Patent Publication Number: US-2023147126-A1

Title: Transportation management system, transportation management method, and program

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese patent application No. 2021-182094, filed on Nov. 8, 2021, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates to a transportation management system, a transportation management method, and a program. 
     Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2019-128801 discloses a transportation management technique for performing transportation of a package using a compact transportation vehicle such as a transportation robot and a large-sized transportation vehicle that can accommodate the compact vehicle. 
     SUMMARY 
     In generating an operation plan including a transportation route of a first transportation vehicle and a transportation route of a second transportation vehicle capable of accommodating the first transportation vehicle, it is desired to generate an operation plan in which the operation efficiencies of the first transportation vehicle and the second transportation vehicle are improved. 
     The present disclosure has been made to solve the problem mentioned above and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a transportation management system, a transportation management method, and a program each adapted to improve operational efficiency of an operation plan including a transportation route of a first transportation vehicle and a transportation route of a second transportation vehicle capable of accommodating the first transportation vehicle. 
     A transportation management system according to an embodiment is a transportation management system for managing transportation of a package by a plurality of first transportation vehicles and a second transportation vehicle capable of accommodating the plurality of the first transportation vehicles, the transportation management system including 
     a generation unit configured to generate an operation plan including a transportation route of each of the plurality of the first transportation vehicles and a transportation route of the second transportation vehicle, in which 
     the generation unit generates the operation plan for the case where passing of the package between the plurality of the first transportation vehicles inside the second transportation vehicle is permitted. 
     A transportation management method according to an embodiment is a transportation management method of managing transportation of a package by a plurality of first transportation vehicles and a second transportation vehicle capable of accommodating the plurality of the first transportation vehicles, the transportation management method including: 
     a generation step in which a computer generates an operation plan including a transportation route of each of the plurality of the first transportation vehicles and a transportation route of the second transportation vehicle, in which 
     in the generation step, the operation plan is generated for the case where passing of the package between the plurality of the first transportation vehicles inside the second transportation vehicle is permitted. 
     A program according to an embodiment is a program for causing a computer to execute a transportation management method of managing transportation of a package by a plurality of first transportation vehicles and a second transportation vehicle capable of accommodating the plurality of the first transportation vehicles, the transportation management method including 
     a generation step of generating an operation plan including a transportation route of each of the plurality of the first transportation vehicles and a transportation route of the second transportation vehicle, in which 
     in the generation step, the operation plan is generated for the case where passing of the package between the plurality of the first transportation vehicles inside the second transportation vehicle is permitted. 
     According to the present disclosure, a transportation management system, a transportation management method, and a program each adapted to improve operational efficiency of an operation plan including a transportation route of a first transportation vehicle and a transportation route of a second transportation vehicle capable of accommodating the first transportation vehicle can be provided. 
     The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not to be considered as limiting the present disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a schematic configuration diagram showing a configuration of a transportation management system according to a first embodiment; 
         FIG.  2    is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first transportation vehicle according to the first embodiment; 
         FIG.  3    is a block diagram showing a configuration of a server according to the first embodiment; and 
         FIG.  4    is a schematic diagram showing an example of an operation plan generated in the transportation management method according to the first embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     First Embodiment 
     Hereinbelow, the present disclosure will be described through embodiments, but the embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure according to the claims. Further, not all of the components/structures described in the embodiments are necessarily indispensable for solving the problem. 
     Hereinbelow, a transportation management system according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.  FIG.  1    is a schematic diagram showing an overview of a transportation management system  1000  according to the first embodiment. The transportation management system  1000  includes a plurality of transportation vehicles  100 , a plurality of transportation vehicles  200 , and a server  300 . The transportation vehicle  100  is also referred to as a first transportation vehicle and the transportation vehicle  200  is also referred to as a second transportation vehicle. The number of the transportation vehicle  200  may be one. The transportation management system  1000  is a system for managing transportation of a package by the plurality of the transportation vehicles  100  and the transportation vehicle  200  capable of accommodating the plurality of the transportation vehicles  100 . 
     The function of the server  300 , which will be described later, may be provided in the transportation vehicles  100  and the transportation vehicle  200 . Therefore, a system which does not include the server  300  may also be included in the transportation management system  1000  according to the first embodiment. 
     The transportation vehicle  100  is a transportation vehicle smaller in size than the transportation vehicle  200 , which will be described later. As described above, the transportation vehicle  100  may be a transportation robot or a compact automobile. The transportation vehicle  100  can be accommodated in the below-described transportation vehicle  200 . For example, when the transportation vehicle  200  has a function of a bus for transporting humans, the transportation vehicle  100  gets into the transportation vehicle  200  from the entrance and exit used by humans or the entrance and exit dedicated to vehicles. Further, the transportation vehicle  100  may get into the cargo bed of the transportation vehicle  200 . The transportation vehicle  100  performs transportation work at a place which the transportation vehicle  200  cannot enter (e.g. in an area around a house). 
       FIG.  2    is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the transportation vehicle  100 . The transportation vehicle  100  includes a communication unit  110 , a sensor  120 , a traveling control unit  130 , an accommodation unit  140 , and a drive arm  150 . 
     The communication unit  110  is a communication interface. The transportation vehicle  100  receives, via the communication unit  110 , an operation plan from the server  300 , which will be described later. Further, the transportation vehicle  100  sends, via the communication unit  110 , the location information of the transportation vehicle  100  to the serer  300 . When delivery of a package has been completed, the transportation vehicle  100  may be further send a notification to the server  300  to the effect that delivery of the package has been completed. 
     The sensor  120  collects environmental data of the area surrounding the transportation vehicle  100  and outputs the collected environmental data to the traveling control unit  130 . The sensor  120  may be, for example, a camera, a radar, LIDAR, or the like. Using the environmental data collected by the sensor  120 , the traveling control unit  130  causes the transportation vehicle  100  to move autonomously in accordance with the operation plan. The transportation vehicle  100  acquires its own location through GPS (Global Positioning System), the sensor  120 , or the like. 
     The accommodation unit  140  has a function of accommodating a package. The accommodation unit  140  may be configured to be able to accommodate a plurality of packages, and a specific example of such a configuration is a shelf. In the case where the accommodation unit  140  is a shelf, the packages may be boxes. In such a case, the server  300 , which will be described later, may manage which part of the shelf is occupied or not. Further, the accommodation unit  140  may be provided with a locking mechanism. In such a case, the transportation vehicle  100  executes control to release the locking mechanism of the accommodation unit  140  at the timing of arrival at the delivery destination or at the timing of passing of a package between the transportation vehicle  100  and another transportation vehicle  100 . 
     The drive arm  150  receives a package from the delivery origin and accommodates the received package in the accommodation unit  140 . Further, the drive arm  150  takes out the package from the accommodation unit  140  and stores the package in a postbox or the like at the delivery destination. The drive arm  150  is used for passing packages between the transportation vehicle  100  and another transportation vehicle  100 . For example, the drive arm  150  of the transportation vehicle  100  takes out a package from the accommodation unit  140  of another transportation vehicle  100  and stores it in the accommodation unit  140  of the transportation vehicle  100 . Further, for example, the drive arm  150  may take out a package from a package collecting spot located inside the transportation vehicle  200  and store the package it took out into the accommodation unit  140 . 
     Referring again to  FIG.  1   , the transportation vehicle  100  moves autonomously in accordance with the operation plan generated by the server  300 , which will be described later. The transportation vehicle  100  travels to a designated location and then gets into the transportation vehicle  200 . Then, the transportation vehicle  100  is conveyed together with the package by the transportation vehicle  200 . The transportation vehicle  100  then gets out of the transportation vehicle  200  at the designated location and transports the package to the delivery destination. 
     In the operation plan, passing of a package between the plurality of the transportation vehicles  100  inside the transportation vehicle  200  is permitted. The plurality of the transportation vehicles  100  may directly pass the package or pass the package via a package collecting place (e.g. a shelf). Specifically, one of the transportation vehicles  100  having a plurality of packages may pass a portion of the plurality of packages to another transportation vehicle  100 . The transportation vehicle  100  that has received the package gets out of the transportation vehicle  200  in accordance with the operation plan and transports the package to the delivery destination. Note that a crew member of the transportation vehicle  200  may move the package between the plurality of the transportation vehicles  100  in accordance with the operation plan. 
     The transportation vehicle  200  is a large-sized transportation vehicle larger than the transportation vehicle  100 . The transportation vehicle  200  is capable of accommodating the plurality of the transportation vehicles  100 . The transportation vehicle  200  may be capable of accommodating more than two transportation vehicles  100 . The transportation vehicle  200  may be an unmanned self-driving vehicle called an Electric Vehicle (EV) pallet. Note that a crew member may get in the transportation vehicle  200 . The crew member may confirm the operation plan based on the display shown on a display disposed inside the transportation vehicle  200 . 
     The transportation vehicle  200  can travel at a speed faster than that of the transportation vehicle  100 . For example, the transportation vehicle  200  may travel on the roadway and the transportation vehicle  100  may travel on the sidewalk. Note that the transportation vehicle  200  may be an autonomously moving vehicle or a vehicle that is driven or assisted by a human driver. 
     As described above, the transportation vehicle  200  may be provided with a function of a bus intended to transport humans. In such a case, the inside of the transportation vehicle  200  may serve as a shared space for the transportation robots and humans. The transportation vehicle  200  that is a transportation robot may use the same entrance and exit as those used by humans or may use the entrance and exit dedicated to vehicles. 
     The transportation vehicle  200  receives an operation plan from the server  300 , which will be described later, and moves in accordance with the operation plan. The transportation vehicle  200  may move autonomously in accordance with the operation plan. Further, the driver may make the transportation vehicle  200  to travel along the transportation route included in the operation plan. Then the transportation vehicle  200  sends the location information of the transportation vehicle  200  to the server  300 . 
     The server  300  is a computer with a memory, a processor, and so on. The server  300  manages the location information of each of the plurality of the transportation vehicles  100  and the location information of the transportation vehicle  200 . Further, the server  300  generates a delivery plan of a package based on the location information of each of the plurality of the transportation vehicles  100  and the location information of the transportation vehicle  200 . The delivery plan is also referred to as the operation plan and includes the transportation route of each of the plurality of the transportation vehicles  100  and the transportation route of the transportation vehicle  200 . 
     Next, the server  300  will be described in detail with reference to  FIG.  3   . The server  300  includes a communication unit  310 , a storage unit  320 , and a generation unit  330 . The communication unit  310  is a communication interface and the server  300  performs communication with the transportation vehicle  100  and the transportation vehicle  200  via the communication unit  310 . 
     The storage unit  320  is a storage apparatus such as a hard disk, a flash memory, or the like. Further, the storage unit  320  may include a volatile storage apparatus such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) that is a storage area for temporarily holding information. 
     The storage unit  320  stores package information  321 , map information  322 , and management information  323 . The package information  321  includes delivery origin information and delivery destination information of each of the plurality of the packages. The package information  321  may further include the degree of relative priority (hereinbelow referred to as the priority levels) of the packages. 
     The map information  322  is map data including the delivery area and is used when the generation unit  330 , which will be described later, generates the operation plan. The map information  322  may be, for example, data of a road map in which nodes representing intersections or the like and links representing pathways are numbered. Alternatively, the map information  322  may be an environment map representing the areas such as buildings that may be obstructions. 
     The management information  323  includes location information of each of the plurality of the transportation vehicles  100  and the location information of the transportation vehicle  200 . The location information may be, for example, GPS location information. Further, the management information  323  may further include first status information indicating whether or not each of the plurality of vehicles  100  is delivering a package and second status information indicating the availability status of the accommodation unit  140 . A transportation vehicle  100  which is not currently delivering any package and a transportation vehicle  100  whose accommodation unit  140  is available can receive a package from another transportation vehicle  100  and perform delivery work. The information about the availability of the accommodation unit  140  may be information about weight and volume. 
     The generation unit  330  generates an operation plan for the transportation vehicle  100  and the transportation vehicle  200  based on the package information  321 , the map information  322 , and the management information  323 . The operation plan includes the transportation route of each of the plurality of the transportation vehicles  100  and the transportation route of the transportation vehicle  200 . Further, the operation plan includes instructions to pass a package between the plurality of the transportation vehicles  100 . 
     The generation unit  330  generates the operation plan for the case where passing of the package between the plurality of the transportation vehicles  100  inside the transportation vehicle  200  is permitted. In such a case, since a plurality of transportation vehicles  100  can work together to transport packages, the server  300  can improve the operation efficiency of the operation plan. 
     The generation unit  330  may generate an operation plan for the case where passing of the package is performed and an operation plan for the case where passing of the package is not performed and adopt the operation plan which is the most efficient (for example, an operation plan in which the transportation time is the shortest one). In the case where passing of the package is performed, for example, the transportation vehicle  100  that performs passing of the package may be selected based on the location information and then the locations where the selected transportation vehicle  100  gets into and gets out of the transportation vehicle  200  are determined, thereby generating the operation plan. In generating the operation plan, any known algorithm can be employed. 
     The generation unit  330  sends the generated operation plan to the transportation vehicle  100  and the transportation vehicle  200 . The transportation vehicle  100  and the transportation vehicle  200  move autonomously in accordance with the operation plan and deliver the package to the delivery destination. Note that as described above, the driver may make the transportation vehicle  200  to travel along the transportation route. 
     The generation unit  330  may generate the operation plan based on the first status information, the second status information, and the priority levels of the package. When the priority levels of the package is low, the generation unit  330 , for example, generates an operation plan using only the location information of the transportation vehicle  100  that is currently not performing any delivery work. When the priority levels of the package is high, the generation unit  330  generates an operation plan taking into account the location information of the transportation vehicle  100  whose accommodation unit  140  is available among the transportation vehicles  100  that are currently performing delivery work. 
     The generation unit  330  may update the operation plan as needed in accordance with the update of the management information  323 . By this configuration, it is possible to efficiently transport a package using a transportation vehicle  100  which has finished its transportation work or a transportation vehicle  100  which has moved to the vicinity of the transportation vehicle  200 . For example, the generation unit  330  may change the operation plan in the case where the operation efficiency of the newly generated operation plan is higher than the operation efficiency of the originally generated operation plan. The generation unit  330  may change the operation plan if the delivery time can be shortened for the package with high priority levels. 
     Next, a specific example of the operation plan generated by the server  300  will be described with reference to  FIG.  4   .  FIG.  4    shows an operation plan in which a package a is delivered to a delivery destination A and a package b is delivered to a delivery destination B. The transportation vehicle  100   a  is at a location close to the delivery origin (e.g. a warehouse or a house) and the transportation vehicle  100   b  is at a location distant from the delivery origin. The transportation vehicle  100   a  is also referred to as a transportation vehicle A and the transportation vehicle  100   b  is also referred to as a transportation vehicle B. 
     In this case, first, the transportation vehicle  100   a  receives the packages a and b from the delivery origin and gets into the transportation vehicle  200 . The transportation vehicle  100   a  may place the packages a and b in a collecting spot (e.g. a shelf) inside the transportation vehicle  200  or may hold the packages a and b. Note that the transportation vehicle  100   a  may place only the package a to be passed at the collecting spot. 
     Next, the transportation vehicle  200  moves to a location X which is in the vicinity of the transportation vehicle  100   b . Then, the transportation vehicle  100   b  gets into the transportation vehicle  200  at the location X. 
     Next, the transportation vehicle  100   b  receives the package a from the transportation vehicle  100   a  inside the transportation vehicle  200 . The transportation vehicle  100   b  may, for example access the accommodation unit  140  of the transportation vehicle  100   a  with the drive arm  150  and receive the package a. Further, the transportation vehicle  100   b  may receive the package a from the package collecting place. Passing of the package a may be performed when the transportation vehicle  200  is stationary or may be performed when the transportation vehicle  200  is traveling. 
     When passing a package, the transportation vehicle  100   a  may execute control to release locking of the accommodation unit  140  in response to a request from the transportation vehicle  100   b . Further, in the case where locking is provided to the shelf (the collecting spot) inside the transportation vehicle  200 , the transportation vehicle  200  may execute control to release locking of the shelf. 
     In this case, since it is desirable that no unspecified person gets in the transportation vehicle  200 , the transportation vehicle  200  may perform control to close the entrance and exit of the transportation vehicle  200 . After the transportation vehicle  100   b  has received the package a, the transportation vehicle  100   a  may lock the accommodation unit  140 . Note that as described above, passing of a package may be performed by a crew member who has confirmed the operation plan. 
     Next, the transportation vehicle  200  travels to the location Y which is in the area around the delivery destination of the package a. The transportation vehicle  100   b  gets out of the transportation vehicle  200  at the location Y and delivers the package a to the delivery destination A. After delivering the package a, the transportation vehicle  100   b  sends a notification to the effect that the delivery of the package a is completed to the server  300 . After delivering the package a, the transportation vehicle  100   b  may move autonomously to a predetermined base or may start a new delivery work in accordance with the new operation plan. 
     In the case where the transportation vehicle  100   a  delivers both of the packages a and b, the transportation vehicle  200  needs to standby at the location Y until the transportation vehicle  100   a  returns. However, according to the transportation management system according to the first embodiment, the transportation vehicle  200  does not need to standby at the location Y and thus it is possible to improve the operation efficiency of operation plan. 
     Next, the transportation vehicle  200  travels to the point Z which is in the area around the delivery destination B of the package b. The transportation vehicle  100   a  gets out of the transportation vehicle  200  at the location Z and delivers the package b to the delivery destination B. After delivering the package b, the transportation vehicle  100   b  may move autonomously to a predetermined base or may start a new delivery work in accordance with the new operation plan. 
     According to the transportation management system according to the first embodiment, since it is possible to pass a package between the plurality of the first transportation vehicles inside the second transportation vehicle, the package can be delivered efficiently. 
     Note that in the embodiments described above, while the present disclosure has been described as a hardware configuration, it is not to be limited thereto. It is also possible to implement each processing by causing a CPU to execute a computer program in the present disclosure. 
     In the aforementioned examples the program includes instructions (or software codes) that, when loaded into a computer, cause the computer to perform one or more of the functions described in the aforementioned embodiments. The program may be stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium or a tangible storage medium. By way of example, and not a limitation, non-transitory computer readable media or tangible storage media can include a random-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory, a solid-state drive (SSD) or other types of memory technologies, a CD-ROM, a digital versatile disc (DVD), a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disc or other types of optical disc storage, and magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other types of magnetic storage devices. The program may be transmitted on a transitory computer readable medium or a communication medium. By way of example, and not a limitation, transitory computer readable media or communication media can include electrical, optical, acoustical, or other forms of propagated signals. 
     The present disclosure is not limited to the aforementioned embodiments, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present disclosure. 
     From the disclosure thus described, it will be obvious that the embodiments of the disclosure may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the disclosure, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended for inclusion within the scope of the following claims.