AUTONOMOUS DELIVERY OF ITEMS

• US 20160239803A1
• Filed: 08/04/2015
• Published: 08/18/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DoorDash, Inc.
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Borley, Andrew J., Jackson, Callum P., McMullan, Kathryn M., Norton, Philip L.
• Granted Patent: US 10,163,069 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/14 with four distinct rotor axes, e.g. quadcopters
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/60 for transporting passengers; for transporting goods other than weapons
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/64 for parcel delivery or retrieval
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/083 Shipping
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08355 Routing methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0185 Product, service or business identity fraud

Abstract

Proposed is an autonomous vehicle (AV) for delivering an item to a recipient at a delivery location in a trusted manner. The AV includes: a sensor system adapted to detect, while the autonomous vehicle is travelling to the delivery location, a value of a property of at least one of: the autonomous vehicle, and the item. The AV further includes a data store adapted to store authentication data for verifying the trustworthiness of the item, the authentication data being based on the value detected. The AV further includes a recipient verification unit adapted to verify the identity of the recipient and to generate a verification signal indicative of whether the identity of the recipient is verified. The AV further includes a communication unit adapted to communicate stored authentication data to an authentication system for verification.

Claims

1. A method of controlling an autonomous vehicle for delivering an item to a recipient at a delivery location in a trusted manner, the method comprises:

detecting, while the autonomous vehicle is travelling to the delivery location, a value of a property of at least one of;

the autonomous vehicle, and the item;

storing, in a data store of the autonomous vehicle, authentication data for verifying the trustworthiness of the item, the authentication data being based on at least the value detected;

verifying the identity of the recipient;

generating a verification signal indicative of whether the identity of the recipient is verified; and

based on the generated verification signal, communicating the stored authentication data to an authentication system for verification.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the property comprises one of:

location;

altitude;

route traveled;

weight;

size;

speed;

orientation;

G-force experienced;

or origin.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of detecting comprises:

tracking positions of the autonomous vehicle over time to determine a delivery route that the autonomous vehicle has traveled to arrive at the delivery location and generating route data indicative of the determined delivery route; and

wherein the authentication data includes the generated route data.

4. An automated delivery method for delivering an item to a recipient at a delivery location in a trusted manner, wherein the method comprises:

receiving authentication data from an autonomous vehicle; and

verifying the trustworthiness of the item based on the received authentication data.

5. The automated delivery method of claim 4, further comprising the step of:

receiving, by a portable computing device of the recipient, a security key via a communication channel prior to the arrival of the autonomous vehicle at the delivery location; and

sending, to the autonomous vehicle, the security key for verifying the identity of the recipient.