Dynamic Territory Routing via Gravity Points
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional routing systems face limitations in optimizing routes for vehicle fleets due to rigid territorial boundaries and inflexible management of constraints, which can lead to suboptimal route solutions and increased operational costs.
Innovation Solution
The proposed system introduces a flexible routing system that allows territories to be defined without fixed boundaries, using a gravity points approach to assign stops and manage constraints by penalizing violations during optimization, enabling more efficient route planning and resource allocation across multiple territories.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If fixed territorial boundaries are used for vehicle routing, then territory management is simplified and easier to implement, but route optimization is limited and operational costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms static fixed boundaries into dynamic gravity points that can be flexibly positioned and adjusted. Territories are no longer rigid geometric shapes but are defined by gravitational attraction zones around reference points, allowing boundaries to adapt dynamically to optimize routes while maintaining manageable territory structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of territory definition from fixed geometric boundaries to gravity-based attraction zones. By introducing gravity points with adjustable strength parameters and distance decay functions, the system allows territory boundaries to be defined by gravitational influence rather than rigid lines, enabling both ease of management and optimization flexibility.
2Reliability
If constraints are strictly enforced during route optimization, then compliance is ensured, but the solution space is reduced and suboptimal routes are selected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial enforcement of constraints during optimization by introducing penalty functions rather than hard restrictions. Constraints are violated to a controlled extent during the search process, with penalties proportional to the degree of violation, allowing the system to explore beyond feasible regions and find better solutions that eventually satisfy constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful effect of constraint violations into a beneficial optimization mechanism by using penalty functions. Rather than treating constraint violations as errors to be avoided, the system uses them as guidance signals, where the magnitude of penalties directs the search toward feasible regions while still allowing exploration of potentially better infeasible solutions.
3Ease of operation
If territories are defined with fixed boundaries, then territory assignment is straightforward, but vehicle routing flexibility is reduced and operational costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces static territory boundaries with dynamic gravity point systems where territory assignment is determined by gravitational attraction rather than fixed lines. This dynamic approach maintains operational simplicity through automatic assignment based on proximity to gravity points while enabling flexible routing that can reduce operational costs by optimizing vehicle paths across traditional boundary constraints.
4Device complexity
If traditional routing algorithms are used with fixed territories, then implementation is simple, but route optimization is insufficient and time consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent fundamentally changes the parameter space of routing algorithms by replacing fixed territorial parameters with gravity point parameters. This includes using distance decay functions, gravitational strength parameters, and attraction-based assignment instead of boundary-based parameters, enabling more effective optimization of travel time while maintaining manageable system complexity through established optimization techniques.
Data Source
AI summary
A computerized vehicle control system for fleet routing includes a fleet of vehicles where each vehicle in the fleet of vehicles is configured to travel over streets and including an engine and wheels. Each vehicle further includes an in-vehicle electronic device comprising digital logic circuitry and a port configured to couple with a vehicle computer installed in the vehicle and in communication with a plurality of sensors disposed about the vehicle. The in-vehicle electronic device further comprises a display. The computerized vehicle control system further includes a vehicle management system comprising memory and computer hardware and configured to communicate over a network with each in-vehicle electronic device in the fleet of vehicles.