Methods, systems and devices for delivery drone security

• US 9,359,074 B2
• Filed: 09/08/2014
• Issued: 06/07/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Ganesh, Shriram, Menendez, Jose Roberto
• Primary Examiner(s): FREJD, RUSSELL WARREN
• Application Number:
  US14/480,062
• Publication Number:
  US 20160068264A1
• Time in Patent Office: 638 Days
• Field of Search: 701/2, 701/3, 244/17.11, 705/14.58, 705/26.1, 705/26.8, 705/26.81, 705/26.82, 705/26.9, 705/27.1, 705/330
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 27/12 Helicopters A63H27/04 takes precedence; Flying tops
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 1/12 Releasing
• 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 2201/104 using satellite radio beacon positioning systems, e.g. GPS
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/20 Remote controls
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/42 Determining position
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0022 characterised by the communication link data switching networks in general H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/042 specially adapted for aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0676 specially adapted for landing
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/102 specially adapted for vertical take-off of aircraft
• 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 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0637 Approvals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 : with a ground station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0026 : located on the ground
• 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

Methods, systems and devices are provided for securing a drone delivering a package of goods to a delivery destination. A notification may be provided to a device of the purchaser that the drone has arrived near the delivery destination. The drone may hover at a secure altitude from a landing zone at the delivery destination. The drone may receive a purchase code associated with a purchase of the package of goods. The drone may authenticate the purchase code as a condition for landing. The drone may land in the landing zone at the delivery destination when the purchase code is authenticated. The drone may abort the landing when the purchase code is not authenticated. The drone may receive a delivery code associated with completing delivery the package of goods. The drone may require the delivery code as a condition for releasing the package of goods.

Claims

1. A method for providing security for a drone delivering a package of goods to a delivery destination, comprising:

providing, by the drone, a notification to a device of a purchaser, that the drone has arrived near the delivery destination;

hovering, by the drone, at a secure altitude from a landing zone at the delivery destination;

receiving, by the drone, a purchase code associated with a purchase of the package of goods;

authenticating, by the drone, the purchase code as a condition for landing the drone;

landing, by the drone, in the landing zone at the delivery destination when the purchase code is authenticated;

aborting the landing, by the drone, in the landing zone at the delivery destination when the purchase code is not authenticated;

monitoring, by one or more of the drone and a server, one or more web-based applications for an indication that drone information has been posted; and

executing, by the one or more of the drone and the server, a secure navigation mode for the drone in response to the monitoring.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

releasing, by the drone, the package of goods when the purchase code is authenticated and the landing by the drone in the landing zone is complete; and

confirming, by the drone, a delivery of the package of goods when the package of goods is released.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein confirming, by the drone, the delivery of the package of goods comprises at least one of:

scanning a delivery code associated with the package of goods by the device of the purchaser, and providing the delivery code to the server by the device of the purchaser; and

capturing images of one or more of;

the released package of goods, the purchaser, and the landing zone.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the purchase code is a one-time code, the method further comprising:

conducting, by the server, a purchase transaction for the purchase of the package of goods with the device of the purchaser of the package of goods; and

providing the one-time purchase code, by the server, to the device of the purchaser of the package of goods.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising guiding the landing by the drone in the landing zone by a landing pad in the landing zone, the landing pad including one or more of:

a visual landing aid, an optical landing aid, and a radio landing aid.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a location of the landing zone based on a current location of the device of the purchaser.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising navigating, by the drone, to the delivery destination using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) navigation.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising navigating, by the drone, to the delivery destination using an alternative navigation method comprising:

receiving a radio signal from one or more communication nodes along a travel route to the delivery destination, the radio signal including information about the one or more communication nodes;

determining a location of the one or more communication nodes based on the information about the communication node in the received radio signal; and

determining a position of the drone based at least in part on the location of the one or more communication nodes.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing the delivery destination, by the device of the purchaser, to the server, wherein the delivery destination is at least one of a street address, GNSS coordinates, and a map section, wherein an input of the map section is received as a user input on an interactive map displayed on a user interface of the device of the purchaser.

10. The method of claim 1,

wherein the web-based applications include social media websites.

11. A drone device for delivering a package of goods to a delivery destination, comprising:

a memory;

a radio module; and

a processor coupled to the memory and radio module, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations comprising;

providing a notification to a device of a purchaser that the drone device has arrived near the delivery destination;

hovering at a secure altitude from a landing zone at the delivery destination;

receiving a purchase code associated with a purchase of the package of goods;

authenticating the purchase code as a condition for landing the drone device;

landing in the landing zone at the delivery destination when the purchase code is authenticated;

aborting the landing in the landing zone at the delivery destination when the purchase code is not authenticate;

monitoring one or more web-based applications for an indication that drone information has been posted; and

executing a secure navigation mode for the drone device in response to the monitoring.

12. The drone device of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising:

releasing the package of goods when the purchase code is authenticated and the landing by the drone device in the landing zone is complete; and

confirming a delivery of the package of goods when the package of goods is released.

13. The drone device of claim 11, further comprising one or more of:

a camera and a landing device coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising guiding landing in the landing zone at the delivery destination by interacting with a landing pad in the landing zone, wherein interacting with the landing pad includes interacting with one or more of;

a visual landing aid, an optical landing aid, and a radio landing aid of the landing pad.

14. The drone device of claim 11, further comprising a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) module coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising navigating to the delivery destination using GNSS navigation.

15. The drone device of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising navigating to the delivery destination using an alternative navigation method comprising:

receiving a radio signal from one or more communication nodes along a travel route to the delivery destination, the radio signal including information about the one or more communication nodes;

determining a location of the one or more communication nodes based on the information about the communication node in the received radio signal; and

determining a position of the drone device based on the location of the one or more communication nodes.

16. The drone device of claim 11, wherein the web-based applications include social media websites.

17. A drone for securely delivering a package of goods to a delivery destination, comprising:

means for providing a notification to a device of a purchaser, that the drone has arrived near the delivery destination;

means for hovering at a secure altitude from a landing zone at the delivery destination;

means for receiving a purchase code associated with a purchase of the package of goods;

means for authenticating the purchase code as a condition for landing the drone;

means for landing in the landing zone at the delivery destination when the purchase code is authenticated;

means for aborting the landing in the landing zone at the delivery destination when the purchase code is not authenticate;

means for monitoring one or more web-based applications for an indication that drone information has been posted; and

means for executing a secure navigation mode for the drone in response to the monitoring.

18. The drone of claim 17, further comprising:

means for releasing the package of goods when the purchase code is authenticated and the landing by the drone in the landing zone is complete; and

means for confirming a delivery of the package of goods when the package of goods is released.

19. The drone of claim 18, wherein means for confirming the delivery of the package of goods comprises at least one of:

means for scanning a delivery code associated with the package of goods and providing the delivery code to a server; and

means for capturing images of one or more of;

the released package of goods, the purchaser, and the landing zone.

20. The drone of claim 17, wherein the purchase code is a one-time code.

21. The drone of claim 17, further comprising means for guiding the landing by the drone in the landing zone by interacting with a landing pad in the landing zone, the landing pad including one or more of:

a visual landing aid, an optical landing aid, and a radio landing aid.

22. The drone of claim 21, further comprising means for navigating to the delivery destination using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) navigation and alternative navigation methods comprising:

means for receiving a radio signal from one or more communication nodes along a travel route to the delivery destination, the radio signal including information about the one or more communication nodes;

means for determining a location of the one or more communication nodes based on the information about the communication node in the received radio signal; and

means for determining a position of the drone based on the location of the one or more communication nodes.

23. The drone of claim 17, further comprising means for receiving the delivery destination from a server, wherein the delivery destination is at least one of a street address, GNSS coordinates, and a map section, wherein an input of the map section is received as a user input on an interactive map displayed on a user interface of the device of the purchaser.

24. The drone of claim 17, wherein the web-based applications include social media websites.

25. A system for providing secure package delivery at a delivery destination, the system comprising:

a drone comprising a drone processor;

a purchaser device comprising a purchaser device processor and configured to communicate with the drone through a communication link; and

a server configured to communicate with one or both of the drone and the purchaser device through respective communication links,

wherein the drone processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations comprising;

providing a notification to the purchaser device that the drone has arrived near the delivery destination;

hovering at a secure altitude from a landing zone at the delivery destination;

receiving a purchase code from the purchaser device, the purchase code associated with a purchase of a package of goods;

landing in the landing zone at the delivery destination in response to authentication of the purchase code;

aborting the landing in response to non-authentication of the purchase code;

monitoring one or more web-based applications for an indication that drone information has been posted; and

executing a secure navigation mode for the drone in response to the monitoring.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the drone processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising:

releasing the package of goods when the purchase code is authenticated and the landing by the drone in the landing zone is complete; and

sending a message to the server confirming delivery of the package of goods when the package of goods is released.

27. The system of claim 25, further comprising a landing pad, wherein the drone processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising guiding the landing of the drone in the landing zone by interacting with the landing pad in the landing zone, the landing pad including one or more of:

a visual landing aid, an optical landing aid, and a radio landing aid.

28. The system of claim 25, wherein the drone processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising:

receiving from the server a purchase code associated with a purchase of goods in the package of goods that was previously sent to the purchaser device;

comparing the purchase code received from the purchaser device to the purchase code received from the server;

authenticating the purchase code in response to the purchase code received from the purchaser device matching the purchase code received from the server; and

not authenticating the purchase code in response to the purchase code received from the purchaser device not matching the purchase code received from the server.

29. The system of claim 25, wherein the server is configured with server-executable instructions to perform operations comprising:

receiving the purchase code from the drone;

comparing the received purchase code with a purchase code associated with the package of goods that was previously sent to the purchaser device;

sending a message to the drone indicating authentication of the purchase code in response to the purchase code received from the drone matching the purchase code that was previously sent to the purchaser device; and

sending a message to the drone indicating non-authentication of the purchase code in response to the purchase code received from the drone not matching the purchase code that was previously sent to the purchaser device.

30. The system of claim 25, wherein:

the purchaser device processor further comprises a camera and the purchaser device processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising;

imaging a delivery code associated with the package of goods;

determining the delivery code from an image of the delivery code; and

sending the delivery code to the server; and

the server is configured with server-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising;

receiving the delivery code from the purchaser device;

comparing the received delivery code to a delivery code assigned to the package of goods in advance by the server; and

recording confirmation of delivery of the package of goods in response to the received delivery code matching the delivery code assigned to the package of goods in advance by the server.