Drone Delivery System Using Vehicles as Mobile Platforms
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Solution Overview
Problem
Drone-based delivery systems face limitations in range, capacity, and accessibility due to drone weight constraints, regulatory restrictions, and weather conditions, as well as the need to utilize vehicles without diverting them from their primary tasks.
Innovation Solution
The use of vehicles as platforms for drones to land, recharge, and transfer packages, allowing drones to extend their range and access prohibited areas by riding on vehicles and utilizing their schedules, while vehicles remain unaffected in their primary operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If drones are used for package delivery, then delivery speed and flexibility are improved, but delivery range and capacity are limited due to drone weight constraints
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces vehicles as intermediary platforms that drones can board and disembark from. Drones transfer packages to vehicles for long-distance transport, overcoming the drones' limited range while maintaining the speed advantage of drones for final delivery. The vehicle acts as a mobile base that extends the operational range of the drone system.
Solution Approach 2:
The delivery route is segmented into multiple legs, with drones performing short-distance flights between waypoints and vehicles handling intermediate long-distance segments. This segmentation allows the system to combine the advantages of both drones (flexibility, speed for short distances) and vehicles (range, capacity) to achieve end-to-end delivery.
2Adaptability or versatility
If drones are used for package delivery, then accessibility to remote areas is improved, but regulatory restrictions and weather conditions limit operational capability
Solution Approach 1:
Vehicles serve as intermediaries that can operate in areas where drones face regulatory restrictions or adverse weather conditions. Drones can transfer packages to vehicles at intermediate points, allowing the system to deliver to remote or restricted areas while the vehicle handles segments where drone operation is limited.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the delivery plan by selecting optimal waypoints and determining which legs should be flown by drones versus which should be handled by vehicles. This dynamic routing considers real-time factors such as weather conditions, regulatory restrictions, and vehicle availability to maintain reliable delivery operation.
3Length of moving object
If vehicles are used to transport drones, then delivery range is extended, but vehicle availability and scheduling complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-calculates optimal delivery routes and identifies suitable waypoints where vehicles are likely to be available. By planning ahead and selecting waypoints along existing vehicle routes, the system reduces scheduling complexity while maximizing the use of vehicle resources to extend delivery range.
Solution Approach 2:
Drones autonomously navigate to vehicle locations and perform self-transfer operations. The system uses available vehicle schedule data to independently determine optimal transfer points, reducing the need for complex centralized scheduling while still achieving efficient vehicle utilization.
4Ease of operation
If drones perform entire delivery routes independently, then operational simplicity is maintained, but energy consumption and flight time requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The delivery route is divided into segments that drones can efficiently fly (short distances between waypoints) and segments that vehicles handle (long distances). This segmentation reduces drone energy consumption by eliminating the need for drones to fly entire long-distance routes while maintaining operational simplicity through automated route planning.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for determining a route for a drone to deliver a package from an origin to a destination using vehicles that are not actively participating in a delivery of a package; a method for delivering the package from the origin to the destination using the drone in accordance with the route; a method for determining a route for delivering a package from an origin to a destination using drones and vehicles that are not actively participating in a delivery of the package; a method for delivering the package from the origin to the destination using the drones and vehicles in accordance with the route; a vehicle-associated package repository, for retaining packages deposited and collect by a drone, to be transported by a vehicle; and a vehicle-transported container including the vehicle-associated package repository.