Patent ID: 11879745
Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC G  B  H | IPC B  G  H

Claim 13:
14. A system comprising:
a smartphone; and
a unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or a terrestrial robot wirelessly connected to the smartphone, the UAV or the terrestrial robot comprising:
a memory that stores computer-executable instructions; and
a processor configured to access the memory and execute the computer-executable instructions to at least:
receive, by the processor, a summoning command from the smartphone, the summoning command indicating that the UAV or the terrestrial robot should traverse to an intermediate location within an area to meet the individual, wherein the individual arrived at the intermediate location by exiting a mode of transportation, and wherein the intermediate location is a starting point of a final leg of a journey of the individual;
traverse to the intermediate location in response to the summoning command;
evaluate one or more characteristics of the item that is to be transported over the area during the final leg of the journey of the individual, wherein the one or more characteristics comprise a weight and a size of the item;
determine that the item is a heavy package; and
execute the pre-emptive action to either: a) select the UAV or the terrestrial robot from a plurality of UAVs and a plurality of terrestrial robots because the UAV or the terrestrial robot is particularly configured for the heavy package and the other of the plurality of UAVs and the plurality of the terrestrial robots are not configured for the heavy package because the weight of the heavy package is too heavy, or b) decline to use the UAV or the terrestrial robot because the weight of the heavy package is too heavy for the UAV or the terrestrial robot; and
if execute the pre-emptive action is a):
provide travel assistance in response to the summoning command, the travel assistance comprising guidance instructions for the individual to reach a destination, transportation of the heavy package through the area to the destination, and accompanying the individual through the area from the intermediate location to the destination.