LANDING OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES ON TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES FOR TRANSPORT

• US 20160257401A1
• Filed: 03/02/2015
• Published: 09/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Buchmueller, Daniel, Green, Scott A., Kalyan, Atishkumar, Kimchi, Gur
• Granted Patent: US 9,809,305 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/13 Flying platforms
• 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: B64U 2201/00 UAVs characterised by their flight controls
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/104 using satellite radio beacon positioning systems, e.g. GPS
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 30/297 Tilting rotors
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 50/13 using external fans or propellers
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 70/00 Launching, take-off or landing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 70/93 for use on a land or nautical vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 80/00 Transport or storage specially adapted for UAVs
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 80/25 for recharging batteries; for refuelling
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 80/86 Land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3423 Multimodal routing, i.e. combining two or more modes of transportation, where the modes can be any of, e.g. driving, walking, cycling, public transport
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/343 Calculating itineraries, i.e. routes leading from a starting point to a series of categorical destinations using a global route restraint, round trips, touristic trips travelling salesman problem G06Q10/04; optimisation of routes G06Q10/047
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/047 Optimisation of routes or paths, e.g. travelling salesman problem
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/083 Shipping
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0039 Modification of a flight plan
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0056 : in an emergency situation, e.g. hijacking
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0065 : for taking-off
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0069 : specially adapted for an unmanned aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/025 : Navigation or guidance aids radar or analogous systems specially adapted for landing purposes G01S13/913

Abstract

Unmanned aerial vehicles (“UAVs”) which fly to destinations (e.g., for delivering items) may land on transportation vehicles (e.g., delivery trucks, etc.) for temporary transport. An agreement with the owner of the transportation vehicles (e.g., a shipping carrier) may be made for obtaining consent and determining compensation for landings, and the associated transportation vehicles that are available for landings may be identified by markers on the roof or other identification techniques. The routes of the transportation vehicles may be known and utilized to determine locations where UAVs will land on and take off from the transportation vehicles, and in cases of emergencies (e.g., due to low batteries, mechanical issues, etc.) the UAVs may land on the transportation vehicles for later retrieval.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method to temporarily transport an unmanned aerial vehicle (“

UAV”

) on a transportation vehicle, the method comprising;

under control of one or more computing systems configured with executable instructions,

sending instructions to the UAV to take off from a departure location and begin flying toward a destination;

evaluating known routes for a plurality of transportation vehicles for which one or more agreements have been made to allow for the landing of UAVs on the plurality of transportation vehicles;

selecting a transportation vehicle from the plurality of transportation vehicles; and

sending instructions to the UAV to land on the selected transportation vehicle for transport during a portion of the known route of the transportation vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1, further including sending instructions to the UAV to take off from the transportation vehicle at an end of the portion of the known route and to fly toward the destination.

3. The method of claim 1, further including sending a notification indicating that an emergency landing of the UAV has occurred on the transportation vehicle.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the UAV or the transportation vehicle includes a securing component, and further including utilizing the securing component to hold the UAV on the transportation vehicle while the transportation vehicle is in motion.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the transportation vehicle is at least one of a truck, an automobile, a train, an aircraft, or a watercraft and the known route of the transportation vehicle is for transporting at least one of items or passengers.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a first entity owns the UAV and a second entity that is different from the first entity owns the transportation vehicle, and further including providing compensation to the second entity for the landing of the UAV on the selected transportation vehicle.

7. A system for utilizing transportation vehicles for transport, the system comprising:

an unmanned aerial vehicle (“

UAV”

), including;

a propulsion system;

a power module for storing energy with a corresponding energy level, the power module connected to the propulsion system and configured to provide energy to the propulsion system to fly the UAV; and

a computing system, including;

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor and storing program instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to at least;

monitor an energy level of the power module;

fly the UAV to land on a transportation vehicle that is traveling along a known route; and

remain on the transportation vehicle for a portion of the known route to conserve stored energy of the power module.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the UAV further includes a securing component to maintain the UAV on the transportation vehicle while the transportation vehicle is in motion.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein at least one propeller of the propulsion system is configured to generate electricity from an airflow around the transportation vehicle while the transportation vehicle is moving.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the transportation vehicle further includes a power source to re-charge the power module while the UAV is on the transportation vehicle.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the program instructions that when executed by the processor to cause the processor to fly the UAV to land on the transportation vehicle, further cause the processor to at least:

determine that the energy level of the power module is below a threshold.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the UAV further comprises an imaging sensor configured to at least one of determine an identification of the transportation vehicle or assist with landing the UAV on the transportation vehicle.

13. The system of claim 7, wherein the UAV further includes a GPS component configured to determine a location of the UAV as part of the flying of the UAV to land on the transportation vehicle.

14. A computer implemented method, comprising:

under control of one or more computing systems configured with executable instructions,

evaluating a route for each of a plurality of transportation vehicles relative to a travel destination of an unmanned aerial vehicle (“

UAV”

);

selecting a transportation vehicle to bring the UAV closer to the travel destination based at least in part on the evaluation; and

selecting a meeting location that the UAV will fly to and land on the transportation vehicle for transport during a portion of a route of the transportation vehicle.

15. The method of claim 14, further including estimating a departure location where the UAV will depart from the transportation vehicle and fly toward the travel destination.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the evaluating of the route for each of the plurality of transportation vehicles includes:

estimating a timing of each route; and

not selecting a second transportation vehicle based at least in part on an estimation that the timing of the route for the second transportation vehicle would not transport the UAV quickly enough to meet a delivery deadline of the UAV.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the evaluating of the route for each of the plurality of transportation vehicles includes:

estimating, for a second transportation vehicle, a travel speed of the second transportation vehicle;

determining, based at least in part on the estimated travel speed, that the second transportation vehicle will be moving too quickly for the UAV to safely land on the transportation vehicle; and

not selecting the second transportation vehicle.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the selection of the meeting location that the UAV will fly to and land on the transportation vehicle is based at least in part on GPS information regarding a current location of the transportation vehicle.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the landing of the UAV on the transportation vehicle is performed as part of an emergency maneuver.

20. The method of claim 14, further including providing compensation to an owner of the transportation vehicle for the landing of the UAV on the transportation vehicle.