IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,050,465
Granted Patent B2
US 12,050,465 · App. 17/408,961 · Granted Jul 30, 2024

Management system, management method, and program

Inventors: Kunihiro Iwamoto (Nagakute, JP); Yuta Itozawa (Nagoya, JP); Hirotaka Komura (Anjo, JP)
Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
G05D1/0088G06Q10/06312G06Q10/06315G06Q10/08G06Q10/30
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,050,465
App. No.
17/408,961
Granted
Jul 30, 2024
Kind
B2
Abstract

A management system, a management method, and a program capable of reducing occurrence of delivery failures by an autonomous mobile robot are provided. The management system is a management system configured to manage a delivery by an autonomous mobile robot that delivers a package to a delivery destination, the management system including: an environment information acquisition unit configured to acquire environment information, which is information regarding an environment that inhibits a delivery by the autonomous mobile robot in the vicinity of the delivery destination; and a delivery determination unit configured to determine whether or not to cause the autonomous mobile robot to deliver the package to the delivery destination based on the environment information.

Claims (32)

1. A management system configured to manage a delivery by an autonomous mobile robot that delivers a package to a delivery destination, the management system comprising:

an environment information acquisition unit configured to acquire environment information, which is information regarding an environment that inhibits a delivery by the autonomous mobile robot in the vicinity of the delivery destination;

a delivery determination unit configured to determine whether or not to cause the autonomous mobile robot to deliver the package to the delivery destination based on the environment information; and

a millimeter wave radar configured to detect a type of ground, and determine whether there is a step on a movement path to the destination;

wherein, upon determination that there is the step on the movement path to the destination, the delivery determination unit determines whether the autonomous mobile robot can travel on the movement path with the step; and

upon determination that the autonomous mobile robot cannot travel on the movement path with the step, the delivery determination unit determines that the delivery should be made by a human rather than the autonomous mobile robot.

2. The management system according to claim 1 , wherein the environment information acquisition unit acquires, as the environment information, information regarding an environment that inhibits movement of the autonomous mobile robot for making a delivery.

3. The management system according to claim 2 , wherein the information regarding the environment that inhibits movement of the autonomous mobile robot for making the delivery is information indicating features of a ground in the vicinity of the delivery destination.

4. The management system according to claim 3 , wherein

the information indicating the features of the ground is information indicating a presence or an absence of waste left on the ground,

the environment information acquisition unit further acquires a collection schedule of the waste from the ground, and

the delivery determination unit determines whether or not to make a delivery of the package to the delivery destination based on the collection schedule and a delivery schedule of the package.

5. The management system according to claim 2 , wherein the information regarding the environment that inhibits movement of the autonomous mobile robot for making the delivery is meteorological information.

6. The management system according to claim 1 , wherein

the delivery destination is a storage container for receiving the package, and

the environment information acquisition unit acquires, as the environment information, information regarding an environment that inhibits storage of the package in the storage container by the autonomous mobile robot.

7. The management system according to claim 6 , wherein the information regarding the environment that inhibits storage of the package in the storage container by the autonomous mobile robot is information indicating the position of the storage container or the capacity of the storage container.

8. The management system according to claim 1 , wherein the delivery determination unit determines whether or not to cause the autonomous mobile robot to deliver the package to the delivery destination based on the ability of the autonomous mobile robot and the environment information.

9. The management system according to claim 1 , wherein

when there is the step on the movement path to the destination and the package has a predetermined property, the delivery determination unit makes a determination that the autonomous mobile robot will not deliver the package.

10. A management method in which an information processing apparatus manages a delivery by an autonomous mobile robot that delivers a package to a delivery destination, the management method comprising:

acquiring environment information, which is information regarding an environment that inhibits a delivery by the autonomous mobile robot in the vicinity of the delivery destination;

determining whether or not to cause the autonomous mobile robot to deliver the package to the delivery destination based on the environment information;

detecting, by a millimeter wave radar, a type of ground and determining whether there is a step on a movement path to the destination;

upon determination that there is the step on the movement path to the destination, determining whether the autonomous mobile robot can travel on the movement path with the step; and

upon determination that the autonomous mobile robot cannot travel on the movement path with the step, determining that the delivery should be made by a human rather than the autonomous mobile robot.

11. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program for causing a computer that manages a delivery by an autonomous mobile robot that delivers a package to a delivery destination to execute the following steps of:

acquiring environment information, which is information regarding an environment that inhibits a delivery by the autonomous mobile robot in the vicinity of the delivery destination;

determining whether or not to cause the autonomous mobile robot to deliver the package to the delivery destination based on the environment information;

detecting, by a millimeter wave radar, a type of ground and determining whether there is a step on a movement path to the destination;

upon determination that there is the step on the movement path to the destination, determining whether the autonomous mobile robot can travel on the movement path with the step; and

upon determination that the autonomous mobile robot cannot travel on the movement path with the step, determining that the delivery should be made by a human rather than the autonomous mobile robot.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 15, 2021
From: IWAMOTO, KUNIHIRO; ITOZAWA, YUTA; KOMURA, HIROTAKA
To: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Reel/Frame 057486/0918 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2020-141499 · Aug 25, 2020 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20220066449A1 · Mar 3, 2022
Cited By (1)
US 12,735,870