Vehicle Package Sorting Platform Sensory System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current package sorting systems in last-mile delivery lack the ability to accurately determine package position, orientation, and geometry, leading to errors due to slip and shifting during transit, which accumulates over time, affecting the efficiency of package management and delivery.
Innovation Solution
A mobile package sorting platform sensory system utilizing computer vision and machine learning to identify packages via markers, determine pose and geometry, and enable collision-free path planning, using cameras, RFID tags, and fiducial markers to provide real-time feedback for precise positioning and localization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional roller-based motion control is used to move packages, then packages can be repositioned during transit, but position estimation errors accumulate due to slip and shifting
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses vision sensors to continuously detect package positions and provides real-time feedback to the control system. This closed-loop feedback mechanism allows the system to correct position estimation errors caused by slip and shifting, maintaining accurate package location information throughout transit.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces reliance on motion command integration with vision-based direct observation. Instead of estimating position through mechanical motion control commands, the system uses cameras and vision processing to directly measure package positions, eliminating cumulative errors from mechanical slip and shifting.
2Device complexity
If no sensory system is used, then the system is simpler, but package position, orientation, and geometry information cannot be determined
Solution Approach 1:
The vision sensor system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it detects package positions, determines orientations, measures geometries, identifies packages, and provides feedback for motion control. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate sensors for each measurement type, managing system complexity while comprehensive information collection.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces vision sensors as an intermediary between the mechanical handling system and the control system. These sensors mediate the information flow by converting physical package attributes into digital data that the control system can process, enabling accurate tracking without direct mechanical coupling.
3Productivity
If manual package management is used, then handling is flexible, but delivery speed and efficiency are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automated self-service package handling through vision-guided motion control. Packages are automatically tracked, positioned, and managed without continuous manual intervention. The sensory system allows the mechanical system to service itself by providing real-time position feedback for autonomous repositioning decisions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts package positions during transit based on real-time vision feedback and delivery requirements. The roller bed motion control system dynamically repositions packages to optimize space utilization and prepare for upcoming deliveries, maintaining flexibility while enabling automated high-speed operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for controlling a package delivery sorting system onboard a vehicle includes loading, onboard a package sorting platform, a first package comprising a first fiducial marker, the package sorting platform disposed in a cargo hold of the package delivery vehicle, determining, via a processor, a package identity based on the first fiducial marker, determining, via the processor and based on the fiducial marker, a first package pose comprising a first package position and a first package orientation with respect to the package sorting platform, defining, via the processor, a first package geometry associated with the first package, and causing the sorting platform to position the first package, via the processor, to a second first package pose.