Patent ID: 11868145
Assignee: AMAZON TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Field: Control (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G  B | IPC B  G

Claim 0:
1. A system comprising:
at least one aerial vehicle;
a server connected to a network, wherein the server is in communication with the at least one aerial vehicle,
wherein the server is programmed with one or more instructions that, when executed, cause the server to at least:
identify a geographic map of a region, wherein the geographic map includes a plurality of geospatial areas within the region;
identify population data for at least some of the geospatial areas of the region;
apply a first grid having a plurality of cells to the geographic map, wherein each of the plurality of cells has a common size;
determine population densities for at least some of the plurality of cells based at least in part on the population data;
calculate a reliability score for the at least some of the plurality of cells based at least in part on the population densities;
generate a reliability map comprising the reliability scores for the at least some of the plurality of cells;
identify information regarding a mission requiring travel by an aerial vehicle from a first location within the region to a second location within the region;
identify a first cell within the geographic map, wherein the first location is within a first zone of the region corresponding to the first cell;
identify a second cell within the geographic map, wherein the second location is within a second zone of the region corresponding to the second cell;
calculate, for individual ones of the plurality of cells, a first cost of travel from the first cell to the individual ones of the plurality of cells and a second cost of travel from the individual ones of the plurality of cells to the second cell based at least in part on the reliability scores of the at least some of the plurality of cells,
wherein the first cost is a measure of a sum of:
a distance from the first cell to the individual ones of the plurality of cells;
a population density of the individual ones of the plurality of cells; and
a sum of population densities of a predetermined number of population densities of cells adjacent the individual ones of the plurality of cells divided by the predetermined number, and

wherein the second cost is a measure of a distance from the individual ones of the plurality of cells to the second cell;

generate a route from the first zone to the second zone based at least in part on the reliability map and sums of the first cost and the second cost of the individual ones of the plurality of cells, wherein the route comprises at least a first path and a second path, wherein the first path extends between a centroid of the first cell and a centroid of a third cell, wherein the second path extends between the centroid of the third cell and a centroid of the second cell, and wherein the third cell is one of the plurality of cells; and
program the aerial vehicle with at least one set of instructions to travel from the first zone to the second zone via the route in performing the mission.