Autonomous Delivery Robot Priority Control at Bottleneck Sections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing autonomous delivery systems face delays and congestion in bottleneck sections due to limited capacity, where multiple delivery robots cannot pass through simultaneously, leading to inefficient traffic management.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a delivery method that assigns priority levels to packages based on various factors such as residence time, package content, reserved delivery time, and user schedules, allowing higher-priority packages to pass through bottleneck sections first, and utilizing a delivery management server to control and arbitrate the passage order of robots.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple mobile bodies are allowed to travel autonomously to deliver packages, then delivery productivity increases, but congestion occurs in bottleneck sections where traffic control becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the parameter of delivery priority level dynamically based on multiple factors including staying time in bottleneck section, package content value, time remaining until reserved delivery time, scheduled stay period of resident, scheduled return home time, and elapsed time from order. This allows the traffic control system to manage multiple mobile bodies efficiently by adjusting priority parameters rather than increasing control complexity
Solution Approach 2:
Each mobile body autonomously determines its own priority level based on pre-set criteria and adjusts its behavior accordingly. The mobile bodies self-regulate their passage through bottleneck sections without requiring complex centralized control, reducing traffic control complexity while maintaining high delivery productivity
2Productivity
If mobile bodies wait in bottleneck sections for available passage, then traffic congestion is reduced, but delivery time increases causing delays
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically changes delivery priority levels based on elapsed time from order, staying time in bottleneck section, and time remaining until reserved delivery time. Packages with higher priority levels can preempt lower priority packages, allowing time-sensitive deliveries to bypass congestion and reducing overall delivery time while maintaining traffic flow efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The priority levels of packages are not fixed but dynamic, changing based on real-time conditions such as elapsed time, staying time in bottleneck, and reserved delivery time. This dynamic adjustment allows the system to optimize both traffic flow and delivery time by allowing urgent packages to move faster while less urgent packages wait
3Loss of time
If delivery priority levels are adjusted dynamically based on multiple factors, then delivery delays are reduced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The priority management system is segmented into multiple independent evaluation criteria (staying time, package content, reserved delivery time, scheduled stay period, scheduled return home time, elapsed time from order). Each criterion can be evaluated independently and combined to determine overall priority, reducing system complexity compared to a monolithic priority determination system
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses pre-set rules and criteria that automatically determine priority levels without requiring complex real-time decision-making algorithms. Each mobile body and package can be evaluated against these simple, pre-defined criteria, reducing the complexity of the priority management system while still achieving dynamic optimization
Data Source
AI summary
A delivery method according to the present disclosure includes a step of delivering packages to designated destinations by mobile bodies traveling autonomously, each of the packages having a delivery priority level. The delivery method further includes a step of, when a number of mobile bodies gathered in a bottleneck section is larger than a number of mobile bodies capable of passing through the bottleneck section at the same time, preferentially causing a mobile body delivering a package of which the delivery priority level is higher than a package delivered by another mobile body to pass through the bottleneck section.