Systems for autonomous item delivery

Abstract

Methods and systems for autonomous item delivery and/or pick up are provided. IN some aspects, a mothership travels along an item route. One or more autonomous delivery vehicles may be dispatched from the mothership as the mothership progresses along the route. Each of the autonomous delivery vehicles may deliver and/or pick-up one or more items at one or more item locations. In addition, as the mothership progresses along its route, it may also stop to facilitate the manual delivery and/or pick-up of additional items via a human operator. Upon completing their delivery and/or pick up tasks, the autonomous delivery vehicles return to the mothership, either at the point at which they dispatched from the mothership, or at a different location along the item delivery route.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for autonomous item drop off and pick up, comprising:
 a vehicle, comprising:
 a freight bay, 
 an access portal formed in an exterior portion of the vehicle, the access portal providing ingress and/or egress of items between the freight bay and the exterior of the vehicle; and 
 an item storage system located in the freight bay, the item storage system configured to handle items; 
   a user interface on the vehicle configured to allow users to interact with the item storage system.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the user interface is further configured to receive a request for an item retrieval or a request to designate an item drop off. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the item storage system comprises a plurality of storage locations and a robotic arm configured to move items between the plurality of storage locations and the access portal. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the robotic arm is further configured to retrieve an item designated for drop off via the user interface from the access portal and store the item in the plurality of storage locations. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the robotic arm is further configured to retrieve an item requested for pick up via the user interface from the plurality of storage locations and dispense the item via the access portal. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the robotic arm further comprises a picking mechanism configured to lift and move items. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the item storage system further comprises a staging area proximate the access portal, wherein items can be dispensed and retrieved. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the staging area comprises a conveyer system located within the freight bay, configured to move items between the access portal and the interior of the freight bay. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the system further comprises a processor, the processor configured to receive a request for item drop off or pick up. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to send a signal to the item storage system indicating an empty storage location for item drop off. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to send a signal to the item storage system indicating a storage location containing an item requested for pick up. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle. 
     
     
         13 . A method for automatically storing and dispensing items, comprising:
 receiving an item designation, via a processor, from a user interface on a vehicle, wherein the vehicle comprises:
 a freight bay, 
 an access portal formed in the vehicle, the access portal providing ingress and/or egress of items between the freight bay and the exterior of the vehicle; and 
 an item storage system located in the freight bay configured to handle items; and 
   transporting, via the item storage system, an item between the freight bay and the access portal based on the item designation received.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the item designation comprises an item retrieval designation or an item drop off designation. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising moving, via a robotic arm, the item between a plurality of storage locations in the item storage system and the access portal. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein moving the item between the plurality of storage locations and the access portal comprises picking, via a picking mechanism on the robotic arm, the item. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the vehicle further comprises a staging area proximate the access portal where items can be dispensed and retrieved. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the staging area further comprises a conveyer system located within the freight bay, configured to move items between the access portal and the interior of the freight bay. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein transporting between the freight bay and the access portal comprises:
 upon receiving an item retrieval designation, sending a signal to the item storage system, indicating a storage location within the plurality of storage locations that contains an item to be picked up;   retrieving the item designated for retrieval, via the robotic arm, from the indicated storage location; and   dispensing the item via the access portal.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein transporting between the freight bay and the access portal comprises:
 upon receiving an item drop off designation, sending a signal to the item storage system, indicating an empty storage location within the plurality of storage locations;   retrieving the item designated for drop off, via the robotic arm, from the access portal; and   storing the item in the empty storage location.