Autonomous Ground Vehicle Inventory Holder Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing delivery systems for electronic commerce marketplaces involve multiple carrier handovers, increasing delivery costs, error opportunities, and time due to agent wait times and handling processes.
Innovation Solution
Autonomous ground vehicles (AGVs) autonomously navigate to transfer locations to deliver and retrieve inventory holders, reducing wait times by allowing agents to retrieve items directly from the AGVs at transfer locations, and using sensors for route optimization and inventory management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple carriers handle item transport, then item can reach final destination, but delivery cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The transportation network is segmented into autonomous vehicle routes and agent delivery zones. AGVs transport inventory holders to transfer locations, then agents retrieve items for final delivery. This segmentation eliminates repeated handling at carrier handovers while maintaining reliable multi-stage delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
AGVs autonomously navigate to transfer locations and make deliveries without human intervention. The system self-manages route optimization and inventory tracking, reducing operational costs associated with multiple carrier handovers while ensuring reliable item transport.
2Reliability
If multiple carriers handle item transport, then item can reach final destination, but error or misdirection opportunity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements continuous feedback through sensors on AGVs and inventory holders that track item location and status. This real-time monitoring provides visibility across the entire delivery chain, reducing errors and misdirection while maintaining reliable multi-stage transport.
3Reliability
If agents wait for item exchanges between carriers, then item can be transferred, but delivery time increases
Solution Approach 1:
AGVs pre-position inventory holders at transfer locations before agents need them. This preliminary action eliminates agent wait times during item exchanges, as transfers are staged in advance at optimized locations along the delivery route.
Solution Approach 2:
AGVs continuously navigate between transfer locations making deliveries without waiting for agent retrieval. This continuous operation maintains high utility while agents independently retrieve items at their convenience, eliminating idle wait time in the system.
4Reliability
If agents handle item exchanges manually, then item can be transferred, but handling cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
Manual agent handling is replaced with autonomous vehicle navigation and automated inventory holder transport. AGVs use sensors and autonomous control systems to deliver items, eliminating the labor-intensive manual handling process while maintaining reliable transfer completion.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure describes delivery and/or retrieval of inventory holders to different transfer locations using an automated ground vehicle. In accordance with the described implementations, rather than the vehicle waiting at the transfer location for the agents to arrive and retrieve the items from the inventory holder, the autonomous ground vehicle, working in conjunction with an autonomous transition unit that accompanies the vehicle, transfer the inventory holder containing the items to the transfer location and departs without waiting for the agents to retrieve the items from the inventory holder and continues on to another transfer location at which it will deliver another inventory holder and/or retrieve an inventory holder. Once all the items have been retrieved from an inventory holder delivered to a transfer location, the autonomous ground vehicle may update its route to navigate back to the transfer location and retrieve the inventory holder.