Weather-Aware Drone Delivery Control for Rain-Safe Package Drop-Off
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing delivery systems, such as those described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2018-165205, do not always ensure favorable package delivery due to inadequate consideration of weather conditions at the delivery destination.
Innovation Solution
A delivery system that includes a weather information acquiring unit and a judging unit to assess whether package delivery by a moving body is possible based on weather information, suspending delivery in rainy conditions to prevent water damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If delivery is performed using an unmanned flying body without weather consideration, then delivery speed and automation are improved, but delivery reliability deteriorates due to weather conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary weather information acquisition before delivery execution, and the judging unit pre-assesses whether delivery is feasible based on weather conditions. This preliminary action allows the system to avoid attempting deliveries under unfavorable weather conditions, thereby maintaining reliability while preserving productivity through automated decision-making.
2Reliability
If weather information acquisition and judgment functions are added to the delivery system, then delivery reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The judging unit serves multiple functions: it assesses weather feasibility, determines delivery timing, and controls the unmanned flying body's operations. By making this single component multi-functional, the system achieves improved reliability through comprehensive weather consideration without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If delivery is suspended in rainy conditions, then package protection from water damage is improved, but productivity decreases due to delivery delays
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors weather information and uses the judging unit to provide feedback on delivery feasibility. When rain is detected, the system automatically suspends delivery operations, protecting the package from water damage. This feedback mechanism ensures that productivity losses are minimized by only suspending deliveries when truly necessary, rather than implementing blanket suspensions.
Data Source
AI summary
A delivery system for delivering a package to a delivery destination using a moving body, including a weather information acquiring unit that acquires weather information including information concerning weather at the delivery destination; and a judging unit that judges whether delivery of the package to the delivery destination by the moving body is possible, based on the weather information acquired by the weather information acquiring unit.