Autonomous Vehicle Waypath Control for Distribution Center Tasks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current processes for parking, fueling, and loading/unloading delivery vehicles are inefficient and time-consuming, requiring significant human intervention and wasting driver time.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method for autonomously controlling vehicles at a specified location using a processor to communicate with delivery vehicles, receive status data, determine waypaths, and transmit instructions for unmanned operations, including parking, fueling, and loading/unloading.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual control is used for parking, fueling, and loading/unloading delivery vehicles, then human drivers can directly perform these tasks, but significant human time is wasted and driver efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables delivery vehicles to autonomously perform parking, fueling, and loading/unloading tasks without human intervention. The autonomous vehicle receives commands from a remote server, navigates to designated locations, and executes tasks independently, allowing vehicles to serve themselves and eliminating the need for drivers to manually perform these routine operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical control with an autonomous control system comprising a remote server, communication module, and autonomous vehicle controller. The system uses electronic communication and automated decision-making algorithms to substitute human drivers' mechanical actions with an automated digital control system, thereby improving efficiency and reducing time loss.
2Productivity
If autonomous control systems are implemented for delivery vehicles, then driver time is optimized and operational efficiency increases, but the system complexity and infrastructure requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces a remote server as an intermediary between the driver and the autonomous vehicle. The remote server receives driver commands, processes them into detailed navigation and task instructions, and transmits them to the autonomous vehicle's control system. This intermediary layer simplifies the overall architecture by centralizing the complex decision-making logic and reducing the burden on both the driver interface and the vehicle's onboard systems.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for autonomously controlling vehicles at a specified location is provided. The apparatus includes at least a processor and a memory communicatively connected to the at least a processor. The memory includes instructions configuring the at least a processor to receive site-specific driving rules for a distribution center and communicate with a plurality of delivery vehicles at the distribution center. Communicating includes receiving status data from the plurality of delivery vehicles, determining a waypath for the plurality of delivery vehicles based on the status data and the site-specific driving rules, and transmitting the waypath to the plurality of delivery vehicles. The processor is also configured to communicate with a monitor device, wherein the monitor device is configured to monitor movements of the plurality of delivery vehicles.