Repurposing autonomous vehicles for package delivery

1. A system comprising:

a plurality of autonomous vehicles;

a plurality of autonomous delivery structures configured to store a plurality of packages; and

a central server configured to:

receive requests for package transportation from a selected autonomous vehicle in the plurality of autonomous vehicles,

identify a set of nearby packages, the nearby packages stored within a selected autonomous delivery structure in the plurality of autonomous delivery structures,

transmit routing instructions to the selected autonomous vehicle, the routing instructions causing the selected autonomous vehicle to navigate to the selected autonomous delivery structure,

instruct the selected autonomous delivery structure to deposit a selected package in the nearby packages into the autonomous vehicle upon detecting the presence of the selected autonomous vehicle,

calculate a waypoint for delivery of the selected package, and

transmit transport routing instructions to the selected autonomous vehicle, the transport routing instructions causing the selected autonomous vehicle to navigate to the waypoint.

2. The system of claim 1 , the autonomous vehicles equipped with a bomb-proof and chemical-proof receptacle.

3. The system of claim 1 , the autonomous delivery structure comprising a pickup device located near a roadway.

4. The system of claim 1 , the autonomous delivery structure comprising a centralized delivery location.

5. The system of claim 1 , the autonomous delivery structure comprising an x-ray device, an explosion detection device, and a chemical detection device.

6. The system of claim 1 , the central server further configured to identify a set of nearby packages based on a maximum distance or maximum time deviation from an existing route of the autonomous vehicle.

7. The system of claim 1 , the autonomous delivery structure configured to open a receptacle of the autonomous vehicle prior to depositing the selected package.

8. The system of claim 1 , the central server further configured to calculate a waypoint by calculating a predicted delay of the waypoint and discarding the waypoint when the predicted delay exceeds a predetermined threshold.

9. The system of claim 1 , the central server further configured to calculate a waypoint by calculating a plurality of routes between a start point and a destination of the selected package, and selecting an optimal path, the optimal path including the waypoint.

10. The system of claim 1 , the central server further configured to coordinate a delivery of the selected package at the waypoint and identify a secondary autonomous vehicle to pick up the package at the waypoint.

11. A device comprising:

a processor; and

a storage medium for tangibly storing thereon program logic for execution by the processor, the stored program logic comprising:

logic to receive requests for package transportation from a selected autonomous vehicle in a plurality of autonomous vehicles,

logic to identify a set of nearby packages, the nearby packages stored within a selected autonomous delivery structure in a plurality of autonomous delivery structures,

logic to transmit routing instructions to the selected autonomous vehicle, the routing instructions causing the selected autonomous vehicle to navigate to the selected autonomous delivery structure,

logic to instruct the selected autonomous delivery structure to deposit a selected package in the nearby packages into the autonomous vehicle upon detecting the presence of the selected autonomous vehicle,

logic to calculate a waypoint for delivery of the selected package, and

logic to transmit transport routing instructions to the selected autonomous vehicle, the transport routing instructions causing the selected autonomous vehicle to navigate to the waypoint.

12. The device of claim 11 , the logic further including logic to identify a set of nearby packages based on a maximum distance or maximum time deviation from an existing route of the autonomous vehicle.

13. The device of claim 11 , the logic further including logic to calculate a waypoint by calculating a predicted delay of the waypoint and discarding the waypoint when the predicted delay exceeds a predetermined threshold.

14. The device of claim 11 , the logic further including logic to calculate a waypoint by calculating a plurality of routes between a start point and a destination of the selected package, and selecting an optimal path, the optimal path including the waypoint.

15. The device of claim 11 , the logic further including logic to coordinate a delivery of the selected package at the waypoint and identify a secondary autonomous vehicle to pick up the package at the waypoint.

16. A method comprising:

receiving requests for package transportation from a selected autonomous vehicle in a plurality of autonomous vehicles;

identifying a set of nearby packages, the nearby packages stored within a selected autonomous delivery structure in a plurality of autonomous delivery structures;

transmitting routing instructions to the selected autonomous vehicle, the routing instructions causing the selected autonomous vehicle to navigate to the selected autonomous delivery structure;

instructing the selected autonomous delivery structure to deposit a selected package in the nearby packages into the autonomous vehicle upon detecting the presence of the selected autonomous vehicle;

calculating a waypoint for delivery of the selected package; and

transmitting transport routing instructions to the selected autonomous vehicle, the transport routing instructions causing the selected autonomous vehicle to navigate to the waypoint.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising identifying a set of nearby packages based on a maximum distance or maximum time deviation from an existing route of the autonomous vehicle.

18. The method of claim 16 , further comprising calculating a waypoint by calculating a predicted delay of the waypoint and discarding the waypoint when the predicted delay exceeds a predetermined threshold.

19. The method of claim 16 , further comprising calculating a waypoint by calculating a plurality of routes between a start point and a destination of the selected package, and selecting an optimal path, the optimal path including the waypoint.

20. The method of claim 16 , further comprising coordinating a delivery of the selected package at the waypoint and identify a secondary autonomous vehicle to pick up the package at the waypoint.