Information processing device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To deliver goods appropriately using delivery vehicles within the designated time frame. [Solution] An information processing device is provided, comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires information indicating the scheduled delivery time and designated delivery time for each package of a first delivery vehicle; and a control unit that, if the estimated delivery time of the first package loaded on the first delivery vehicle, calculated based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit, is later than a certain amount of time than the designated delivery time for the first package, causes the first package to be transferred from the first delivery vehicle to the second delivery vehicle by an unmanned transport machine.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] A technique of delivering a package to a customer (user)'s address using an unmanned transporter is known (for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, for example, the problems in the case of delivering a package by a delivery vehicle during a time period specified by a user or the like have not been studied.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a technique capable of appropriately delivering a package by a delivery vehicle during a specified time period in view of the above-described problems.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In a first aspect according to the present disclosure, an acquisition unit that acquires information indicating a scheduled delivery time of each package of a first delivery vehicle and a specified delivery time period, and a predicted delivery time of a first package loaded on the first delivery vehicle calculated based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit is a specific time or more later than the specified delivery time period of the first package. And a control unit that transfers the first package from the first delivery vehicle to a second delivery vehicle by an unmanned transporter. An information processing apparatus is provided.

[0007] Furthermore, in a second aspect relating to this disclosure, an information processing device is provided which acquires information indicating the scheduled delivery time and designated delivery time for each package in the first delivery vehicle, and if the estimated delivery time of the first package loaded in the first delivery vehicle, calculated based on the acquired information, is more than a certain amount of time later than the designated delivery time for the first package, the first package is transferred from the first delivery vehicle to the second delivery vehicle by an unmanned transport machine.

[0008] Furthermore, in a third aspect relating to this disclosure, a program is provided that causes a computer to execute a process in which it acquires information indicating the scheduled delivery time and designated delivery time for each package in the first delivery vehicle, and if the estimated delivery time of the first package loaded in the first delivery vehicle, calculated based on the acquired information, is later than a certain amount of time than the designated delivery time for the first package, it causes the first package to be transferred from the first delivery vehicle to the second delivery vehicle by an automated transport machine. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] From one perspective, it allows for the proper delivery of goods by delivery vehicles within the specified time frame. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This figure shows an example of the configuration of an information processing device according to the embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a diagram showing an example configuration of a delivery system according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of the hardware configuration of the information processing device according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] A flowchart showing an example of processing performed by the information processing apparatus according to the present invention. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of information stored in the delivery vehicle database according to this embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] The principles of this disclosure will be described with reference to several exemplary embodiments. These embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only and should be understood as helping those skilled in the art to understand and implement this disclosure without implying any limitation on the scope of this disclosure. The disclosures described herein may be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

[0012] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as those generally understood by those skilled in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0013] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. Each drawing is merely illustrative for illustrating one or more embodiments. Each drawing may be associated not only with one specific embodiment but also with one or more other embodiments. As those skilled in the art will understand, various features or steps described with reference to any one drawing can be combined with features or steps shown in one or more other drawings, for example, to create embodiments not explicitly shown or described. Not all features or steps shown in any one drawing to illustrate an exemplary embodiment are necessarily required, and some features or steps may be omitted. The order of steps described in any of the drawings may be changed as appropriate.

[0014] (Embodiment 1) <Structure> Referring to Figure 1, the configuration of the information processing device 10 according to the embodiment will be described. Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the information processing device 10 according to the embodiment. The information processing device 10 has an acquisition unit 11 and a control unit 12. Each of these units may be realized through the cooperation of one or more programs installed in the information processing device 10 and hardware such as the processor and memory of the information processing device 10.

[0015] The acquisition unit 11 acquires information indicating the scheduled delivery time of each piece of luggage on the first delivery vehicle and the designated delivery time zone. When the estimated delivery time of the first piece of luggage loaded on the first delivery vehicle, which is calculated based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit 11, is later than the designated delivery time zone of the first piece of luggage by a specific time or more, the control unit 12 transfers the first piece of luggage from the first delivery vehicle to the second delivery vehicle by the unmanned transfer machine. Thereby, the luggage can be appropriately delivered by the delivery vehicle within the designated time zone.

[0016] (Embodiment 2) <System Configuration> Next, referring to FIG. 2, the configuration of the delivery system 1 according to the embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the delivery system 1 according to the embodiment. In the example of FIG. 2, the delivery system 1 includes an information processing device 10, delivery vehicles 20A to 20C, and unmanned transfer machines 30A to 30C. Hereinafter, when it is not necessary to distinguish each of the delivery vehicles 20A to 20C, they are simply referred to as "delivery vehicle 20". Also, when it is not necessary to distinguish each of the unmanned transfer machines 30A to 30C, they are simply referred to as "unmanned transfer machine 30".

[0017] In the example of FIG. 2, the information processing device 10, the delivery vehicle 20, and the unmanned transfer machine 30 are connected so as to be able to communicate via the network N. Note that the number of delivery vehicles 20 and unmanned transfer machines 30 is not limited to the example of FIG. 2.

[0018] Examples of the network N include, for example, the Internet, a mobile communication system, a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), a LAN, and a bus. Examples of the mobile communication system include, for example, the 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), the 6th generation mobile communication system (6G, Beyond 5G), the 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), and the 3rd generation mobile communication system (3G).

[0019] The information processing device 10 may be, for example, a device such as a server, a cloud server, a personal computer, or a smartphone. The information processing device 10 manages, for example, the delivery of each piece of luggage by each delivery vehicle 20.

[0020] The delivery vehicle 20 is a vehicle that delivers each piece of luggage to the address of each customer (user) by manual driving by a driver or by autonomous driving. The delivery vehicle 20 may communicate with the information processing device 10 by an in-vehicle device or a terminal such as a smartphone possessed by the driver.

[0021] The unmanned transfer machine 30 automatically or manually loads (for example, grasps with an arm) the luggage loaded on the delivery vehicle 20 and transfers (transports, conveys) it to another delivery vehicle 20. The unmanned transfer machine 30 may be, for example, an unmanned aerial vehicle such as a drone (for example, a multicopter). Also, the unmanned transfer machine 30 may be, for example, an automatic delivery robot. Also, the unmanned transfer machine 30 may be, for example, a humanoid robot (humanoid robot) that automatically drives a motorcycle, a bicycle, an electric kickboard, etc. The unmanned transfer machine 30 may identify each piece of luggage using, for example, a wireless tag or the like attached to each piece of luggage, or by image recognition using AI (Artificial Intelligence) or the like, and automatically grasp and transfer the luggage instructed by the information processing device 10. The unmanned transfer machine 30 may take off automatically from the interior of the delivery vehicle 20 (space for loading luggage) and land in the interior of the delivery vehicle 20 using, for example, the skylight of the delivery vehicle 20. Note that each of the unmanned transfer machines 30A to 30C may be normally mounted on each of the delivery vehicles 20A to 20C.

[0022] <Hardware Configuration> FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the information processing device 10 according to the embodiment. In the example of FIG. 3, the information processing device 10 (computer 100) includes a processor 101, a memory 102, and a communication interface 103. These components may be connected by a bus or the like. The memory 102 stores at least a part of the program 104. The communication interface 103 includes an interface necessary for communication with other network elements.

[0023] When program 104 is executed in cooperation with the processor 101 and memory 102, etc., the computer 100 performs at least some of the processing of embodiments of this disclosure. Memory 102 may be of any type. Memory 102 may, in non-limiting examples, be a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium. Memory 102 may also be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory. Although only one memory 102 is shown for computer 100, computer 100 may have several physically different memory modules. Processor 101 may be of any type. Processor 101 may include one or more general-purpose computers, dedicated computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), and, in non-limiting examples, processors based on multicore processor architectures. Computer 100 may have multiple processors, such as application-specific integrated circuit chips that are time-dependent to a clock that synchronizes the main processor.

[0024] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or in dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some embodiments may be implemented in hardware, while others may be implemented in firmware or software that can be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device.

[0025] This disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as instructions contained in a program module, and is executed on a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the processes or methods of this disclosure. The program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc., that perform a specific task or implement a specific abstract data type. The functionality of the program module may be combined or divided among the program module as desired in various embodiments. The machine-executable instructions of the program module can be executed on a local or distributed device. On a distributed device, the program module can reside on both local and remote storage media.

[0026] Program code for performing the methods of this disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes are provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, or other programmable data processing device. When the program code is executed by the processor or controller, the functions / operations in the flowchart and / or block diagrams it implements are performed. The program code may run entirely on a machine, partially on a machine, partially as a standalone software package, partially on a machine, partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0027] Programs can be stored and supplied to a computer using various types of non-temporary computer-readable media. Non-temporary computer-readable media include various types of tangible recording media. Examples of non-temporary computer-readable media include magnetic recording media, magneto-optical recording media, optical disc media, and semiconductor memory. Magnetic recording media include, for example, flexible disks, magnetic tapes, and hard disk drives. Magneto-optical recording media include, for example, magneto-optical disks. Optical disc media include, for example, Blu-ray discs, CD (Compact Disc)-ROM (Read Only Memory), CD-R (Recordable), and CD-RW (ReWritable). Semiconductor memory includes, for example, solid-state drives, mask ROMs, PROMs (Programmable ROMs), EPROMs (Erasable PROMs), flash ROMs, and RAMs (random access memory). Programs may also be supplied to a computer using various types of temporary computer-readable media. Examples of temporary computer-readable media include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. Temporary computer-readable media can supply programs to a computer via wired communication channels such as electric wires and optical fibers, or via wireless communication channels.

[0028] <Processing> Next, an example of the processing of the information processing device 10 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. Figure 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing of the information processing device 10 according to the embodiment. Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the delivery vehicle DB (database) 501 according to the embodiment. Note that the processing in Figure 4 may be executed for each package at a regular interval, for example, for each delivery vehicle 20. Below, an example of transferring package A from delivery vehicle 20A to delivery vehicle 20B will be described.

[0029] In step S101, the acquisition unit 11 acquires information indicating the scheduled delivery time and designated delivery time slot for each package in each delivery vehicle 20. Here, the acquisition unit 11 may acquire each piece of information by referring to, for example, the delivery vehicle DB 501 shown in Figure 5. The delivery vehicle DB 501 may be recorded in a recording device inside the information processing device 10, or it may be recorded in a recording device outside the information processing device 10.

[0030] In the example shown in Figure 5, the delivery vehicle DB501 records the current location and planned route, associated with the delivery vehicle ID. Additionally, the estimated delivery time, designated delivery time slot, destination address, package weight, and package size are recorded, associated with the delivery vehicle ID and package ID combination. The delivery vehicle ID is the identification information for delivery vehicle 20.

[0031] The current location is the current location of the delivery vehicle 20. The current location information may be calculated periodically (for example, every minute) by the delivery vehicle 20 using a satellite positioning system such as GPS (Global Positioning System) and notified to the information processing device 10, etc.

[0032] The planned route is the recommended route for the delivery vehicle 20 to deliver each package. The planned route may be calculated by the control unit 12 of the information processing device 10, or by the delivery vehicle 20.

[0033] The package ID is the identification information for the package. The estimated delivery time is the predicted time when the package will be delivered to its destination. The estimated delivery time may be calculated periodically (for example, every minute) by the information processing device 10 or the delivery vehicle 20 based on the planned route and road congestion conditions, etc.

[0034] The designated delivery time slot is, for example, the time slot specified by the customer, etc., for delivering the package to the destination. The destination address is the address to which the package will be delivered. Package size information may include, for example, the length, width, and height of the package. Package size information may also include, for example, information indicating the shape of the package. The designated delivery time slot, destination address, package weight, and package size information may be registered in advance by the operator (manager), etc., before the package is loaded onto the delivery vehicle 20.

[0035] Next, the control unit 12 determines whether the estimated delivery time of package A loaded on the delivery vehicle 20A, calculated based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit 11, is delayed by a specific amount of time (for example, 5 minutes) or more compared to the designated delivery time slot for package A (i.e., package A is delayed) (step S102).

[0036] If the estimated delivery time is not more than a specific time later than the designated delivery time slot (NO in step S102), processing for package A is terminated. On the other hand, if the estimated delivery time is more than a specific time later than the designated delivery time slot (YES in step S102), the control unit 12 selects (determines, identifies) the delivery vehicle 20 to which package A will be transferred (step S103). The control unit 12 may use a combination of the transfer destination selection methods described below as appropriate. If there is no delivery vehicle 20 that can be selected as the transfer destination for package A, the control unit 12 may have package A delivered to the destination address by the unmanned transport machine 30A.

[0037] (Example of selecting delivery vehicle 20 as the transfer destination so that other packages do not experience delivery delays.) Here, the acquisition unit 11 may acquire information indicating the scheduled delivery time and designated delivery time for each package in each delivery vehicle 20B, 20C. Then, based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit 11, the control unit 12 may select delivery vehicle 20B as the transfer destination from among the multiple delivery vehicles 20B, 20C. This allows, for example, the selection of a delivery vehicle 20 capable of delivering package A within the designated delivery time as the transfer destination.

[0038] In this case, the control unit 12 may, for example, select a delivery vehicle 20 from among multiple delivery vehicles 20 that can deliver package A within the specified delivery time slot, and that, if package A is delivered within the specified delivery time slot, will not cause delays to the delivery of other packages loaded on it. In this case, the control unit 12 may, for example, determine that other packages will not be delayed if the estimated delivery time of each package loaded on delivery vehicle 20B, when package A is delivered within the specified delivery time slot, is not delayed by more than a certain amount of time compared to the specified delivery time slot for each package.

[0039] (Example of selecting delivery vehicle 20, which travels on a route with frequent stops, as the transfer destination.) The control unit 12 may select a delivery vehicle 20 to which the goods will be transferred from among multiple delivery vehicles 20, based on the planned travel route of each delivery vehicle and the traffic information of the planned travel route of each delivery vehicle. This allows, for example, a delivery vehicle 20 traveling in a section that frequently stops due to congestion or other reasons to be selected as the transfer destination. Therefore, even if the delivery vehicle 20B is stopped on the road due to congestion or other reasons, the unmanned transport unit 30A can automatically load the goods A onto the delivery vehicle 20B without having to temporarily stop the delivery vehicle 20B on the roadside or elsewhere to load the goods A being transported by the unmanned transport unit 30A. The traffic information of the planned travel route may be obtained, for example, by VICS (registered trademark) (Vehicle Information and Communication System).

[0040] In this case, the control unit 12 may calculate, for example, the expected location where the unmanned transporter 30A, which transports cargo A from the current location of the delivery vehicle 20A, is expected to arrive at the delivery vehicle 20B, which is traveling along the planned route of the delivery vehicle 20B. If the road at the expected arrival location is congested or busy, the control unit 12 may select the delivery vehicle 20B as the destination.

[0041] (Example of selecting a transfer destination based on the delivery status of other delivery vehicles 20, etc.) The control unit 12 may select a destination delivery vehicle 20 from among multiple delivery vehicles 20 based on at least one of the following: the available loading capacity of each delivery vehicle 20, the number of packages loaded in each delivery vehicle 20, and the work status of the driver of each delivery vehicle 20. This allows for the appropriate selection of the destination delivery vehicle, for example, depending on the delivery status of other delivery vehicles 20.

[0042] In this case, the control unit 12 may, for example, consider the delivery vehicle 20 as a candidate for transfer destination if the available loading capacity of the delivery vehicle 20 is above a threshold. This makes it possible to avoid considering a delivery vehicle 20 as a transfer destination if, for example, it has relatively little space for loading cargo, making it relatively difficult for the automated transport machine 30 to automatically load cargo.

[0043] Furthermore, the control unit 12 may, for example, prioritize selecting a delivery vehicle 20 as the transfer destination if the number of packages loaded on the delivery vehicle 20 is small. This can reduce the impact of delays in the delivery of other packages due to the transfer of packages. Also, the control unit 12 may, for example, prioritize selecting a delivery vehicle 20 as the transfer destination if the driver of the delivery vehicle 20 has a short continuous working period. This can reduce the likelihood of the driver's overtime hours exceeding a threshold due to the transfer of packages.

[0044] Next, the control unit 12 causes the unmanned transporter 30A to transfer the package A from the delivery vehicle 20A to the selected delivery vehicle 20B (step S104). At this point, the control unit 12 may also transmit a movement command to the unmanned transporter 30A via wireless or other means, with the current position or expected future position of the delivery vehicle 20B as the destination.

[0045] (Example: Transferring the package to the destination of other packages on the receiving delivery vehicle 20) The control unit 12 may also fly the unmanned transporter 30A to transport the package A to be transferred, with the destination address of the package B loaded on the receiving delivery vehicle 20B as the destination. This allows the package to be transported by the unmanned transporter 30A to be automatically or manually loaded onto the delivery vehicle 20B, for example, when the delivery vehicle 20B is stopped at a customer's home to deliver other packages B, without having to temporarily stop the delivery vehicle 20B on the roadside or elsewhere to load the package A being transported by the unmanned transporter 30A.

[0046] In this case, the control unit 12 may, for example, determine the destination address of each package in the delivery vehicle 20B that the unmanned transporter 30A, which transports package A from the current location of the delivery vehicle 20A, can reach before the estimated delivery time of each package and that is the earliest possible destination. The control unit 12 may then transmit a flight command containing information about the destination to the unmanned transporter 30A.

[0047] (Example: Supplying another automated transport machine 30 to the original delivery vehicle 20) When the control unit 12 transfers cargo A from delivery vehicle 20A to delivery vehicle 20B using an unmanned transporter 30A mounted on delivery vehicle 20A, it may also send an unmanned transporter 30 mounted on delivery vehicle 20B or delivery vehicle 20C to delivery vehicle 20A. This allows, for example, an unmanned transporter 30 to be kept on standby for quick use when transferring other cargo loaded on delivery vehicle 20A to delivery vehicle 20A, which is prone to delivery delays due to traffic congestion, etc.

[0048] In this case, the control unit 12 may, for example, fly an unmanned transporter 30, which is mounted on one of the other delivery vehicles 20 located around the delivery vehicle 20A and is less likely to experience delivery delays, to the location of the delivery vehicle 20A and load it onto the delivery vehicle 20A. The control unit 12 may also determine, for example, that the longer the time from the expected delivery time of each package to the final time of the designated delivery time slot, the lower the likelihood of delivery delays occurring.

[0049] (Example of transferring other cargo from the receiving delivery vehicle 20 to the original delivery vehicle 20) The control unit 12 may, after transferring package A from delivery vehicle 20A to delivery vehicle 20B using the automated transfer device 30A, transfer package C from delivery vehicle 20B to delivery vehicle 20A using the automated transfer device 30A. This reduces the decrease in the amount of compensation (salary) paid to the driver of delivery vehicle 20, for example, when compensation (salary) is paid to the driver of delivery vehicle 20 according to the number of packages delivered, due to the transfer.

[0050] In this case, the control unit 12 may, for example, send a command to the automated transport unit 30A to transfer package B, which is loaded on the delivery vehicle 20B and for which a delivery time slot has not been specified, to the delivery vehicle 20A when the transfer of package A is completed by the automated transport unit 30A.

[0051] (An example of updating the planned route based on road images taken during cargo transfer.) The control unit 12 may update the planned travel route of at least one of the delivery vehicles 20A and 20B based on road images taken by the unmanned transporter 30A when the transporter 30A transports cargo A from the delivery vehicle 20A to the delivery vehicle 20B. This makes it possible to calculate an appropriate travel route according to the traffic congestion on the roads around the delivery vehicle 20, for example.

[0052] In this case, the control unit 12 may, for example, make at least a portion of the flight path of the unmanned transporter 30A lie on the planned travel path of at least one of the delivery vehicles 20A and 20B. The flight path of the unmanned transporter 30A may include at least one of the paths on which the unmanned transporter 30A flies toward the delivery vehicle 20B and the paths on which it flies toward the delivery vehicle 20A. The control unit 12 may, for example, use AI or the like to determine the situation of traffic accidents and congestion at each location based on the position information of the unmanned transporter 30A at each point in time and the captured images. The control unit 12 may, for example, update the planned travel path of each delivery vehicle 20 with a path that bypasses the location where a traffic accident or the like has occurred.

[0053] <Variation> The information processing device 10 may be a device contained in a single enclosure, but the information processing device 10 of this disclosure is not limited to this. Each part of the information processing device 10 may be implemented by cloud computing, for example, consisting of one or more computers. The information processing device 10 may also be mounted on a delivery vehicle 20 or the like. Furthermore, at least some of the processing of each functional part of the information processing device 10 may be performed by at least one of the delivery vehicle 20 and the unmanned transport machine 30. Such information processing devices 10 are also included as examples of the "information processing device" of this disclosure.

[0054] Although the present disclosure has been described above with reference to embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above. Various modifications to the structure and details of the present disclosure can be made as can be understood by those skilled in the art within the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, each embodiment can be combined with other embodiments as appropriate.

[0055] Some or all of the embodiments described above may also be described as follows, but are not limited to the following. Some or all of the elements (e.g., configuration and function) described in each appendix dependent on Appendix 1 may also be dependent on other independent appendices of other categories in a similar manner. Some or all of the elements described in any appendix may be applicable to various hardware, software, recording means, systems, and methods for recording software. (Note 1) An acquisition unit that acquires information indicating the scheduled delivery time and designated delivery time for each package of the first delivery vehicle, If the estimated delivery time of the first package loaded on the first delivery vehicle, calculated based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit, is more than a certain amount of time later than the designated delivery time slot for the first package, the control unit will transfer the first package from the first delivery vehicle to the second delivery vehicle using an unmanned transport machine. An information processing device having (Note 2) The acquisition unit acquires information indicating the scheduled delivery time and designated delivery time slot for each package in each delivery vehicle. The control unit selects the second delivery vehicle from among multiple delivery vehicles based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit. The information processing device described in Appendix 1. (Note 3) The control unit selects the second delivery vehicle from among the multiple delivery vehicles based on the planned travel route of each delivery vehicle and the traffic information of the planned travel route of each delivery vehicle. The information processing device described in Appendix 1 or 2. (Note 4) The control unit selects the second delivery vehicle from among a plurality of delivery vehicles based on at least one of the available loading capacity of each delivery vehicle, the number of packages loaded in each delivery vehicle, and the working status of the driver of each delivery vehicle. The information processing device described in Appendix 1 or 2. (Note 5) The control unit causes the unmanned transporter carrying the first package to fly to the destination address of the second package loaded on the second delivery vehicle. The information processing device described in Appendix 1 or 2. (Note 6) The control unit, The first delivery vehicle is equipped with a first unmanned transport device to transfer the first package from the first delivery vehicle to the second delivery vehicle. The second unmanned transporter, which is mounted on the second or third delivery vehicle, is flown to the first delivery vehicle. The information processing device described in Appendix 1 or 2. (Note 7) The control unit, After the first package is transferred from the first delivery vehicle to the second delivery vehicle using the automated transport device, the third package is transferred from the second delivery vehicle to the first delivery vehicle using the automated transport device. The information processing device described in Appendix 1 or 2. (Note 8) The control unit updates the planned travel route of at least one of the first delivery vehicle and the second delivery vehicle based on road images taken by the unmanned transport machine when the first package is transferred from the first delivery vehicle to the second delivery vehicle by the unmanned transport machine. The information processing device described in Appendix 1 or 2. (Note 9) Information processing device, The first delivery vehicle acquires information indicating the scheduled delivery time and designated delivery time slot for each package. If the estimated delivery time of the first package loaded on the first delivery vehicle, calculated based on the acquired information, is more than a certain amount of time later than the designated delivery time slot for the first package, the first package will be transferred from the first delivery vehicle to the second delivery vehicle by an automated transport machine. Information processing methods. (Note 10) The first delivery vehicle acquires information indicating the scheduled delivery time and designated delivery time slot for each package. A program that causes a computer to execute a process to transfer the first package from the first delivery vehicle to the second delivery vehicle using an automated transport machine if the estimated delivery time of the first package loaded on the first delivery vehicle, calculated based on the acquired information, is more than a certain amount of time later than the designated delivery time slot for the first package. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0056] 1. Delivery System 10 Information Processing Devices 11 Acquisition Department 12 Control Unit 20 Delivery Vehicles 30 Unmanned transport vehicle

Claims

1. An acquisition unit that acquires information indicating the scheduled delivery time and designated delivery time for each package of the first delivery vehicle, If the estimated delivery time of the first package loaded on the first delivery vehicle, calculated based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit, is more than a certain amount of time later than the designated delivery time slot for the first package, the control unit will transfer the first package from the first delivery vehicle to the second delivery vehicle using an unmanned transport machine. An information processing device having

2. The acquisition unit acquires information indicating the scheduled delivery time and designated delivery time slot for each package in each delivery vehicle. The control unit selects the second delivery vehicle from among the multiple delivery vehicles based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The control unit selects the second delivery vehicle from among the multiple delivery vehicles based on the planned travel route of each delivery vehicle and the traffic information of the planned travel route of each delivery vehicle. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The control unit selects the second delivery vehicle from among a plurality of delivery vehicles based on at least one of the available loading capacity of each delivery vehicle, the number of packages loaded in each delivery vehicle, and the working status of the driver of each delivery vehicle. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The control unit causes the unmanned transporter carrying the first package to fly to the destination address of the second package loaded on the second delivery vehicle. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.

6. The control unit, The first cargo is transferred from the first delivery vehicle to the second delivery vehicle by the first unmanned transport machine installed on the first delivery vehicle. The second unmanned transporter, which is mounted on the second or third delivery vehicle, is flown to the first delivery vehicle. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.

7. The control unit, After the first package is transferred from the first delivery vehicle to the second delivery vehicle by the unmanned transport machine, the third package is transferred from the second delivery vehicle to the first delivery vehicle by the unmanned transport machine. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.

8. The control unit updates the planned travel route of at least one of the first delivery vehicle and the second delivery vehicle based on road images taken by the unmanned transport machine when the first package is transferred from the first delivery vehicle to the second delivery vehicle by the unmanned transport machine. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.

9. Information processing device, The first delivery vehicle acquires information indicating the scheduled delivery time and designated delivery time slot for each package. If the estimated delivery time of the first package loaded on the first delivery vehicle, calculated based on the acquired information, is more than a certain amount of time later than the designated delivery time slot for the first package, the first package will be transferred from the first delivery vehicle to the second delivery vehicle by an automated transport machine. Information processing methods.

10. The first delivery vehicle acquires information indicating the scheduled delivery time and designated delivery time slot for each package. A program that causes a computer to execute a process to transfer the first package from the first delivery vehicle to the second delivery vehicle using an automated transport machine if the estimated delivery time of the first package loaded on the first delivery vehicle, calculated based on the acquired information, is more than a certain amount of time later than the designated delivery time slot for the first package.

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