Beginning at NYU in Jan 2013 within the context of a Patents Translation course delivered online, this blog seeks to uncover the patents that rock our daily lives....
Showing posts with label Starship robots. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Starship robots. Show all posts
One of the
main advantages of using delivery robots, to solve the last mile logistics of transporting goods, is
that robots can operate 24/7 without mandatory resting periods, or extra pay. Last mile robotic deliveries thus already appeared as quite an atractive solution, considering the surge of ecommerce and online deliveries, even before the pandemic, a forciori during the
pandemic, and the gradual re-opening of economies.
However, for
robots to moonlight (pun intended) at
no extra costs, they also have to be able to navigate in low-light conditions.
Easier said, than done. How does a
camera sensor capture the image of an objet that is no longer visible?
How can terrain be mapped accurately and efficiently at night? The StarshipTechnologies patent WO2019086465A1, titled Visual localization and
mapping in low light conditions, precisely adresses this issue.
The patent discloses a SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping)
method where the robot can estimate its own position on a map, while simultaneously
creating the map, enabling it to continue its route autonomously. The method
relies on data collected by a wide variety of sensors, such as GPS, Lidar,
gyroscope,cameras, odometer, accelerometer and magnetometer. At
sundown, when the sun is astronomically positioned between 0 and 6 degrees below the
horizon, a twilight map is created. The twighlight map has the advantage of
having both daytime features (e.g. ; straight lines) and night time
features (e.g.,urban lights) features. Thus,
the twilight map, in fact, bridges the visibility gap by mapping the position
of nighttime features onto a daytime model. In turn, position relative to visibility
is triangulated with data incoming from other sensors, and mapping is adjusted
accordingly. Otherwise captured images might also be downsized to bring blurry or
jagged lines into sharper focus, during mapping. Likewise roads and buildings might be tagged
relative to daytime and night time features to facilitate localization.
The abstract of the invention is included below, together with the patent
Figure 4 showing a twighlight map with night time visual features (e.g., urban lights)
2T, and day time visual features (e.g., lines) T1, extracted during twighlight time, when the sun
was positionned astronomically between 3 and 8 degrees below the horizon.
The present invention relates to a method comprising generating a map comprising day-time features and night-time features, wherein the position of night-time features relative to the day-time features is determined by at least one image captured during twilight. The present invention also relates to a corresponding processing unit configured to execute such a method. [Abstract WO2019086465A1]
Most of the time, all goes well. The 99% autonomous Starship robots fullfill their missions, delivering goods at extended hours, seven days a week, to happy customers. For example, according to the Youtube video incuded below, Starship Robots fulfilled 2500 deliveries during their first week of operation at the Univesrity of Houston, TX, in 2019. However, on occasion the robots get stuck. The following Youtube video shows how a Starship robot was rescued by a University of Houston student, in the middle of the night. Equipped with voiced interaction routines, the Starship robot even gratefully thanked the student, after being rescued.
The Mercedez-Benzrobovan has been called the Starship
robotmothership(Vincent, 2016). An adapted Mercedez-Benz
Sprinter van, the Mercedez-Benzrobovan ferries eight Starship robots for 99%
autonomous parcel delivery, directly to clients, on an algorithm-optimized
route. Eight Starship robots enter the van from the rear, using a ramp, and
exit the van from the side, also using a ramp. The Starship robots deliver goods
within a 2-mile radius. The goods, stored in robovan bins above the robots, are
manually loaded into the robot’s payload compartment. After delivery of the
goods, directly to customers, the Starship robots return back autonomously to
the mothership, where they can dock to recharge, and be refilled with a new
payload. The robovan mothership, together with its fleet of eight Starship
robots, makes an estimated 400 deliveries per 9-hour day, which solves the
last-mile logistics of delivering goods, efficiently and cost-effectively (Burgess, 2017). Especially in response to the surge in demand for online and contactless
deliveries, during and post, pandemic.
The YouTube video
below shows the Mercedez-Benzrobovan, together with the Starship delivery robots.
The robovan mothership
invention is recited in a family of three patents.
The patents reciting
the Starship mothership vehicle invention are surprisingly wider in scope
than the Mercedez-Benzrobovan embodiment. Looking at the British patent, for example,
the definition of the term “vehicle” is extended to:
Likewise, the definition of the term “delivery robot” has a
much wider definition, understood in particular to mean:
a self-driving delivery robot, a self-flying delivery robot (drone), a self-controlling floating vehicle, etc..” [0007]
Otherwise, the delivery
robots are described as autonomous vehicles, able to charge or refuel autonomously inside
the mothership hold. The robots are also described as preferably fully autonomous.
Thus, the robots are equipped with navigation and positioning means, as well as
a robot-guidance system, a 2D/3D guidance route, and sensors to collect
recordings of the environment, for evaluation in regards to existing obstacles. Equipment
ultimately designed to enable the delivery robots to locate a customer’s
address and to return to the mothership, without the assistance of a human
operator.
The mothership vehicle
is equipped with automated mechanical clamping means to secure the robots in
place within the vehicle’s hold. Such automated mechanical clamping means are
also described as partially inflatable, in order to accommodate different design
contours or angles of the individual delivery robots, loaded into the vehicle
hold.
Communication between the vehicle and the robots is Bluetooth® enabled. For example, communication to monitor loading and unloading of the robots, to transmit the recipients’
delivery addresses to the robots and instructions for remitting the payloads to the
recipients, to launch automated routines, as well to transmit information to a communication
center and/or to the vehicle driver, for monitoring and oversing the condition and
activity of both the mothership and the robots.
The mothership vehicle is also equipped with accumulators, able to interface with each individual delivery robot, for the purposes of charging or refueling, particularly during vehicle travel. Advantageously, charging might be designed contactless via induction. In any event, charging occurs without human intervention.
To optimize the vehicle’s automated handling of the delivery robots, the cargo hold is also equipped with sensors, able to communicate information in regards to the number of robots in the hold and their position. Likewise, the vehicle is also equipped with means to record and perform the loading and unloading of the robots into the vehicle hold, whether loading and unloading invoke ramps, platforms, and/or a docking interface.
The British patent abstract of the Starship vehicle invention is included below, together with the patent Figure drawings 1a & 1b of the mothership vehicle, loaded with delivery robots. In Figure 1a, the vehicle (1) is further depicted with a non-inflated fixing device (12) for securing the robots (50) in the hold (10). In Figure 1b the fixing device (12) is shown inflated, and actively securing the delivery robots in place, in the cargo hold (10).
The
invention relates to a vehicle (1) for accommodating a number n ≤ N of delivery
robots (50) in a cargo compartment (10) of the vehicle (1), where N is the
maximum number of delivery robots (50) which can be accommodated in the cargo
compartment (10) and n is the number of delivery robots (50) currently in the
cargo compartment (10). The vehicle (1) has the following: - a fixing device
(12) for the automatic individual fixing of N delivery robots (50) in the cargo
compartment (10), - a communication interface (14) for communication between
the vehicle (1) and the n delivery robots (50), and - a number N of charging
interfaces (16) for the individual automatic charging of energy stores of the n
delivery robots (50) in the cargo compartment (10) [Abstract GB2573382A].
____________________
Notes
(1) A Patent Cooperation Treaty [PCT], United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization [WIPO] patent, filed in German, by StarshipTechnologies. (2) A British patent, filed in English, byStarship Technologies (3) AGerman patent, filed in German, byDaimler AG
Brought to
you by the Finnish founders and designers of SKYPE, Starship robots are small 99%
autonomous vehicle robots, able to operate within a 4-mile radius. These
elegant little robots, equipped with sophisticated obstacle-avoidance
technology, Lidar sensors, cameras and voiced interaction capacity, roll around
sidewalks on 6 wheels, at pedestrian speed. They are 99% autonomous because
their routes are always monitored by human remote operators, just in case
something went wrong.
Starship robots deliver goods, food and packages, usually in less than 15 minutes, directly to ordering customers in those areas where vendors have contracted the fleets. This way, for example, at a corporate campus, no one wastes time waiting in line, or having to go to a restaurant. The robot meets the customer, upon demand, at a pinned location to deliver orders, sending notifications of estimated arrival time and arrival, via the Starship app, which also handles orders, payments, route tracking, and unlocking of the robot to access the payload. Alternatively, Starship robots also offer a sustainable ecommerce delivery option that decongests roads, where too many delivery vehicles are circulating to meet the ever increasing demands of online customers. In other words, in solving the “last mile” logistics of moving goods efficiently, and cost-effectively, the little electric vehicle robots also do their part to reduce global warming.
The YouTube video below shows an example of a Starship robot delivery.
Prepandemic,
the Starship fleet of 150 robots had driven more than 9000 miles, in 53 cities,
in 16 countries, where they met with more than 1.2 million people. In the US,
Starship also partnered with DoorDash, specialists in delivery services.
During
the pandemic, the demand for delivery robots such as the Starship robots skyrocketed,
according to Forbes.com contributor, Bernard Marr, on May 29, 2020. Social distancing orders and the lockdown were
the primary reasons for the exponential increase in demand, since the driverless
robots (which never get sick) can deliver contactless service (e.g.; groceries,
take-out food, prescriptions, or small parcels etc.) directly to clients, sheltering-at-home.
Considering the convenience, Marr even predicted that Starship robots, and other
similar delivery robots, would be here to stay as part of the new-normal post-pandemic. Likewise, The
New York Times correspondent Cade Metz and business journalist Erin Griffith,
reached the same conclusions, when they stated: “The sudden usefulness
of the robots to people staying in their homes is a tantalizing hint of what
the machines could one day accomplish — at least under ideal conditions.“ The only caveat will be obtaining municipal
clearance for the increased number of vehicle robots circulating everywhere on
sidewalks and streets.
All aspects the Starship robots and delivery
system are patented. From insulation capacity of the payload container, to
therobotics of obstacle avoidance, edge
finding and navigation in low-light conditions, including systems and methods
of freight delivery and distribution.Approximately
100 patents have been granted to cover all the inventive aspects and components
of the Starship Robots.
The
following is an exemplary and non-exhaustive list of the Starship patents, including
World Intellectual Property Oganisation (WO- Patent Cooperation Treaty) patents,
United States (US) utility patents, Canadian (CA) patents, British (GB) patents and European (EP - European Patent Convention) patents:
US10005609B1 Device
and system for insulating items during delivery by a mobile robot
