Autonomous ground vehicle (AGV) cart for item distribution

1. A system for transporting items to destination locations, the system comprising:

an autonomous ground vehicle (AGV) comprising:

at least one shelf;

a shelf elevator operable to raise the at least one shelf and lower the at least one shelf;

a drive unit operable to move the AGV between a docking location and a first destination location;

a navigation module;

a wireless communication module;

and

a controller in communication with the shelf elevator, the drive unit, the navigation module, and the wireless communication module to:

generate a bid for a delivery task, the bid including a time required to deliver an item of the delivery task and estimated power to be used to deliver the item;

transmit the bid;

position the at least one shelf at a first height and a second height different from the first height;

autonomously navigate the AGV between the docking location and the first destination location; and

receive delivery instructions corresponding to the delivery task from an orchestrator.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one shelf comprises a conveyor surface.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the at least one shelf comprises at least one selected from the list consisting of:

a roller brake and a conveyor gate.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one shelf comprises a sorting portion.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the first height corresponds to aligning the at least one shelf with a height of the docking location and wherein the second height corresponds to aligning the at least one shelf with a height of the destination location.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the first height corresponds to aligning a first level of a cartridge unit disposed on the shelf with a height of the docking location and wherein the second height corresponds to aligning a second level of the cartridge unit with the height of the docking location.

7. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a collision avoidance module on the AGV operable to sense pending collisions and instruct an avoidance maneuver.

8. The system of claim 1 further comprising a monitoring module operable to monitor a parameter of the AVG, wherein the monitored AVG parameter comprises at least one selected from the list consisting of:

load status, remaining load capacity, weight, remaining operational capacity, and position.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller is further operable to:

receive a notification of the delivery task; and

in response to receiving the notification, generate the bid for the delivery task.

10. A method of transporting items to destination locations, the method comprising:

docking, by an autonomous ground vehicle (AGV), with a conveyor assembly;

adjusting, on the AGV, a first shelf to a first height for receiving a first item from the conveyor assembly;

receiving, onto the AGV, the first item from the conveyor assembly;

receiving, by the AGV, delivery instructions for the first item;

autonomously navigating, by the AGV, to a first destination location;

adjusting, on the AGV, the first shelf to a second height for unloading the first item at the first destination location;

receiving, by the AGV, a notification of a delivery task for a second item;

generating a bid for the delivery task, the bid including a time required to deliver the second item and estimated power to be used to deliver the second item;

transmitting the bid; and

receiving instructions for the delivery task.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein adjusting the first shelf to the first height comprises aligning a conveyor surface of the AGV with a conveyor surface of the conveyor assembly to form a contiguous conveyor surface.

12. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

adjusting, on the AGV, a second shelf to the first height for receiving a third item from the conveyor assembly.

13. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

adjusting, on the AGV, the first shelf to a third height for receiving a third item from the conveyor assembly;

wherein adjusting the first shelf to the first height comprises aligning a first level, of a cartridge unit disposed on the first shelf, with a conveyor surface of the conveyor assembly; and

wherein adjusting the first shelf to the third height comprises aligning a second level of the cartridge unit with the conveyor surface of the conveyor assembly.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein:

receiving the notification of the delivery task comprises wirelessly receiving the notification of the delivery task; and

transmitting the bid comprises wirelessly transmitting the bid.

15. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

after receiving the first item from the conveyor assembly, actuating, on the AGV, at least one selected from the list consisting of:

a roller brake and a conveyor gate.

16. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

sensing, by the AGV, a pending collision; and

performing, by the AGV, a collision avoidance maneuver.

17. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

monitoring at least one parameter of the AGV;

wherein generating the bid for the delivery task comprises, based at least on the at least one parameter of the AGV, generating the bid for the delivery task; and

wherein the at least one parameter of the AGV comprises at least one selected from the list consisting of:

load status, remaining load capacity, weight, remaining operational capacity, and position.

18. One or more computer storage devices having computer-executable instructions stored thereon for transporting items to destination locations, which, on execution by a computer, cause the computer to perform operations comprising:

docking, by an autonomous ground vehicle (AGV), with a conveyor assembly;

adjusting, on the AGV, a first shelf to a first height for receiving a first item from the conveyor assembly;

receiving, onto the AGV, the first item from the conveyor assembly;

after receiving the first item from the conveyor assembly, actuating, on the AGV, at least one selected from the list consisting of:

a roller brake and a conveyor gate;

receiving, by the AGV, delivery instructions for the first item;

autonomously navigating, by the AGV, to a first destination location;

sensing, by the AGV, a pending collision;

performing, by the AGV, a collision avoidance maneuver;

adjusting, on the AGV, the first shelf to a second height for unloading the first item at the first destination location;

wirelessly receiving, by the AGV, a notification of a delivery task for a second item;

monitoring at least one parameter of the AGV selected from the list consisting of:

load status, remaining load capacity, weight, remaining operational capacity, and position;

based at least on the at least one parameter of the AGV, generating a bid for the delivery task, the bid including a time required to deliver the second item and estimated power to be used to deliver the second item;

wirelessly transmitting the bid; and

receiving instructions for the delivery task.

19. The one or more computer storage devices of claim 18 wherein the operations further comprise:

adjusting, on the AGV, a second shelf to the first height for receiving a third item from the conveyor assembly.

20. The one or more computer storage devices of claim 18 wherein the operations further comprise:

adjusting, on the AGV, the first shelf to a third height for receiving a third item from the conveyor assembly;

wherein adjusting the first shelf to the first height comprises aligning a first level, of a cartridge unit disposed on the first shelf, with a conveyor surface of the conveyor assembly; and

wherein adjusting the first shelf to the third height comprises aligning a second level of the cartridge unit with the conveyor surface of the conveyor assembly.