Relay point determination device and relay point determination method

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a relay point determination device and a relay point determination method capable of appropriately determining a position of a relay point for transfer of a package to a flying body used in a package delivery system. To this end, the relay point determination device includes a ground feature recording unit 111 that records ground feature information 111A including terrain and buildings installed on the ground, a machine body information recording unit 112 that records machine body information of the flying body, a ground feature influence calculation unit 102 that extracts a plurality of possible landing points from the ground feature information 111A recorded in the ground feature recording unit 111 on the basis of performance related to takeoff and landing of the flying body included in the machine body information recorded in the machine body information recording unit 112, and selects the relay point from among the plurality of possible landing points on the basis of a predetermined environmental condition, and a user interface 101 that outputs the position of the relay point selected by the ground feature influence calculation unit 102.

Description

Relay point determination device and relay point determination method

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for determining the position of a relay point for handing over a package to an air vehicle used in a package delivery system.

[0002] In recent years, small unmanned aerial vehicles known as drones have been increasingly implemented in society. As a result, drone-based package delivery is being considered. Because drones can deliver packages by flying between designated locations, they are expected to contribute to reducing the number of people needed for package delivery and solve problems such as the shortage of truck drivers.

[0003] Here, a necessary element for drone-based parcel delivery is a relay point where parcels are exchanged with other ground-based parcel delivery vehicles. Drones are charged and loaded at these relay points. By establishing relay points in various locations, it becomes possible to expand the area where parcel delivery using drones is possible. For example, Patent Literature 1 describes a method for quickly determining a parcel delivery route in multiple logistics scenarios, including drones.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-11334

[0005] In order to efficiently implement a parcel delivery system using drones and other flying objects in society, it is necessary to appropriately design the locations of relay points.

[0006] If relay points with similar functions are placed in close proximity, the delivery areas will overlap, reducing the efficiency of package delivery at each relay point. On the other hand, if relay points are placed far apart, the distance between them may exceed the range of the delivery aircraft, depending on their placement. Therefore, when multiple relay points are installed, the distance between them should be set appropriately.

[0007] Factors in the surrounding environment that affect the performance of the relay point itself must also be taken into consideration, such as the population near the relay point, the presence or absence of facilities where people are always present, areas where public facilities should be avoided, transportation routes and base stations for receiving and sending packages to and from other delivery systems, and base stations for communication lines.

[0008] On the other hand, there was no method for considering these factors and specifically locating new relay points for a parcel delivery system using an air vehicle.

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a relay point determination device and a relay point determination method that can appropriately determine the location of a relay point where luggage is handed over to an aircraft used in a luggage delivery system.

[0010] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an intermediate point determination device for determining the location of an intermediate point for delivering or receiving luggage to or from an aircraft, the device comprising: a ground feature recording unit for recording ground feature information including topography and buildings installed on the ground; an aircraft information recording unit for recording aircraft information for the aircraft; a ground feature influence calculation unit for extracting a plurality of possible landing points from the ground feature information recorded in the ground feature recording unit based on the performance of the aircraft related to takeoff and landing, which is included in the aircraft information recorded in the aircraft information recording unit, and selecting the intermediate point from among the plurality of possible landing points based on predetermined environmental conditions; and a user interface for outputting the location of the intermediate point selected by the ground feature influence calculation unit.

[0011] Furthermore, the present invention provides a method for determining the location of a relay point for delivering and receiving cargo to and from an aircraft, comprising a first step of extracting a plurality of possible landing points from ground feature information including topography and buildings installed on the ground based on the performance of the aircraft related to takeoff and landing, and a second step of selecting the relay point from among the plurality of possible landing points based on predetermined environmental conditions.

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately determine the location of a relay point where a package is handed over to an aircraft used in a package delivery system.

[0013] 1 is a block diagram of a relay point determination device according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the processing of a ground feature influence calculation unit according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a relay point determination device according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same elements are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicated explanations will be omitted as appropriate.

[0015] In a first embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is applied to a parcel delivery system using a drone as an example of an air vehicle. In this embodiment, the positions of relay points required to realize parcel delivery by a parcel delivery system using a drone within a certain area are determined using information on the drone's aircraft performance and physical areas where it can take off and land, the stability of communication lines, power line networks, and delivery route information of other parcel delivery systems.

[0016] 1 is a configuration diagram of a relay point determination device in Example 1. The relay point determination device 100 includes a user interface 101 that inputs information from a user and outputs information from the relay point determination device 100, a ground feature influence calculation unit 102 that calculates the influence of features present on the ground, a ground feature recording unit 111 that records various ground features, and an aircraft information recording unit 112 that records the aircraft performance of a drone used for delivery.

[0017] The user interface 101 sends an area 101A for calculating the ground feature influence to the ground feature influence calculation unit 102, and sends aircraft performance 101B of the drone used for delivery to the aircraft information recording unit 112. The ground feature influence calculation unit 102 sends the position 102A of the relay point to the user interface 101. The ground feature recording unit 111 sends ground feature information 111A to the ground feature influence calculation unit 102. The aircraft information recording unit 112 sends aircraft information 112A to the ground feature influence calculation unit 102.

[0018] An example of the configuration of the user interface 101 is a display that projects information. An example of the configuration of the ground feature influence calculation unit 102 is a computer installed on the ground. An example of the configuration of the ground feature recording unit 111 and the aircraft information recording unit 112 is a data recording device such as a hard disk.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the processing of the ground feature influence calculation unit 102.

[0020] First, the ground feature information 111A within the area 101A obtained from the user interface 101 is extracted from the ground feature record unit 111 (process 201).

[0021] Next, based on the drone's takeoff and landing performance included in the aircraft information 112A, possible landing points are extracted from the ground feature information 111A (process 202).

[0022] Next, the influence of the ground features at each point extracted in process 202 is calculated using equation a (process 203).

[0023] In the first embodiment, the following formula (1) is used as formula a.

[0024]

[0025] Here, the gain for each term on the right side of equation (1) may be set interactively by the user, or a fixed value may be used within the system.

[0026] Next, the point with the highest value of formula a is set as the initial value, and 1 is added to the number of newly installed relay points (process 204). The initial value of the number of relay points is 1. If the number of relay points exceeds the upper limit when 1 is added to the number of relay points, a message such as "This area cannot be covered" is displayed to the user.

[0027] Next, among the points extracted in step 202, the point with the highest value of the evaluation function using equation b is set as a new relay point (step 205).

[0028] In the first embodiment, the following formula (2) is used as formula b.

[0029]

[0030] Here, the gain for each term on the right side of equation (2) may be set interactively by the user, or a fixed value may be used within the system.

[0031] In process 205, if the drone's reach from the added relay point overlaps with another relay point, the added relay point is determined to be unnecessary, and a relay point is set at another location.

[0032] Next, it is determined whether it is possible to reach any point within the area 101A from one or more relay points using a drone (process 206). If it is possible to reach any point, the process proceeds to process 207, and if it is not possible to reach any point, the process returns to process 204.

[0033] Finally, the layout of the new relay points is presented to the user using the user interface 101 (process 207).

[0034] Figure 3 shows an example of the layout of newly set relay points presented to the user. Area 301 represents area 101A (shown in Figure 1) obtained from user interface 101. Points 310 and 311 represent relay points that have already been set. Points 320, 321, and 322 represent relay points that will be newly set by the process shown in Figure 2. Areas 310A, 311A, 320A, 321A, and 322A represent the ranges (cruising distance ranges) that can be reached by a drone from relay points 310, 311, 320, 321, and 322, respectively.

[0035] 2, the newly established relay points are placed in more effective locations taking into account the surrounding environment, and all points within the area 301 are within a range reachable by drone from at least one relay point.

[0036] (Summary) In Example 1, a relay point determination device that determines the location of a relay point where a package is handed over to a drone used in a package delivery system includes a ground feature recording unit 111 that records ground feature information 111A including topography and buildings installed on the ground; an aircraft information recording unit 112 that records aircraft information about the drone; a ground feature influence calculation unit 102 that extracts a plurality of possible landing points from the ground feature information 111A recorded in the ground feature recording unit 111 based on the performance related to takeoff and landing of the drone included in the aircraft information recorded in the aircraft information recording unit 112, and selects the relay point from the plurality of possible landing points based on predetermined environmental conditions; and a user interface 101 that outputs the location of the relay point selected by the ground feature influence calculation unit 102.

[0037] In addition, in Example 1, the method for determining the location of a relay point where a package is handed over to a drone used in a package delivery system includes a first step (process 202) of extracting a plurality of possible landing points from ground feature information 111A including topography and buildings installed on the ground based on the performance related to takeoff and landing of the drone, and a second step (process 205) of selecting the relay point from the plurality of possible landing points based on predetermined environmental conditions.

[0038] According to the first embodiment configured as described above, it is possible to appropriately determine the location of a relay point where a package is handed over to a drone used in a package delivery system.

[0039] Furthermore, the predetermined environmental conditions in Example 1 include the stability of communication lines at the plurality of possible landing points, the distances from the plurality of possible landing points to a power line network, and the distances from the plurality of possible landing points to delivery routes of other parcel delivery systems. This makes it possible to determine the location of a relay point in consideration of the stability of communication lines, the distances to the power line network, and the distances to delivery routes of other parcel delivery systems.

[0040] In addition, if there is a facility that can be installed as a relay port within a predetermined range (near the relay point) from the relay point selected in the second step (processing 205), the ground feature influence calculation unit 102 in Example 1 may reselect the location of the facility as the relay point. This makes it possible to preferentially select a facility that can be installed as a relay port as a relay point.

[0041] In a second embodiment of the present invention, the location of the relay point is determined taking into consideration information about the vicinity of the relay point, thereby improving the cost and operational efficiency when actually setting up the relay point. The information about the vicinity of the relay point includes the presence or absence of facilities where people can stay near the relay point (convenience stores, post offices, parks, etc.), the population near the relay point, and information about buildings and facilities that should be avoided from flying.

[0042] The difference between the first and second embodiments is the content of formula a used in process 203 in Fig. 2. In the first embodiment, formula (1) is used as formula a, but in the second embodiment, the following formula (3) is used.

[0043]

[0044] Here, the gain for each term on the right side of Equation (3) may be interactively set by the user, or a fixed value may be used within the system. By using Equation (3), it is possible to set relay points in positions that take into consideration the influence of ground features.

[0045] (Summary) In Example 2, the predetermined environmental conditions that the ground feature influence calculation unit 102 takes into consideration when selecting a relay point from among a plurality of possible landing points include the population around the plurality of possible landing points, the number of facilities around the plurality of possible landing points where people can stay, and the number of facilities around the plurality of possible landing points where flight should be avoided.

[0046] According to the second embodiment configured as described above, it is possible to determine a relay point taking into consideration the surrounding population, the presence or absence of facilities where people can stay, and the presence or absence of facilities where flight should be avoided.

[0047] Example 3 of the present invention is a modification of Example 1 or 2, in which the costs of delivery using means other than drones (other means) between relay points or between package delivery centers are compared for each point, and points with higher costs of delivery using other means are preferentially selected as relay points.

[0048] A configuration diagram of a relay point determination device in Example 3 is shown in Figure 4. The difference from the configuration in Examples 1 and 2 (shown in Figure 1) is that a ground delivery route cost recording unit 411 is added, and that a ground delivery route cost 411A is sent from the ground delivery route cost recording unit 411 to the ground feature influence calculation unit 102. Here, the ground delivery route cost 411A is the cost incurred per unit length when various ground parcel delivery means are used.

[0049] In the third embodiment, the content of formula b used in process 205 in Fig. 2 is different from that in the first and second embodiments. In the first and second embodiments, formula (2) is used as formula b, but in the third embodiment, the following formula (4) is used.

[0050]

[0051] Here, C ｇｎｄ indicates the route with the lowest delivery cost among multiple ground delivery routes between relay points. The gains for each term on the right side of equation (4) may be interactively set by the user, or fixed values ​​may be used within the system. By using equation (4), relay points can be set at locations with high ground delivery route costs.

[0052] (Summary) In Example 3, the predetermined environmental conditions that the ground feature influence calculation unit 102 takes into consideration when selecting a relay point from among multiple possible landing points include the cost of delivery using means other than drones at the multiple possible landing points.

[0053] According to the third embodiment configured as described above, it is possible to determine the location of the relay point taking into consideration the costs involved in delivery using means other than drones.

[0054] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments are presented to clearly explain the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those including all of the described configurations. Furthermore, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, or to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, it is possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of each embodiment with other configurations.

[0055] 100... relay point determination device, 101... user interface, 101A... area, 101B... aircraft performance, 102... ground feature influence calculation unit, 102A... position, 111... ground feature recording unit, 111A... ground feature information, 112... aircraft information recording unit, 112A... aircraft information, 201-207... processing, 301... area, 310, 311, 320, 321, 322... relay points, 310A, 311A, 320A, 321A, 322A... range, 411... ground delivery route cost recording unit, 411A... ground delivery route cost.

Claims

1. A relay point determination device for determining the location of a relay point for handing over luggage to an aircraft, comprising: a ground feature recording unit for recording ground feature information including topography and buildings installed on the ground; an aircraft information recording unit for recording aircraft information of the aircraft; a ground feature influence calculation unit for extracting a plurality of possible landing points from the ground feature information recorded in the ground feature recording unit based on the performance related to takeoff and landing of the aircraft contained in the aircraft information recorded in the aircraft information recording unit, and selecting the relay point from among the plurality of possible landing points based on specified environmental conditions; and a user interface for outputting the location of the relay point selected by the ground feature influence calculation unit.

2. The relay point determination device according to claim 1, characterized in that the predetermined environmental conditions include the stability of communication lines at the multiple possible landing points, the distance from the multiple possible landing points to a power line network, and the distance from the multiple possible landing points to a delivery route of another parcel delivery system.

3. An intermediate point determination device as described in claim 2, characterized in that the predetermined environmental conditions include the population around the multiple possible landing points, the number of facilities around the multiple possible landing points where people can stay, and the number of facilities around the multiple possible landing points where flight should be avoided.

4. The intermediate point determination device according to claim 3, characterized in that the predetermined environmental conditions include the cost of delivery using means other than the aircraft at the multiple possible landing points.

5. A relay point determination device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, if there is a facility that can be installed as a relay port within a specified range from the selected relay point, the ground feature influence calculation unit reselects the location of the facility as the relay point.

6. A method for determining the location of a relay point for handing over luggage to an aircraft, comprising: a first step of extracting a plurality of possible landing points from ground feature information including the topography and buildings installed on the ground based on the performance related to takeoff and landing of the aircraft; and a second step of selecting the relay point from the plurality of possible landing points based on specified environmental conditions.

7. The method for determining an intermediate point as described in claim 6, characterized in that the predetermined environmental conditions include the stability of communication lines at the plurality of possible landing points, the distance from the plurality of possible landing points to a power line network, and the distance from the plurality of possible landing points to a delivery route of another parcel delivery system.

8. The method for determining an intermediate point as described in claim 7, characterized in that the predetermined environmental conditions include the population around the plurality of possible landing points, the number of facilities around the plurality of possible landing points where people can stay, and the number of facilities around the plurality of possible landing points where flight should be avoided.

9. The method for determining an intermediate point as described in claim 8, characterized in that the predetermined environmental conditions include the cost of delivery using means other than the aircraft at the multiple possible landing points.

10. A method for determining a relay point as described in claim 6, characterized in that if a facility that can be installed as a relay port exists within a specified range from the relay point selected in the second step, the location of the facility is reselected as the relay point.

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