Autonomous ground vehicles based at delivery locations

• US 10,216,188 B2
• Filed: 07/25/2016
• Issued: 02/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Brady, Tye Michael, Evans, Ethan Zane
• Primary Examiner(s): Sample, Jonathan L
• Application Number:
  US15/218,943
• Publication Number:
  US 20180024554A1
• Time in Patent Office: 946 Days
• Field of Search: 701 23- 28
• 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 1/0276 using signals provided by a source external to the vehicle involving a plurality of vehicles G05D1/0287; automatically controlling vehicle speed responsive to externally generated signals B60K31/0058
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0297 by controlling means in a control room
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0837 Return transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/20 Analysis of motion motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51

Abstract

Autonomous ground vehicles (“AGVs”) are utilized to retrieve items from transportation vehicles (e.g., delivery trucks) for delivery to specified locations (e.g., user residences, etc.). In various implementations, the AGVs may be owned by individual users and/or may service a group of users in a given area (e.g., in an apartment building, neighborhood, etc.). The AGVs may travel out (e.g., from a user'"'"'s residence, apartment building, etc.) to meet a transportation vehicle (e.g., a delivery truck on the street) to receive items, and may be joined by other AGVs that have traveled out to meet the transportation vehicle, and may line up in a particular order (e.g., according to delivery addresses, etc.). After the items are received, the AGVs may travel back (e.g., to the user residences) to deliver the items, and may be equipped to open and close access barriers (e.g., front doors, garage doors, etc.).

Claims

1. A system to transport an ordered item, the system comprising:

a first autonomous ground vehicle (AGV) that is stationed at a first home base location at a first user'"'"'s residence; and

a computing system comprising;

one or more processors; and

a memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing program instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to at least;

determine a meeting location which the first AGV will travel to for meeting a transportation vehicle;

receive a notification that indicates an estimated time of when the transportation vehicle is expected to arrive at the meeting location;

instruct the first AGV to travel from the first home base location to the meeting location to meet the transportation vehicle;

determine that a first item from the transportation vehicle has been placed in a storage compartment of the first AGV while the first AGV is at the meeting location; and

instruct the first AGV to travel from the meeting location to the first user'"'"'s residence to deliver the first item.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory further includes program instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to at least determine a starting travel time when the first AGV is to begin travelling to the meeting location based at least in part on the estimated time of when the transportation vehicle is expected to arrive at the meeting location.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the starting travel time is determined to enable the first AGV to arrive at the meeting location ahead of the transportation vehicle.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the notification that is received which indicates an estimated time of arrival of the transportation vehicle also indicates a current location of the transportation vehicle along a delivery route which the transportation vehicle follows and which includes a stopping location for the transportation vehicle that corresponds to the meeting location.

4. An autonomous ground vehicle (AGV) comprising:

a propulsion system;

a storage compartment having a locking mechanism; and

a computing system, comprising;

one or more processors; and

a memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing program instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to at least;

receive a notification that indicates an estimated time of when a transportation vehicle is expected to arrive at a meeting location;

control the propulsion system to navigate the AGV to the meeting location to meet the transportation vehicle;

determine that an item from the transportation vehicle has been placed in the storage compartment while the AGV is at the meeting location;

control the locking mechanism to lock the storage compartment of the AGV after it has been determined that the item from the transportation vehicle has been placed in the storage compartment;

control the propulsion system to navigate the AGV along a travel path from the meeting location to a delivery location to deliver the item; and

control the locking mechanism to unlock the storage compartment at the delivery location to enable the item to be retrieved from the storage compartment at the delivery location.

5. The AGV of claim 4, wherein the delivery location is at a user'"'"'s residence.

6. The AGV of claim 4, further comprising an access mechanism that is utilized to open an access barrier that the AGV encounters along the travel path to the delivery location.

7. The AGV of claim 4, further comprising an item engagement mechanism that is utilized to place the item from the transportation vehicle into the storage compartment of the AGV at the meeting location.

8. The AGV of claim 4, further comprising at least one of:

a presence detection sensor that detects the presence of the item that has been placed in the storage compartment;

a motion sensor that detects movement when the item is placed in the storage compartment;

an image capture sensor that captures an image of the item that has been placed in the storage compartment;

an item identification sensor that is utilized to determine an identification of the item that has been placed in the storage compartment;

or

a temperature sensor that senses a temperature in the storage compartment.

15. The AGV of claim 4, wherein a starting travel time for starting to control the propulsion system to navigate the AGV to the meeting location is determined based at least in part on the estimated time of when the transportation vehicle is expected to arrive at the meeting location.

16. The AGV of claim 15, wherein the starting travel time is determined to enable the first AGV to arrive at the meeting location ahead of the transportation vehicle.

17. The AGV of claim 4, wherein the notification that is received which indicates an estimated time of arrival of the transportation vehicle also indicates a current location of the transportation vehicle along a delivery route which the transportation vehicle follows and which includes a stopping location for the transportation vehicle that corresponds to the meeting location.

19. The computer implemented method of claim 15, wherein the starting travel time is determined to enable the first AGV to arrive at the meeting location ahead of the transportation vehicle.

9. A computer implemented method for transporting items, the computer implemented method comprising:

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

determining a meeting location to which first and second autonomous ground vehicles (AGVs) will travel to meet a transportation vehicle;

receiving a notification that indicates an estimated time of when the transportation vehicle is expected to arrive at the meeting location;

instructing the first AGV to travel to the meeting location;

instructing the second AGV to travel to the meeting location;

instructing the first AGV to receive a first item from the transportation vehicle at the meeting location;

instructing the first AGV to travel from the meeting location to a first delivery location to deliver the first item;

instructing the second AGV to receive a second item from the transportation vehicle at the meeting location; and

instructing the second AGV to travel from the meeting location to a second delivery location to deliver the second item.

10. The computer implemented method of claim 9, wherein the first and second delivery locations are at respective first and second user'"'"'s residences.

11. The computer implemented method of claim 9, further comprising instructing the second AGV to receive a third item from the transportation vehicle at the meeting location and to travel from the meeting location to a third delivery location to deliver the third item, wherein the second AGV includes separate storage compartments in which the second and third items are received.

12. The computer implemented method of claim 9, wherein the first and second AGVs travel from respective first and second home base locations at respective first and second user'"'"'s residences to the meeting location.

13. The computer implemented method of claim 9, wherein the meeting location is a home base location for the first and second AGVs.

18. The computer implemented method of claim 9, further comprising determining a starting travel time when the AGV is to begin travelling to the meeting location based at least in part on the estimated time of when the transportation vehicle is expected to arrive at the meeting location.

20. The computer implemented method of claim 9, wherein the notification that is received which indicates an estimated time of arrival of the transportation vehicle also indicates a current location of the transportation vehicle along a delivery route which the transportation vehicle follows and which includes a stopping location for the transportation vehicle that corresponds to the meeting location.