초록 ▼

Embodiments described herein include a delivery system having unmanned aerial delivery vehicles and a logistics network for control and monitoring. In certain embodiments, a ground station provides a location for interfacing between the delivery vehicles, packages carried by the vehicles and users.

Embodiments described herein include a delivery system having unmanned aerial delivery vehicles and a logistics network for control and monitoring. In certain embodiments, a ground station provides a location for interfacing between the delivery vehicles, packages carried by the vehicles and users. In certain embodiments, the delivery vehicles autonomously navigate from one ground station to another. In certain embodiments, the ground stations provide navigational aids that help the delivery vehicles locate the position of the ground station with increased accuracy.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A delivery system comprising: one or more unmanned delivery vehicles configured for autonomous navigation;a plurality of ground stations configured to communicate with the one or more unmanned delivery vehicles and provide location information to the one or more unmanned delivery vehicles to aid

1. A delivery system comprising: one or more unmanned delivery vehicles configured for autonomous navigation;a plurality of ground stations configured to communicate with the one or more unmanned delivery vehicles and provide location information to the one or more unmanned delivery vehicles to aid in locating a ground station location, wherein each of the plurality of ground stations further comprises a landing location comprising a cavity capable of physically containing a package; anda processor configured to identify a route from a first of the plurality of ground stations to a second of the plurality of ground stations based on geographic data and providing the route to the one or more unmanned delivery vehicles for use in the autonomous navigation from the first to the second ground station. 2. The delivery system of claim 1, wherein the one or more unmanned delivery vehicles are aerial vehicles. 3. The delivery system of claim 2, wherein the aerial vehicles comprise a fixed wing and a rotor. 4. The delivery system of claim 2, wherein the aerial vehicles comprise a payload interface capable of accepting a package for transport on the delivery system. 5. The delivery system of claim 4 wherein the package for transport is a camera configured to couple to the payload interface. 6. The delivery system of claim 4, wherein the aerial vehicles comprise safety measures for protecting the package. 7. The delivery system of claim 6, wherein the safety measures include one or more of a parachute or an airbag. 8. The delivery system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to recognize demand patterns and position the one or more unmanned delivery vehicles in a location to meet the demand pattern. 9. The delivery system of claim 1, wherein the processor authorizes the route for the one or more unmanned delivery vehicles. 10. The delivery system of claim 1, wherein the information provided by the ground stations is a pattern on a landing pad. 11. The delivery system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of batteries for the one or more unmanned delivery vehicles. 12. The delivery system of claim 11, wherein the plurality of ground stations stores and charges the plurality of batteries for the one or more unmanned delivery vehicles. 13. The delivery system of claim 1, wherein the geographic data is a series of waypoints for use with a global navigation satellites system. 14. The delivery system of claim 13, wherein the information provided by the ground station allows the one or more unmanned delivery vehicles to identify the ground station location with greater accuracy than is provided by the waypoints. 15. A ground station for use in a delivery system comprising unmanned aerial vehicles, the ground station comprising: a landing location configured to receive one or more unmanned aerial delivery vehicles wherein the landing location comprises a cavity capable of physically containing a package;a communications interface configured to communicate with the one or more unmanned delivery vehicles and at least one additional ground station; anda guidance measure configured to assist the one or more unmanned delivery vehicles in locating the landing location. 16. The ground station of claim 15, wherein the guidance measure comprises a pattern printed on the landing location. 17. The ground station of claim 15, wherein the guidance measure comprises an ultrawideband beacon. 18. The ground station of claim 15, further comprising a weather monitoring system. 19. The ground station of claim 18, wherein the weather monitoring system is capable of measuring the wind speed. 20. The ground station of claim 15, further comprising a robotic system for changing batteries of the one or more unmanned delivery vehicles. 21. The ground station of claim 15, further comprising a robotic system for changing packages for the one or more unmanned delivery vehicles. 22. The ground station of claim 15, wherein the ground station is portable. 23. The ground station of claim 15 further comprising a solar panel capable of providing power to the ground station. 24. The ground station of claim 15, further comprising a charger capable of charging batteries of the one or more unmanned delivery vehicles. 25. The ground station of claim 15, wherein the system for guiding comprises a series of waypoints for use with a global navigation satellites system. 26. The ground station of claim 25, wherein the system for guiding further comprises a beacon that allows the one or more unmanned delivery vehicles to identify a ground station location with greater accuracy than is provided by the waypoints. 27. The ground station of claim 25, wherein the system for guiding further comprises a pattern printed on the landing location. 28. The ground station of claim 15, wherein the communications interface is further configured to send to and receive data from a logistics system. 29. The ground station of claim 28, wherein the logistics system is located on a cloud server. 30. The ground station of claim 28, wherein the logistics system is configured to send instructions to the ground station to be routed to the one or more unmanned delivery vehicles. 31. A computer system for managing a delivery system of unmanned aerial vehicles comprising: one or more hardware processors in communication with a computer readable medium storing software modules including instructions that are executable by the one or more hardware processors, the software modules including at least: a vehicle routing module that determines a route between a first ground station and a second ground station for an unmanned aerial vehicle, wherein the vehicle routing module includes stored information from a successful flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle while under the control of a pilot;a vehicle tracking module that provides the current location of an unmanned aerial vehicle;a package routing module that determines a delivery path for a package, the delivery path including the first and second plurality of ground stations;a package tracking module providing the current location of the package on the delivery path; anda route authorization module that conditionally authorizes the unmanned aerial vehicle to fly the route between the first and second ground stations to move the package along the delivery path for the package. 32. The computer system of claim 31, wherein the software modules further comprise a weather monitoring module configured to determine appropriate flying conditions between the first and second ground station and communicate with the route authorization module to authorize the flight when the conditions are appropriate. 33. The computer system of claim 31, wherein the route authorization module is configured to refuse to authorize a flight based on a user command.