the selected orders is changed, or the mobile vehicle or cargo handling personnel responsible for each order are changed, the amount of orders that can be processed may increase or decrease, or the costs of mobile vehicle movement and / or cargo handling personnel may increase or decrease. In other words, by changing the orders to be processed or their order, or changing the mobile vehicle or cargo handling personnel responsible for each order, and re-planning the mobile vehicle operation plan and cargo handling personnel work plan, it may be possible to process orders more efficiently.
[0016] Therefore, the system of the present invention may be further configured to formulate a mobile vehicle operation plan and a cargo handling personnel work plan that take into account the number of orders to be processed to achieve more efficient delivery of goods. To this end, the system of the present invention uses [utility] calculated based on the number of deliveries of goods achieved in the mobile vehicle operation plan by the mobile vehicle operation plan formulation means and the cargo handling personnel work plan by the cargo handling personnel work plan formulation means, and [resources] calculated based on the cost required for the delivery of goods achieved. [Utility] / [Resource] The mobile body operation plan formulation means and the cargo handling staff work plan formulation means may be configured to search for the operation plan of the mobile body and the work plan of the cargo handling staff, respectively, so as to maximize the evaluation index calculated thereby. According to the above evaluation index, it becomes possible to evaluate the number of orders processed per unit cost, and the efficiency of the cargo delivery plan combining the operation plan of the mobile body and the work plan of the cargo handling staff can be evaluated from the viewpoints of the number of orders processed and the cost, and it is expected that a plan that can process more orders at a lower cost can be formulated.
[0017] More specifically, [utility] may be a value obtained by subtracting the delay penalty index value from the number of delivered cargos. Here, the "delay penalty index value" may be an index value appropriately calculated based on the length of the deviation when the delivery of the ordered cargo is fulfilled but the delivery time of the cargo deviates from the desired time zone of the order (for example, a value that increases as the length of the deviation time increases). As a result, the efficiency of cargo delivery can be evaluated according to the degree of fulfillment of the order content. Also, [resource] may be the sum of the values obtained by multiplying the cost required for the operation of the mobile body and the cost required for the work of the work staff by coefficients, respectively.
Effects of the Invention
[0018] Thus, in the system according to the present invention, when the mobile body for cargo delivery becomes a fully autonomous self-driving mobile body, since the mobile body can be operated without a crew, attention is paid to the fact that it is no longer necessary to move the personnel who used to perform the cargo handling work together with the mobile body, and a cargo delivery plan is formulated without the restriction that the cargo handling staff moves together with the mobile body. As a result, it is expected that the operation plan of the mobile body and the work plan of the cargo handling staff can be formulated so that the delivery of cargos can be achieved more efficiently. The system according to the present invention is expected to be advantageously used for formulating a plan for cargo delivery in the last mile.
[0019] Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0020] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a computer in which a luggage delivery plan creation system according to the present embodiment is realized. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the luggage delivery plan creation system according to the present embodiment in the form of a block diagram. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the mobile body and the movement mode of the cargo handling personnel established by the luggage delivery plan creation system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the creation process of the luggage delivery plan in the system according to the present embodiment in the form of a flowchart.
Explanation of Signs
[0021] 1... computer main body, 2... computer terminal, 3... monitor, 4... keyboard, mouse (input device), 5... data memory, 10... data input section, 12... data storage section, 12a... order master, 12b... mobile body master, 12c... cargo handling personnel master, 12d... movement cost database, 14... data acquisition section, 16... plan creation section, 16a... mobile body operation plan creation section, 16b... cargo handling personnel work plan creation section, 16c... plan evaluation section, 18... created plan output section, S... delivery source (delivery base), p1 to p8... delivery destination points, Ma, Mb... mobile bodies, st... cargo handling personnel, h... consignee
Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
[0022] The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in several preferred embodiments. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same parts.
[0023] Computer device configuration The package delivery planning system according to this embodiment may be implemented by operation in accordance with a program on a computer device 1 of a type commonly used in this field, as illustrated in Figure 1. The computer device 1 is equipped with a CPU, storage device, and input / output devices (I / O) interconnected by a bidirectional common bus in a typical configuration. The storage device includes memory PM, which stores each program that executes the arithmetic processing used in the calculations of this embodiment, and work memory WM and data memory DM(5) used during calculations. Instructions to the computer device 1, input of each data, and display and output of calculation results and other information are performed through a computer terminal device 2 connected to the computer device 1. The computer terminal device 2 is equipped with a monitor 3 and input devices 4 such as a keyboard and mouse in a typical configuration. When the program is started, the user can give various instructions and inputs to the computer device 1 using the input devices 4 according to the program's procedure and the display on the monitor 3, and can also visually confirm the calculation status and calculation results from the computer device 1 on the monitor 3.
[0024] System Configuration In the configuration of the cargo delivery planning system according to this embodiment, as shown in Figure 2, a data input unit 10, a data storage unit 12 (data memory DM5), a data acquisition unit 14, a planning unit 16, and a planning output unit 18 are provided. Each of these units is realized by the operation of a computer device according to a program.
[0025] More specifically, the data used to plan the operation of the moving vehicle and the work schedule of the cargo handling personnel is entered from the data input unit 10 and stored in the data storage unit 12, which consists of areas such as the order master 12a, the moving vehicle master 12b, the cargo handling personnel master 12c, and the moving cost database 12d.
[0026] Regarding each area configured in the data storage unit 12, first, in the order master 12a, information about one or more parcel delivery orders is stored. Typically, the following information is registered for a single order. ([] indicates the data format. The same applies below): Order ID [string] - A unique ID to identify the order, e.g., Order 01 Shipping origin [string] - The point where the package is loaded onto the vehicle, e.g., Store A Shipping origin time slot [start date, end date] - time frame during which loading can begin, e.g.: [(2024-10-10 00:00, 2024-10-10 24:00)] Handling at the shipping source required [True / False (Required / Not Required)] - Whether workers are needed for loading, e.g., [Not Required] Required skills for delivery source [string] - Skills and number of people required for loading, e.g., 1 person, heavy goods Shipping origin handling time [actual value] - time taken for loading (seconds), e.g., 600 Delivery destination [string] - The point where the package will be unloaded from the vehicle, e.g., Customer B Delivery time slot [start date, end date] - Time slots during which unloading can begin. Example: [(2024-10-10 10:00, 2024-10-10 14:00), (2024-10-10 19:00, 2024-10-10 20:00)] Delivery destination handling requirement [Boolean value (Required / Not Required)] - Whether workers are needed for unloading, e.g., [Required] Required skills at delivery destination [string] - Skills and number of people required for unloading, e.g.: [2 people, none] Delivery destination loading / unloading time [actual value] - time required for unloading (seconds) Example: 300 Luggage volume [m³] 3 ]-Actual value of the volume of the package, e.g., 1.54 Package weight [kg] - Actual weight of the package, e.g., 2.98
[0027] The mobile body master 12b stores information about each of the one or more mobile bodies used for transporting cargo. Typically, the following information is registered for each mobile body: Mobile ID [string] - A unique ID to identify a mobile object, e.g., Vehicle 01 Upper volume limit [m³] 3 ] - Maximum load capacity of the mobile unit (volume-based), e.g., 10 Weight limit [kg] - Maximum load capacity of the mobile unit (based on weight), e.g., 1500 Operating time slot [start time, end time] - The time period during which the vehicle can be operated, e.g., (08:00, 22:00) Driving range [km] - Vehicle's driving range, e.g., 100 Starting point [string] - The location where the vehicle is located when it begins operation, e.g., Depot A Return destination [string] - The place where the vehicle returns to at the end of its operation, e.g., Depot B Passenger
[0028] The cargo handling personnel master 12c stores information about each of the one or more cargo handling personnel performing cargo handling operations. Typically, the following information is registered for each cargo handling personnel: Personnel ID [string] - A unique ID to identify a personnel member, e.g., Worker 01 Possessed Skills [String] - Skills related to cargo handling that the personnel possess (e.g., ability to handle heavy objects, ability to operate special equipment), Example: [Heavy objects] Transportation [string] - The transportation options available to the personnel, e.g., [walking, cycling] Work time slot [start time, end time] - the time period during which personnel are available to work, e.g., (08:00, 22:00) Travelable distance [km] - the distance that personnel can travel (when using a car, etc.), e.g., 100 Starting point [string] - The location where the personnel are at the start of their work, e.g., Office A Return location [string] - The place where personnel return to at the end of their shift, e.g., Office A Employment cost [yen] - cost per unit of time (or per unit of work), e.g., 2000 / 1h Passenger Passport Allowance (Boolean / Negative) - Whether or not it is possible to ride in a vehicle (e.g., OK if walking, NOT OK if cycling), Example: OK
[0029] The movement cost database 12d stores information regarding the movement of the moving object and the handling personnel, including information regarding the movement of the moving object for all combinations of the origin and destination points of the goods and the departure and arrival points of the moving object for all orders, and information regarding the movement of the handling personnel for all combinations of the origin and destination points of the handling personnel and the departure and arrival points of the handling personnel for all orders. Typically, the following information is registered for a single movement: Departure point [string] - the starting point of the movement, e.g., garage Destination[string] - The end point of the journey, e.g., Customer A's house Mode of Transportation [string] - Specifies which mode of transportation was used. Example: Vehicle Distance traveled [km] - the distance traveled along the route, e.g., 5 Travel time [minutes] - the time it takes to travel, e.g., 30 Travel cost [yen] - expenses incurred for travel, e.g., 250
[0030] The data acquisition unit 14 functions to extract information used by the planning unit 16 when formulating a delivery plan from the data storage unit 12 and send it to the planning unit 16.
[0031] The planning unit 16 may more specifically consist of a mobile vehicle operation planning unit 16a, a cargo handling personnel work planning unit 16b, and a plan evaluation unit 16c. As will be described in more detail later, the mobile vehicle operation planning unit 16a is configured to use the delivery order information stored in the order master 12a, the mobile vehicle information stored in the mobile vehicle master 12b, and the travel cost information stored in the travel cost database 12d to plan the operation of the mobile vehicle for the transfer of cargo between the delivery source and destination in the delivery order information, in such a way as to minimize the travel cost of the mobile vehicle. As will be explained in more detail later, the cargo handling personnel work planning unit 16b is configured to use the planned mobile vehicle operation plan, delivery order information stored in the order master 12a, cargo handling personnel information stored in the cargo handling personnel master 12c, and travel cost information stored in the travel cost database 12d to plan the work of cargo handling personnel for cargo handling operations at the source and destination points of the cargo in the delivery order information, in a manner that minimizes the cost of cargo handling personnel. The plan evaluation unit 16c then evaluates the efficiency of cargo delivery in the planned mobile vehicle operation plan and cargo handling personnel work plan using evaluation indicators as described later, and perturbs the plans planned by the mobile vehicle operation planning unit 16a and the cargo handling personnel work planning unit 16b, respectively, to further maximize the evaluation indicators and causes them to re-plan the cargo delivery plan. Then, the operational plan for the mobile vehicle and the work plan for the cargo handling personnel, which are estimated to have the highest evaluation indicators, are output from the planning output unit 18 as the final plan.
[0032] System operation (1) Overview As already mentioned, in the delivery of goods, if the vehicle transporting the goods is an autonomous vehicle, then a driver or other crew member is not required during its movement, and personnel for loading and unloading the goods at the source and destination points only need to be arranged when necessary. For example, for relatively small, ordinary packages, the sender or recipient can load and unload the goods themselves at the source and destination points, so no handling personnel are required. Therefore, in the goods delivery planning system according to this embodiment, under the condition that handling personnel can move independently of the vehicle, the vehicle's operation plan and the handling personnel's work plan are formulated in such a way as described above, minimizing the vehicle's movement cost and the handling personnel's cost (employment cost + movement cost), thereby lowering the cost required for goods delivery and improving the efficiency of goods delivery.
[0033] Specifically, for example, as shown in Figure 3, when attempting to deliver an order that involves delivering packages from the source S to each of the destinations p1 to p8, we assume that the operational plan for the mobile units that minimizes the movement costs of the mobile units is one in which mobile unit Ma travels in a patrol route from p1 to p2 to p3 to p4 and mobile unit Mb travels in a patrol route from p5 to p6 to p7 to p8, based on the relationship between the total volume of packages and the maximum load capacity of each mobile unit, as well as the desired delivery time. At that time, if the consignee h can unload the cargo at delivery destinations p1, p2, p5, and p8, and cargo handling personnel st are needed to unload the cargo at delivery destinations p3, p4, p6, and p7, then it would be more efficient for cargo handling personnel st to travel directly to delivery destinations p3, p4, p6, and p7 without riding on the mobile vehicles Ma and Mb. This would save on personnel and their time (travel time and work time), thereby reducing the cost of cargo delivery and increasing the number of orders that can be processed by reducing the time cargo handling personnel st is required for each delivery. In other words, by having cargo handling personnel travel to the delivery source or destination where loading and unloading is required, rather than always traveling with the mobile vehicle, it is expected that the cost of cargo handling personnel will be reduced and the number of orders that can be processed will increase due to the increased flexibility in scheduling.
[0034] (2) Planning process In planning cargo delivery, the operation plan for the moving vehicle and the work plan for cargo handling personnel may be planned on a daily basis. In the specific process, as shown in Figure 4, the following steps may be performed: pre-processing (S1), plan generation (S2), calculation of the evaluation index for the generated plan (S3), determination of the completion of plan generation (S4), plan perturbation (S5), and post-processing (S6). Each processing step will be explained in order below.
[0035] In preprocessing (S1), first, data of orders that are required to be processed on the day the plan is formulated is extracted from the order master, and these may be sorted in any order, such as in order of earliest order date, or in order of earliest delivery time slot or delivery time slot. In addition, data of cargo handling personnel who possess the skills that match the required skills at the delivery source and delivery destination is extracted from the cargo handling personnel master for each extracted order, and these may be associated with each order data as candidates for cargo handling personnel who can handle the cargo.
[0036] In the planning generation (S2), simply put, data from the mobile vehicle master, cargo handling personnel master, and mobile cost database are referenced to generate all possible combinations of mobile vehicle operations and cargo handling personnel work to process the orders extracted daily in the preprocessing stage. The cost for each combination is then estimated, and the combination with the minimum cost is selected as the plan.
[0037] More specifically, first, orders to be processed in a given day are extracted in preprocessing and arranged in any order. These orders are then selected one by one and added to the processing target frame. Each time an order is added, all possible combinations of mobile unit assignments that can transport all the cargo of the selected orders within the frame are searched for. Here, the system searches for mobile unit assignments for cargo transport between locations that satisfy the conditions of each item registered in each master. In further detail, the order in which orders are processed, determined by selecting each order one by one, is fixed. Furthermore, when a new order is selected, the mobile unit assignment may be determined so that the processing of the newly selected order is inserted before, after, or between the processing of orders whose order has already been determined. For example, if the processing order for a single moving body for orders 1 and 2 is determined as loading of order 1, loading of order 2, unloading of order 2, and unloading of order 1, and then processing for order 3 is added, the loading and unloading of order 3 will be incorporated into one of the following: before loading of order 1, between loading of order 1 and loading of order 2, between loading of order 2 and unloading of order 2, between unloading of order 2 and unloading of order 1, or after unloading of order 1. In addition, in this process, as orders are added one by one to the order slots to be processed, if, when an order is added, no moving body allocation is found that can complete the transfer of all goods in the orders in the order slots to be processed, then the combinations of moving body allocations for the transfer of goods in the orders in the order slots to be processed, excluding the last added order, will be considered in the following processing, and orders not included in the order slots to be processed may be processed on the following day or later. Then, for each of the searched combinations, the cost required for each mobile unit to travel between each point is obtained from the travel cost database, and the total travel cost required for all movements of all mobile units in each combination is estimated. The combination of mobile unit assignments that minimizes the travel cost is then designated as the provisional mobile unit operation plan.
[0038] Once a provisional mobile vehicle operation plan is determined, locations requiring cargo handling personnel at the origin and destination points in that operation plan are selected, and all combinations of assigning cargo handling personnel to each selected location are searched. Here, the assignment of cargo handling personnel is searched so as to satisfy the conditions of each item registered in each master, that is, so as to assign cargo handling personnel who possess the necessary skills required at each origin and destination point. For each of the searched combinations, the cost of all cargo handling personnel in that combination is estimated, and the cargo handling personnel assignment combination with the minimum cost is designated as the provisional cargo handling personnel work plan. In this regard, if it is not possible to assign cargo handling personnel to all locations requiring cargo handling personnel at the origin and destination points in the provisional mobile vehicle operation plan while satisfying the conditions of each item registered in each master, the provisional mobile vehicle operation plan may be modified in any manner. For example, orders within the processing target can be excluded in order of latest arrival, a provisional transportation plan for the moving vehicle can be determined as described above, and the allocation of cargo handling personnel can be redone.
[0039] Thus, the above plan generation process determines a provisional mobile vehicle operation plan and a provisional cargo handling personnel work plan. The mobile vehicle operation plan may include information for each mobile vehicle, such as the starting point, intermediate points (originating point, destination), return point, departure and arrival times at each point, and other information (mobile vehicle ID, order ID, etc.). The cargo handling personnel work plan may include information for each cargo handling personnel, such as the starting point, work location (originating point, destination), return point, departure and arrival times at each point, and other information (cargo handling personnel ID, order ID, work details, etc.). In the mobile vehicle operation plan and cargo handling personnel work plan generated as described above, cargo handling personnel do not necessarily have to move together with the mobile vehicles, and as illustrated in Figure 3, they can go directly to the locations necessary for cargo handling work, thus, as already mentioned, an improvement in the efficiency of cargo delivery can be expected.
[0040] (3) Evaluation of the generated plan and perturbation of the plan The plan generated by the above plan generation process is designed to minimize the movement costs of the mobile vehicles and the costs of the cargo handling personnel for the orders to be processed and in the order in which they are processed. However, if the orders to be processed are changed, the order of the orders is changed, or the mobile vehicles or cargo handling personnel responsible for each order are changed, the amount of orders that can be processed may increase or decrease, and the movement costs of the mobile vehicles and / or the costs of the cargo handling personnel may increase or decrease.
[0041] Therefore, in this embodiment, the plan may be repeatedly regenerated by applying various perturbations to the conditions used in the plan, in order to search for a more efficient plan. Specifically, first, in the calculation process of the evaluation index of the generated plan (S3), as mentioned in the section on the summary of the invention, the efficiency of the cargo delivery plan, which combines the provisional operation plan of the moving body and the provisional work plan of the cargo handling personnel, can be evaluated from the perspective of the number of orders processed and the cost, as an evaluation index, [Utility] / [Resource] The following can be calculated. Here, [Utility] is an index value that increases as the number of deliveries of goods achieved in the mobile vehicle operation plan and the cargo handling personnel work plan increases, and [Resources] is an index value that increases as the cost required for the delivery of goods achieved increases. In other words, the larger the evaluation index, the greater the number of orders processed per unit cost in that plan, and the more efficient it is. Then, as a plan perturbation process (S5), the above plan generation process (S2) may be executed iteratively while changing the orders to be processed, changing the order of orders to be added to the processing target, or changing the mobile vehicle or cargo handling personnel, and the evaluation index may be calculated each time, and a search for a cargo delivery plan that maximizes the evaluation index may be performed. Thus, when a cargo delivery plan that maximizes the evaluation index is detected, it may be adopted as the final mobile vehicle operation plan and cargo handling personnel work plan.
[0042] In the evaluation indicators above, [utility] is more specifically defined as: (Number of deliveries achieved) - (Delay penalty index value) It may be given as follows. The delay penalty index value is a value calculated based on the length of the deviation when the delivery of the ordered goods has been fulfilled, but the delivery time of the goods deviates from the desired time period of the order, for example, a value that increases as the length of the deviation increases (in this regard, in the plan generation process, the arrival times of each point of the moving object are basically assigned so that they fall within the desired time period, but the arrival times of each point of the moving object may be assigned so that they may deviate by a predetermined time range set appropriately from the desired time period). This makes it possible to evaluate the efficiency of achieving the delivery of goods based on the degree to which the order contents have been fulfilled. On the other hand, [Resources] are calculated using the cost Cm required for the operation of the moving object and the cost Cs required for the work of the personnel (including travel costs and employment costs), αCm + βCs It may be calculated by the following: α and β are positive coefficients set as appropriate.
[0043] (4) Post-processing Referring again to Figure 4, the plan generation process (S2), plan evaluation process (S3), and plan perturbation process (S5) are repeated until a plan with the maximum evaluation index is detected. When this is determined, the series of plan generation processes is terminated (S4), and post-processing (S6) is executed. In post-processing, the final vehicle operation plan and cargo handling personnel work plan may be displayed in a format that is easy for the user to understand. Specifically, the vehicle operation plan and cargo handling personnel work plan may be displayed as a timetable or schedule, respectively. Here, the displayed vehicle operation plan and cargo handling personnel work plan become the final planned cargo delivery plan.
[0044] (5) Introduction of periods when mobile vehicles are unavailable and periods when cargo handling personnel are unavailable for work. In the system of this embodiment described above, the mobile vehicle master and cargo handling personnel master may register the periods during which each mobile vehicle is unavailable and the periods during which each cargo handling personnel is unavailable for work, and mobile vehicles and cargo handling personnel during those periods may not be assigned to deliver goods. Such periods may be specified as time slots within a day, or as periods of one day or more. In addition, the mobile vehicle master or cargo handling personnel master may be configured to set the period of unavailability or unavailable work for a duration that is appropriately set from the time each mobile vehicle or cargo handling personnel was used or worked, or the time they finished working. Such settings may be manual or automatic. Alternatively, there may be mobile vehicles or cargo handling personnel that are used or worked only when there are many orders. This makes it possible to plan while taking into account the period management for maintenance of mobile vehicles and the work schedule management of cargo handling personnel.
[0045] Thus, according to the system of this embodiment, a cargo delivery plan can be formulated without the constraint that cargo handling personnel must move together with the moving object, and the cargo delivery can be carried out according to this plan, thereby further improving the efficiency of cargo delivery.
[0046] While the above description is made in relation to embodiments of the present invention, many modifications and changes are readily possible for those skilled in the art, and it will be clear that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments illustrated above, but can be applied to various devices without departing from the concept of the present invention.
Claims
1. A system for planning package delivery using an autonomously driven mobile vehicle, Information storage means configured to store delivery order information, delivery vehicle information, cargo handling personnel information, and transportation cost information, A mobile vehicle operation planning means configured to use the delivery order information, the delivery vehicle information, and the movement cost information to formulate an operation plan for the mobile vehicle for transporting the goods between the delivery source and the delivery destination in the delivery order information, such that the movement cost of the mobile vehicle is minimized. A cargo handling personnel work planning means is configured to use the operation plan of the mobile body, the delivery order information, the cargo handling personnel information, and the movement cost information to formulate a work plan for cargo handling personnel for cargo handling operations at the delivery source and destination points of the cargo in the delivery order information, such that the cargo handling personnel can move separately from the mobile body and the cost of the cargo handling personnel is minimized. A plan presentation means that presents the aforementioned planned operation plan for the mobile vehicle and the aforementioned planned work plan for the cargo handling personnel. A system that includes this.
2. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a means for planning cargo handling personnel work schedules, wherein the work time of the cargo handling personnel at the source or destination location in the cargo handling personnel work schedule is configured to match the stopping time of the mobile body at the source or destination location in the mobile body operation schedule.
3. A system according to claim 1, wherein the cargo handling personnel work planning means is configured to plan the work of cargo handling personnel so that the work skills required for loading and unloading cargo at the source point or the destination point match the work skills recorded in the cargo handling personnel information of the cargo handling personnel assigned to work at the source point or the destination point.
4. A system according to claim 1, wherein the mobile vehicle operation planning means and the cargo handling personnel work planning means search for the mobile vehicle operation plan and the cargo handling personnel work plan, respectively, in order to maximize an evaluation index calculated by [utility] / [resource] using [utility] calculated based on the number of cargo deliveries achieved in the mobile vehicle operation plan by the mobile vehicle operation planning means and the cargo handling personnel work plan by the cargo handling personnel work planning means.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein [utility] is the value obtained by subtracting a delay penalty index value from the number of deliveries achieved, and [resources] is the sum of the values obtained by multiplying the cost required for the operation of the mobile body and the cost required for the work of the work personnel by coefficients, respectively.