UAV Delivery Dispatch Using Battery-Aware Vehicle Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) face challenges in completing package delivery due to lack of fueling stations along their routes, difficulty in changing destinations, and risk of package theft at fueling stations, leading to potential battery or fuel depletion during delivery.
Innovation Solution
A logistics system that acquires wait location and remaining fuel information for multiple UAVs, searches for suitable UAVs with sufficient fuel to deliver packages based on flight paths and weights, and instructs them to collect and deliver packages, ensuring reliable delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If an unmanned aerial vehicle flies without stopping at fueling stations, then the delivery process can continue without interruption, but the battery or fuel may become empty on the way causing delivery failure
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary assessment of battery/fuel status before assigning delivery tasks. The management device calculates required energy consumption based on distance and package weight, then selects UAVs that have sufficient energy reserves to complete the entire delivery route without intermediate refueling, ensuring reliable delivery completion.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors battery/fuel status of UAVs and provides feedback to the task assignment mechanism. This feedback loop allows the management device to dynamically adjust task assignments based on current energy levels, matching UAVs to appropriate delivery routes that their current energy reserves can support.
2Reliability
If an unmanned aerial vehicle stops at a fueling station, then the battery or fuel can be replenished, but the package may be stolen at the fueling station
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts the refueling function from the delivery route by selecting UAVs with sufficient initial energy reserves to complete the entire delivery without stopping. This eliminates the need for intermediate stops at fueling stations, thereby removing the package theft risk associated with such stops while maintaining energy supply reliability.
3Reliability
If an unmanned aerial vehicle changes destination to stop at a fueling station, then the battery or fuel can be replenished, but it is difficult to change destination as appropriate unlike manned aerial vehicles
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary selection of UAVs based on their energy reserves and the required delivery distance. By calculating energy consumption in advance and matching UAVs to appropriate tasks, the system ensures that selected UAVs can complete deliveries without needing to change destination or stop for refueling, maintaining both reliability and operational simplicity.
4Reliability
If multiple unmanned aerial vehicles are available for delivery, then the system can select the most suitable one, but the complexity of managing and selecting among multiple vehicles increases
Solution Approach 1:
The management device establishes a feedback mechanism that continuously monitors UAV status (energy levels, location, task completion) and automatically processes task assignments. This automated feedback loop simplifies the management of multiple UAVs by using clear, objective criteria (energy consumption calculations) to match vehicles to tasks, reducing manual intervention complexity while maintaining high selection accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
Wait location information acquisition means of a logistics system acquires wait location information on a wait location of each of a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles. Remaining amount information acquisition means acquires remaining amount information on a remaining amount of a battery or fuel of each of the unmanned aerial vehicles. Package information acquisition means acquires package information on a collection destination and delivery destination of a package. Search means searches for an unmanned aerial vehicle with a remaining amount of the battery or fuel for delivering the package collected at the collection destination to the delivery destination based on the wait location information and remaining amount information on each of the unmanned aerial vehicles and the package information. Instruction means instincts the unmanned aerial vehicle retrieved by the search means to collect and deliver the package.