Autonomous Vehicle Handoff for Obstacle-Aware Item Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing frequency and volume of e-commerce deliveries have led to a need for faster and more efficient delivery methods, as traditional human-controlled delivery systems face challenges in navigating obstacles and optimizing routes, especially in complex urban environments.
Innovation Solution
The use of cooperative autonomous aerial and ground vehicles that communicate and work together to transport items, with autonomous ground vehicles transporting items to transfer locations where autonomous aerial vehicles can then take over to overcome obstacles and complete deliveries, optimizing routes and reducing power consumption and noise.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional human-controlled delivery systems are used, then delivery operations can be performed with simple vehicle design, but delivery speed and efficiency deteriorate due to inability to navigate obstacles and optimize routes in complex urban environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple autonomous vehicles (aerial and ground) into a cooperative delivery system. The aerial vehicle transports items to transfer locations, and ground vehicles complete final delivery, merging their capabilities to overcome urban obstacles and improve delivery speed while distributing system complexity across specialized components
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic route optimization and real-time communication between autonomous vehicles. The system continuously adjusts delivery routes, transfer locations, and vehicle assignments based on environmental conditions, traffic patterns, and obstacle detection, enabling adaptive navigation through complex urban environments
2Reliability
If autonomous aerial and ground vehicles cooperate to overcome obstacles, then delivery reliability improves in complex environments, but system complexity increases due to inter-vehicle communication and coordination requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a centralized control system that acts as an intermediary between autonomous vehicles. This mediator coordinates communications, manages item transfers, optimizes routing, and synchronizes vehicle operations, thereby improving delivery reliability while containing coordination complexity within a dedicated management layer rather than distributing it across all vehicle interactions
3Productivity
If autonomous vehicles optimize delivery routes to reduce time and costs, then delivery efficiency improves, but energy consumption increases due to multiple transfer operations between aerial and ground vehicles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary route planning and transfer location selection before actual delivery operations. The system pre-identifies optimal transfer points, sequences vehicle deployments, and calculates energy-efficient paths, minimizing unnecessary transfers and reducing overall power consumption while maintaining high delivery efficiency
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure is directed toward the use of two or more autonomous vehicles, working in cooperation, to deliver an item between a source location and a destination location. For example, an autonomous ground based vehicle may transport an item from a source location to a transfer location and an autonomous aerial vehicle will transport the item from the transfer location to the destination location. The transfer location may be at any location along a navigation path between the source location and the destination location. In some examples, the transfer location may be adjacent the destination location such that the autonomous aerial vehicle is only transporting the item a short distance.