Composite Drone System for Extended Delivery Range
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current drone-based delivery systems face inefficiencies due to limited payload capacity and range, leading to underutilization of drones and suboptimal power consumption when delivering varied products, resulting in potential delivery delays and reduced delivery capabilities.
Innovation Solution
The system employs a composite drone configuration where multiple individual drones are coupled together to form a single unit for efficient transportation along a main delivery route, allowing for detachment at specific locations to deliver products, optimizing power consumption and extending range by enabling power transfer between drones.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple drones are used to deliver products simultaneously, then delivery capacity is improved, but power consumption increases and drones may be underutilized
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple drones are coupled together to form a composite drone system, allowing them to share power resources and workloads. The power management system distributes power dynamically among coupled drones, ensuring that power consumption is optimized while maintaining high delivery capacity. This merging approach allows the system to achieve high productivity without proportional increase in total power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
Each drone in the coupled system is designed to be multi-functional, capable of performing both power generation (through onboard power sources) and power consumption (for propulsion and operations). This universality allows any drone in the coupled system to serve as either a power source or power consumer depending on real-time needs, optimizing overall power utilization while maintaining delivery capacity.
2Productivity
If drones have fixed carrying capacity, then design simplicity is maintained, but delivery efficiency decreases when products vary in size and weight
Solution Approach 1:
The delivery system is segmented into multiple independent drones, each with its own carrying capacity. By dividing the overall delivery task across multiple segmented drones that can be coupled together, the system can flexibly adjust the total carrying capacity to match the actual payload requirements. This segmentation allows efficient delivery of varied product sizes and weights without requiring each individual drone to be oversized for all scenarios.
Solution Approach 2:
The drone coupling system is designed to be dynamic, allowing drones to be coupled together or separated based on real-time delivery requirements. The power management system dynamically adjusts power distribution among coupled drones, and the mechanical coupling mechanisms allow for quick configuration changes. This dynamics enables the system to adapt its complexity level - using fewer coupled drones for simple deliveries and more coupled drones for complex, heavy payloads.
3Length of stationary object
If drones operate independently, then system simplicity is maintained, but range and power optimization are limited
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple drones are merged into a composite system through mechanical coupling and power network integration. This merging extends the effective range of the system, as power can be transferred from drones with excess energy to those needing power, enabling longer operational durations and greater delivery ranges than individual drones could achieve alone. The coupled system effectively pools the range capabilities of all constituent drones.
4Use of energy by moving object
If identical drones are used for all deliveries, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but power utilization is suboptimal
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs identical, standardized drones that are universally designed to perform multiple functions. Each drone is equipped with universal coupling mechanisms and standardized power interfaces, allowing any drone to be coupled with any other and participate in power sharing. This universality maximizes power utilization across the fleet while maintaining ease of manufacture through standardization. The identical design simplifies manufacturing while the multi-functional coupling capability optimizes power distribution.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments for managing drones by a processor are described. A plurality of drones are detachably coupled to each other at a first location. While the plurality of drones are detachably coupled to each other, the plurality of drones travel from the first location to a second location. At least one of the plurality of drones detaches from the others of the plurality of drones at the second location. The at least one detached drone travels from the second location to a third location.