SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DELIVERING MERCHANDISE USING UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES

• US 20180239350A1
• Filed: 01/23/2018
• Published: 08/23/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2017
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Wal-Mart Stores Texas LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Inventors: Cantrell, Robert L.
• Application Number:
  US15/877,949
• Publication Number:
  US 20180239350A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/04 Landing aids; Safety measures to prevent collision with earth's surface
• 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 2201/10 autonomous, i.e. by navigating independently from ground or air stations, e.g. by using inertial navigation systems [INS]
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/20 Remote controls
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 70/00 Launching, take-off or landing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0022 characterised by the communication link data switching networks in general H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0027 involving a plurality of vehicles, e.g. fleet or convoy travelling fleet control of land vehicles from a control room G05D1/0297; traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/00; for marine craft G08G3/00; for aircraft G08G5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0038 by providing the operator with simple or augmented images from one or more cameras located onboard the vehicle, e.g. tele-operation images analyzed by a computer and used for automatic navigation G05D1/0246
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0088 characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours using knowledge based models G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0094 involving pointing a payload, e.g. camera, weapon, sensor, towards a fixed or moving target
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0676 specially adapted for landing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/00 Traffic control systems for aircraft , e.g. air-traffic control [ATC]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0043 Traffic management of multiple aircrafts from the ground G08G5/003 takes precedence; data processing specially designed for resource management, e.g. scheduling or allocating time, human or machine resources G06Q10/06
• 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

In some embodiments, apparatuses and methods are provided herein useful to deliver merchandise to landing locations. In some embodiments, there is a provided a system including: a remote navigational control system operable by a human pilot to control a flight of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with the UAV including: a two-way communication unit; a sensor configured to capture images; and a control circuit. The UAV control circuit is configured to: autonomously navigate the UAV along a first flight path to a navigational waypoint according to autonomous operation; communicate with the control system when the UAV arrives at the navigational waypoint; await instructions from the control system for landing the UAV; transmit images of the landing location to the control system; and guide the UAV along a second flight path to the landing location based on human pilot navigation instructions.

Claims

1. A divided control system for combining both autonomous and human pilot navigation of unmanned aerial vehicles to deliver merchandise to landing locations, the system comprising:

a remote navigational control system configured to be operable by a human pilot to at least partially control a flight of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV); and

the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) comprising;

a two-way communication unit configured to communicate with the remote navigational control system;

a sensor configured to capture images of a landing location; and

a control circuit configured to;

autonomously navigate the UAV from a first starting point along a first flight path to a navigational waypoint according to autonomous operation without any human pilot navigation from the remote navigational control system;

communicate with the remote navigational control system when the UAV arrives at the navigational waypoint;

await instructions from the remote navigational control system for landing the UAV when the UAV arrives at the navigational waypoint;

transmit images of the landing location from the sensor to the remote navigational control system; and

guide the UAV from the navigational waypoint along a second flight path to the landing location based on human pilot navigation instructions from the remote navigational control system.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the remote navigational control system comprises:

a communication device configured to communicate with a plurality of UAVs; and

a navigation control circuit coupled to the communication device and configured to;

determine a priority for landing at least one of the UAVs, each landing to be performed by one of a plurality of human pilots; and

determine a queue of the at least one UAV, the queue being arranged in a landing order based on predetermined priority rules for landing and stored by the navigational control circuit.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein:

a first priority rule is to land a first subset of UAVs experiencing an emergency flight situation;

the remote navigational control circuit is configured to receive a communication from the first subset indicating an emergency flight situation; and

the remote navigational control circuit is configured to transmit instructions from a human pilot to guide the first subset of UAVs to available landing locations;

wherein the remote navigational control circuit is configured to assign priority in the queue to the first priority rule ahead of other priority rules.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein:

a second priority rule is to land a second subset of UAVs with power levels or rates of power depletion exceeding a predetermined threshold;

the remote navigational control circuit is configured to receive a communication from the second subset indicating a power level or rate of power depletion exceeding a predetermined threshold; and

the remote navigational control circuit is configured to transmit instructions from a human pilot to guide each UAV of the second subset to its landing location;

wherein the remote navigational control circuit is configured to assign priority in the queue to the second priority rule after the first priority rule.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein:

a third priority rule is to land a third subset of UAVs with predetermined weather conditions within a predetermined distance of the navigational waypoint;

the remote navigational control circuit is configured to determine the third subset of UAVs with the predetermined weather conditions within the predetermined distance; and

the remote navigational control circuit is configured to transmit instructions from a human pilot to guide each UAV of the third subset to its landing location;

wherein the remote navigational control circuit is configured to assign priority in the queue to the third priority rule after the first and second priority rules.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein:

a fourth priority rule is to land a fourth subset of UAVs that arrive at navigational waypoints after scheduled arrival times;

the remote navigational control circuit is configured to determine the scheduled arrival times of the plurality of UAVs and to determine the fourth subset; and

the remote navigational control circuit is configured to transmit instructions from a human pilot to guide each UAV of the fourth subset to its landing location;

wherein the remote navigational control circuit is configured to assign priority in the queue to the fourth priority rule after the first, second, and third priority rules.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein:

a fifth priority rule is to land a fifth subset of UAVs that have a subsequent flight scheduled;

the remote navigational control circuit is configured to determine the flight schedules of the plurality of UAVs; and

the remote navigational control circuit is configured to transmit instructions from a human pilot to guide each UAV of the fifth subset to its landing location;

wherein the remote navigational control circuit is configured to assign priority in the queue to the fifth priority rule after the first, second, third, and fourth priority rules.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein:

a sixth priority rule is to land a sixth subset of UAVs based on length of time in the queue;

the remote navigational control circuit is configured to determine the length of time of the plurality of UAVs in the queue to determine the sixth subset; and

the remote navigational control circuit is configured to transmit instructions from a human pilot to guide each UAV of the sixth subset to its landing location;

wherein the remote navigational control circuit is configured to assign priority in the queue to the sixth priority rule after the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth priority rules.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the remote navigational control circuit is configured to guide the UAV to the landing location using virtual reality or augmented reality devices.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the UAV control circuit is configured to autonomously navigate the UAV along a third flight path from the landing location to the first starting location according to autonomous operation without any human pilot navigation from the remote navigational control system.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the remote navigational control circuit is configured to use crowdsourcing to determine a human pilot to guide the UAV to the landing location.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the UAV control circuit is configured to:

return the UAV to the first starting location if the UAV control circuit cannot communicate with the remote navigational control system within a first predetermined amount of time after arriving at the navigational waypoint, a human pilot does not transmit landing instructions to the UAV within a second predetermined time after the UAV arrives at the waypoint, the power level of the UAV falls below a third predetermined minimum threshold, or the rate of power depletion of the UAV exceeds a fourth predetermined maximum threshold.

13. A method for combining both autonomous and human pilot navigation of unmanned aerial vehicles to deliver merchandise to landing locations, the method comprising:

providing a remote navigational control system configured to be operable by a human pilot to at least partially control a flight of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV);

providing an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) comprising;

a two-way communication unit configured to communicate with a remote navigational control system;

a sensor configured to capture images;

a control circuit operatively coupled to the two-way communication unit and the sensor;

autonomously navigating the UAV from a first starting point along a first flight path to a navigational waypoint according to autonomous operation without any human pilot navigation from the remote navigational control system;

communicating with the remote navigational control system when the UAV arrives at the navigational waypoint;

awaiting instructions from the remote navigational control system for landing the UAV when the UAV arrives at the navigational waypoint;

transmitting images of the landing location from the sensor to the remote navigational control system;

determining a second flight path from the navigational waypoint to a landing location; and

guiding the UAV from the navigational waypoint along a second flight path to the landing location based on human pilot navigation instructions from the remote navigational control system.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising, by the remote navigational control system:

communicating with a plurality of UAVs;

determining a priority for landing at least one of the UAVs, each landing to be performed by one of a plurality of human pilots; and

determining a queue of the at least one UAV, the queue being arranged in a landing order based on predetermined priority rules for landing.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein a first priority rule is to land a first subset of UAVs experiencing an emergency flight situation, the method further comprising, by the remote navigational control system:

receiving a communication from the first subset indicating an emergency flight situation;

transmitting instructions from a human pilot to guide the first subset of UAVs to available landing locations; and

assigning priority in the queue to the first priority rule ahead of other priority rules.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein a second priority rule is to land a second subset of UAVs with power levels or rates of power depletion exceeding a predetermined threshold, the method further comprising, by the remote navigational control system:

receiving a communication from the second subset indicating a power level or rate of power depletion exceeding a predetermined threshold;

transmitting instructions from a human pilot to guide each UAV of the second subset to its landing location; and

assigning priority in the queue to the second priority rule after the first priority rule.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein a third priority rule is to land a third subset of UAVs with predetermined weather conditions within a predetermined distance of the navigational waypoint, the method further comprising, by the remote navigational control system:

determining the third subset of UAVs with the predetermined weather conditions within the predetermined distance;

transmitting instructions from a human pilot to guide each UAV of the third subset to its landing location; and

assigning priority in the queue to the third priority rule after the first and second priority rules.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein a fourth priority rule is to land a fourth subset of UAVs that arrive at navigational waypoints after scheduled arrival times, the method further comprising, by the remote navigational control system:

determining the scheduled arrival times of the plurality of UAVs and to determine the fourth subset;

transmitting instructions from a human pilot to guide each UAV of the fourth subset to its landing location; and

assigning priority in the queue to the third priority rule after the first, second, and third priority rules.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein a fifth priority rule is to land a fifth subset of UAVs that have a subsequent flight scheduled, the method further comprising, by the remote navigational control system:

determining the flight schedules of the plurality of UAVs;

transmitting instructions from a human pilot to guide each UAV of the fifth subset to its landing location; and

assigning priority in the queue to the fifth priority rule after the first, second, third, and fourth priority rules.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein a sixth priority rule is to land a sixth subset of UAVs based on length of time in the queue, the method further comprising, by the remote navigational control system:

determining the length of time of the plurality of UAVs in the queue to determine the sixth sub set;

transmitting instructions from a human pilot to guide each UAV of the sixth subset to its landing location; and

assigning priority in the queue to the sixth priority rule after the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth priority rules.

21. The method of claim 13, further comprising, by a UAV control circuit:

autonomously navigating a UAV along a third flight path from the landing location to the first starting location according to autonomous operation without any human pilot navigation from the remote navigational control system.

22. The method of claim 13, further comprising, by a UAV control circuit:

returning a UAV to the starting location if the control circuit cannot communicate with the remote navigational control system within a first predetermined amount of time after arriving at the navigational waypoint, a human pilot does not transmit landing instructions to the UAV within a second predetermined time after the UAV arrives at the waypoint, the power level of the UAV falls below a third predetermined minimum threshold, or the rate of power depletion of the UAV exceeds a fourth predetermined maximum threshold.