US 11,787,541 B2
Safeguarded delivery of goods by unmanned aerial vehicles
Peter Exner, Malmö (SE); Pär Spjuth, Södra Sandby (SE); Anders Isberg, Åkarp (SE); Hannes Bergkvist, Rydebäck (SE); and Shaun Lee, Winchester (GB)
Assigned to Sony Europe B.V., Weybridge (GB); and Sony Group Corporation, Tokyo (JP)
Filed by SONY CORPORATION, Tokyo (JP); and SONY EUROPE B.V., Weybridge (GB)
Filed on Feb. 16, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/176,351.
Claims priority of application No. 2050342-1 (SE), filed on Mar. 27, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2021/0300553 A1, Sep. 30, 2021
Int. Cl. G06Q 10/08 (2023.01); B64C 39/02 (2023.01); G06Q 10/0832 (2023.01); B64U 101/30 (2023.01); B64U 101/60 (2023.01)
CPC B64C 39/024 (2013.01) [G06Q 10/0832 (2013.01); B64U 2101/30 (2023.01); B64U 2101/60 (2023.01); B64U 2201/10 (2023.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of delivering a payload by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) said method comprising:
obtaining a designated location for delivery of the payload;
obtaining at least one payload vulnerability index for the payload;
obtaining a pick-up time indicative of a time point when the payload is expected to be retrieved by a recipient;
selecting a final delivery area at the designated location as a function of the at least one payload vulnerability index and the pick-up time;
operating an imaging device on the UAV to capture at least one image of the final delivery area in accordance with at least one image criterion;
receiving, after selecting the final delivery area, an indication from the recipient of a rejection of the final delivery area,
providing, to the recipient, external control, to the recipient, of a flight controller of the UAV for real time control for operating the UAV by the recipient while providing based on the at least one image for that is displayed display in real time, wherein the external control is provided to the recipient in response to the indication of the rejection of the final delivery area by the recipient; and
operating the UAV by the recipient using the external control of the flight controller to deliver the payload to the final delivery area,
wherein the selecting the final delivery area comprises:
predicting an environmental condition in a set of candidate delivery areas which are located within proximity of the designated location, wherein the environmental condition comprises predicted sunlight exposure in the candidate delivery areas based on shadows cast by structures in ones of the candidate delivery areas; and
selecting the final delivery area among the set of candidate delivery areas based on the environmental condition that was predicted and the at least one payload vulnerability index that comprises temperature sensitivity based on the predicted sunlight exposure.