Automated Vehicle Control Swapping for Secure Last-Mile Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
The 'last mile' delivery problem in supply chain management, where unmanned aerial vehicles face challenges in navigating controlled areas due to lack of detailed maps and concerns about data capture, and there is a need for improved techniques to deliver goods and services efficiently and securely.
Innovation Solution
Loading user vehicle control programs into unmanned vehicles to replace base programs, allowing users to control operations within controlled areas, preventing provider access, and using package monitoring programs to ensure secure transport, while enabling surveillance systems to verify authorized operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If base vehicle control programs are used in unmanned vehicles, then the vehicle provider maintains control and security, but users cannot perform custom operations in controlled areas
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically switches between base vehicle control programs and user vehicle control programs based on operational context. When entering a controlled area, user programs are loaded to enable custom operations; when exiting, base programs are restored to maintain security. This dynamic program swapping resolves the contradiction by providing user adaptability when needed while preserving vehicle security at other times.
2Ease of operation
If user vehicle control programs are loaded to replace base programs, then users gain complete control in controlled areas, but the vehicle provider loses access and control
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by saving the base vehicle control programs to a repository before loading user control programs into the unmanned vehicle. This ensures that provider control access is preserved in advance, and the original control logic can be restored after user operations are completed, preventing permanent loss of provider access.
Solution Approach 2:
The base vehicle control programs are extracted from the vehicle's memory and stored in an external repository before user programs are loaded. This separation allows user programs to have full control during operations while the original base programs remain safely stored for later restoration, effectively taking out the provider's control access temporarily without losing it.
3Productivity
If unmanned vehicles operate in controlled areas without detailed maps, then navigation flexibility is maintained, but delivery efficiency and accuracy decrease
Solution Approach 1:
A surveillance system acts as an intermediary between the unmanned vehicle and the controlled area infrastructure. The surveillance system provides navigation assistance, location verification, and route guidance to the vehicle, eliminating the need for the vehicle to carry detailed maps or complex navigation systems while still enabling efficient and accurate delivery operations within the controlled area.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for configuring and controlling an automated vehicle to perform user specified operations. User vehicle control programs are loaded in an unmanned vehicle to control the unmanned vehicle to perform a user specified operation. The loading the user vehicle control programs replaces base vehicle control programs in the unmanned vehicle. There is communication with the unmanned vehicle to execute the user vehicle control programs to control the unmanned vehicle to perform the user specified operation. The base vehicle control programs are loaded into the unmanned vehicle to replace the user vehicle control programs to return control of the unmanned vehicle to a vehicle provider after performing the user specified operation.