Unmanned aerial vehicle delivery system

• US 9,573,684 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2014
• Issued: 02/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kimchi, Gur, Buchmueller, Daniel, Green, Scott A., Beckman, Brian C., Isaacs, Scott, Navot, Amir, Hensel, Fabian, Bar-Zeev, Avi, Rault, Severan Sylvain Jean-Michel
• Primary Examiner(s): Trivedi, Atul
• Application Number:
  US14/502,707
• Publication Number:
  US 20150120094A1
• Time in Patent Office: 875 Days
• Field of Search: 701/3
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 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: B64U 50/19 using electrically powered motors
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/00 Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots drive control systems specially adapted for autonomous road vehicles B60W60/00
• 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: G06Q 10/083 Shipping
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0069 specially adapted for an unmanned aircraft

Abstract

This disclosure describes an unmanned aerial vehicle (“UAV”) configured to autonomously deliver items of inventory to various destinations. The UAV may receive inventory information and a destination location and autonomously retrieve the inventory from a location within a materials handling facility, compute a route from the materials handling facility to a destination and travel to the destination to deliver the inventory.

Claims

1. A system for aerial delivery of items comprising:

a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles, each of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles configured to aerially transport items;

a management system, including;

a processor; and

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

receive from a device a request to order an item for aerial delivery, the item available for purchase through an e-commerce shopping site;

determine a plurality of potential destination locations for delivery of the item, wherein at least one of the plurality of potential destination locations is determined based at least in part on a location of the device;

receive a selection of a destination location from the plurality of potential destination locations; and

send to an unmanned aerial vehicle of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles, delivery parameters identifying a source location that includes the item and the destination location;

wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle, in response to receiving the delivery parameters, is further configured to at least;

navigate to the source location;

engage the item located at the source location;

navigate a navigation route to the destination location; and

disengage the item at the destination location.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle is further configured to:

receive environment information from a second unmanned aerial vehicle; and

develop the navigation route from the source location to the destination location based at least in part on the delivery parameters and the environment information.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the destination location is at least one of a secure delivery location, a materials handling facility, a user designated delivery location, or a relay location.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the program instructions that when executed by the processor further cause the processor to at least:

determine, based at least in part on the request, a delivery time estimate identifying an estimated amount of time required to transport the item from the source location to the destination location.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the program instructions that when executed by the processor further cause the processor to at least:

update the destination location based at least in part on a current location of the device.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the location of the device is determined based at least in part on one or more of Global Positioning System data received from the device, or an indication of a network through which the device is communicating.

7. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

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

receiving from a device a request to order an item for aerial delivery, the item available for purchase through an e-commerce shopping site;

determining, based at least in part on a location of the device, a destination location for delivery of the item;

selecting an unmanned aerial vehicle;

sending delivery parameters to the selected unmanned aerial vehicle; and

causing a delivery of the item from a source location to the destination location with the selected unmanned aerial vehicle.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the delivery parameters include at least one of an identity of the unmanned aerial vehicle, a weight of the item, a size of the item, a shape of the item, an identification of the source location from which the item is to be retrieved, or the destination location.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle utilizes the delivery parameters to develop a route between the source location and the destination location for an autonomous delivery of the item.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising:

estimating a power requirement for autonomously delivering the item based at least in part on one or more of the selected unmanned aerial vehicle, the destination location, the source location, a weight of the item, a size of the item, a distance between the source location and the destination location, weather between the source location and the destination location, a monetary value of the item, or the item.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising:

determining that a power module of the unmanned aerial vehicle is to be replaced or recharged as part of the autonomous delivery of the item;

selecting a relay location at which the power module is to be replaced or recharged; and

wherein the delivery parameters identify the relay location.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the destination location is further determined based at least in part on global positioning data of the device.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the destination location is a secure delivery location configured to receive and store at least one item delivered by an unmanned aerial vehicle.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving a delivery notification from the unmanned aerial vehicle confirming that the item has been delivered to the destination location; and

sending to the device a notification indicating that the item has been delivered to the destination location.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising:

determining, during aerial transport of the item by the selected unmanned aerial vehicle, that the delivery location has changed; and

causing the delivery destination to be updated such that the item is delivered by the selected unmanned aerial vehicle to the updated delivery location.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein:

the delivery location is a current location of the device; and

the delivery location is determined to change based at least in part on a movement of the device from a first location to a second location.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising:

determining, based at least in part on the location of the device, an estimated delivery time for delivery of the item to the delivery location; and

providing to the device an indication of the estimated delivery time for delivery of the item to the delivery location.

18. A system for aerial transport of items using unmanned aerial vehicles, comprising:

a first system configured to at least;

receive from a device a request to order an item for aerial delivery, the item available for purchase through an e-commerce shopping site;

determine a plurality of potential destination locations for delivery of the item;

receive a selection of a destination location from the plurality of potential destination locations; and

determine a source location of the item;

a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles, each of the unmanned aerial vehicles configured to at least;

wirelessly receive information from an unmanned aerial vehicle management system;

selectively engage and disengage inventory items; and

aerially navigate between a source location and the destination location along a navigation path; and

an aerial vehicle management system configured to wirelessly communicate with each of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein each of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles are further configured to at least:

wirelessly communicate with a second unmanned aerial vehicle of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein each of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles are further configured to at least:

determine the navigation path between the source location and the destination location; and

periodically update the navigation path during aerial navigation along the navigation path.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the navigation path is determined based at least in part on one or more of delivery parameters provided by the aerial vehicle management system, environmental information, or information received from a second unmanned aerial vehicle.

22. The system of claim 18, wherein the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles are further configured to:

form a wireless network; and

provide digital content to a device via the wireless network.

23. The system of claim 18, further comprising:

a secure delivery location configured to receive an item delivered by at least one of the unmanned aerial vehicles.

24. The system of claim 18, wherein the first system is further configured to at least:

determine a delivery estimate for aerial delivery of the item to the destination location; and

provide to the device an indication of the delivery estimate.