Overhead Robotic Passenger Service Routing Above Cabin Walkways
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Solution Overview
Problem
Crew members on vehicles, such as airliners, face challenges in providing timely and efficient customer services to passengers due to limitations in their availability and the need to navigate through crowded spaces, leading to delayed service requests and potential blockage of common walkways.
Innovation Solution
An overhead robotic system that identifies movement paths above passengers' heads, calculates engagement levels, and optimizes routes to provide services quickly, using facial recognition and IoT analysis to predict and fulfill service requests, including conditional requests, while avoiding obstacles and managing workload distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If crew members manually provide customer services to passengers, then service quality and personal interaction are improved, but service efficiency and response time deteriorate due to crew availability limitations and navigation through crowded spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic assembly provides automated customer service to passengers, allowing the system to serve itself without requiring human crew members for routine tasks. The robot can independently navigate, deliver items, and respond to passenger requests, freeing crew members from manual service duties while maintaining consistent service availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of human crew members with an automated robotic assembly. The robot uses sensors, processors, and automated navigation to perform tasks that were previously done manually by crew, thereby improving service efficiency while reducing dependency on human availability and physical movement through crowded spaces.
2Ease of operation
If crew members navigate through crowded spaces to reach passengers, then direct service delivery is improved, but common walkways are blocked and service delays occur
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic assembly utilizes the overhead space above passenger seats as an additional dimension for navigation and item storage. By moving along overhead rails and deploying items vertically downward, the robot avoids blocking common walkways and can access passengers without traversing crowded floor spaces, thereby eliminating service delays caused by navigation constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary overhead rail system that serves as a dedicated pathway for the robotic assembly. This intermediary structure allows the robot to transport items and navigate the cabin space without interfering with passenger movement or blocking walkways, effectively decoupling service delivery from floor space constraints.
3Productivity
If more crew members are deployed to handle service requests, then service coverage is improved, but the ratio of crew to passenger increases and operational flexibility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic assembly is designed as a multi-functional platform capable of performing various customer service tasks including delivering items, providing information, and assisting passengers. This single automated unit replaces multiple specialized crew roles, maintaining comprehensive service coverage while simplifying the overall system configuration and reducing the number of personnel required.
Data Source
AI summary
An approach for improving performing customer related services for passengers during a trip is disclosed. Customer related services can include delivering meals and beverages to passengers. The approach leverages the use of an overhead robotic system that can identify appropriate movement path in the air (i.e., above passenger's head) so that other passengers are not disturbed by the service to the target passenger. Furthermore, the approach can calculate the current engagement level (i.e., request queue status) of the overhead robotic system and optimize the movement path of the robotic system to provide services to passengers in the shortest possible time. The approach can also perform other functions, such as, medical assistance to assist passengers during the trip.