Hyper-Local Depot and Robotic Transporter for Fast Urban Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing number of online deliveries is causing traffic congestion and environmental pollution due to the high number of delivery vehicles on the roads, leading to inefficient and slow delivery of goods to customers.
Innovation Solution
A hyper-local provisioning and delivery system that uses depots mounted above transit paths or on building sides, equipped with robotic transporters that can quickly deploy and retract for delivery tasks, allowing for rapid and efficient delivery of packaged goods within minutes, reducing the need for traditional delivery vehicles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If traditional delivery vehicles are used to deliver goods, then delivery coverage can be extensive, but traffic congestion and environmental pollution increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The delivery system is segmented into multiple hyper-local depots distributed throughout the service area, each handling a specific zone. This segmentation allows deliveries to be made from nearby locations rather than centralized warehouses, reducing vehicle travel distance and congestion while maintaining fast delivery speeds.
Solution Approach 2:
Autonomous robots serve as intermediaries between the depot and customers, performing the actual delivery task. This eliminates the need for human drivers and traditional delivery vehicles, significantly reducing traffic congestion and emissions while maintaining efficient delivery operations.
2Productivity
If more delivery vehicles are deployed to meet increasing online ordering demands, then delivery capacity increases, but traffic congestion and delivery time worsen
Solution Approach 1:
Goods are pre-positioned in hyper-local depots before orders are placed. When an order is received, the items are already nearby and ready for immediate pickup by autonomous robots, eliminating the need for long-distance transport and reducing delivery time while increasing overall delivery capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
Autonomous robots perform deliveries independently without human intervention, operating continuously to handle increasing order volumes. This self-service capability increases delivery capacity while maintaining consistent, fast delivery times regardless of demand fluctuations.
3Speed
If traditional centralized warehousing is used, then inventory storage capacity is large, but delivery speed to customers decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Large centralized inventory is segmented and distributed across multiple hyper-local depots. Each depot stores a subset of inventory locally, enabling fast delivery to nearby customers while collectively maintaining sufficient storage capacity across the network to meet overall demand.
Solution Approach 2:
The inventory distribution system transitions from a single centralized location to a multi-dimensional network of depots distributed across the service area. This spatial distribution enables both fast local delivery and sufficient total storage capacity by utilizing multiple locations simultaneously.
Data Source
AI summary
The technology disclosed is directed to hyper-local provisioning and delivery of goods including a depot and a transporter. Hyper-local depots are mounted above transit paths (e.g., sidewalk, parking lot, road) or on the side of or inside a building. The depots store and charge transporters, which provide robotic delivery. The depots can load transporters with goods, deploy them out of the depot for delivery and retract them upon completion of the delivery task. Modules within the depot can store inventories for delivery and beverage/food preparation devices. An example transporter includes a collapsible column and a collapsible neck attached thereto. The neck supports a handle for carrying a package and a head with a radar and a camera positioned thereon. The transporter is transformable among a compact mode, a first extended position and a cruise mode.