Collaborative unmanned aerial vehicle inventory system
First Claim
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1. An inventory management system, comprising:
- a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), wherein an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles comprises;
a first shell arranged to enclose a volume of lighter-than-air gas and comprising a plurality of ducts extending between a superior surface of the shell to an inferior surface of the shell;
a plurality of fans to control movement of the UAV disposed within the plurality of ducts; and
a retention feature connected with the inferior surface of the shell to retain a container; and
a management component configured with executable instructions, in order to, at least;
receive information relating to an item in an inventory system;
instruct the UAV to move to a first location above the item;
instruct the UAV to retain the item; and
instruct the UAV to move the item to a second location.
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Abstract
The disclosed inventory systems and methods can be used to retrieve and transport items from one location in an inventory system to another. Specifically, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) including passive buoyancy element, a thrust unit, and a retention feature, can be controlled by a management component to retrieve one or more items, transport the item or items, and deposit the item or items. For example, a UAV can be controlled to obtain an item at one location in a warehouse such as a first floor and lift said item to a second location in the warehouse such as a second floor, and deposit the item at the second location.
33 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An inventory management system, comprising:
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a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), wherein an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles comprises; a first shell arranged to enclose a volume of lighter-than-air gas and comprising a plurality of ducts extending between a superior surface of the shell to an inferior surface of the shell; a plurality of fans to control movement of the UAV disposed within the plurality of ducts; and a retention feature connected with the inferior surface of the shell to retain a container; and a management component configured with executable instructions, in order to, at least; receive information relating to an item in an inventory system; instruct the UAV to move to a first location above the item; instruct the UAV to retain the item; and instruct the UAV to move the item to a second location. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A computer-implemented method of managing inventory, the method comprising:
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receiving information identifying an inventory item to be retrieved; identifying a location of the inventory item; selecting, via a computer system, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the plurality of UAVs each comprising one or more passively buoyant elements and a plurality of thrust units; and instructing the UAV to retrieve the inventory item. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An inventory system comprising:
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a plurality of items in an inventory management facility; a plurality of docking stations in the inventory management facility configured to receive one or more items of the plurality of items; and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) comprising; a shell containing a passive buoyancy element; a thrust element connected with the shell; a retention element connected with the shell, the retention element being operable to retain one or more of the plurality of items; and a management component configured with executable instructions to control the UAV in order to, at least; receive a request to retrieve an item of the plurality of items; and instruct the unmanned aerial vehicle to retrieve the item. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification