Autonomous Delivery Device for Fueling Station Convenience
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Solution Overview
Problem
In environments like fueling stations, consumers face inconvenience when trying to make in-store purchases while refueling, as it occupies pump lanes and requires moving vehicles, leading to lost sales opportunities.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for autonomous item delivery, where an autonomous device receives orders, navigates to the customer's location, and unlocks a secure bin for the customer to retrieve their items, allowing for seamless in-store purchases without occupying pump lanes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the consumer enters the store to make a purchase, then the consumer can complete the transaction, but the pump lane remains occupied preventing other customers from accessing the pump
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the transaction process into two independent parts: fueling at the pump and item pickup at a designated location. The consumer can complete the item transaction remotely without being physically present at the pump, allowing the pump lane to remain available while the transaction is fulfilled through autonomous delivery of items to the consumer's vehicle or nearby pickup point
Solution Approach 2:
An autonomous device acts as an intermediary between the store and the consumer's vehicle. The device receives items from the store, navigates to the customer location, and delivers items through a secure bin, eliminating the need for the consumer to leave the pump area while still enabling convenient in-store purchases
2Ease of operation
If the consumer moves the vehicle to a new location for in-store purchase, then the consumer can access items, but maneuvering becomes difficult in busy environments
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service transactions where the consumer places an order at the pump, and the autonomous device automatically retrieves items and delivers them to the vehicle. This eliminates the need for the consumer to manually maneuver the vehicle to different locations, as the autonomous device handles the item retrieval and delivery process independently
3Adaptability or versatility
If the consumer waits at the pump for delivery, then the consumer can make in-store purchases, but the pump lane is occupied reducing overall throughput
Solution Approach 1:
The consumer places the item order in advance while at the pump, before the autonomous device begins retrieval and delivery. This preliminary ordering allows the fueling process to continue uninterrupted while the item transaction is processed separately by the autonomous device, eliminating the need for the consumer to wait at the pump for item delivery
Data Source
AI summary
A pre-staged or in-person provided order is received from a customer location. Order details are sent to a fulfillment terminal and items associated with the order are prepared or collected. The items are loaded into an autonomous device. The autonomous device plans a route from its current location to the customer location and the autonomous device navigates from its current location to the customer location using the route. The customer is verified at the autonomous device and a secure bin is unlocked by the autonomous device. The customer removes the items associated with the order from the unlocked secure bin, and the autonomous device navigates back to its original location within an enterprise.