Task management of autonomous product delivery vehicles

US10331123B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Walmart Apollo, LLC · US

Inventors

• Todd D. Mattingly · Bentonville, US
• Donald R. High · Noel, US
• Bruce W. Wilkinson · Rogers, US
• Joseph Jurich, JR. · Molino, US
• Brian G. McHale · Chadderton, GB
• Robert L. Cantrell · Herndon, US
• John J. O'Brien · Farmington, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jul 18, 2018
• Grant date: Jun 25, 2019
• Expiry date: Jul 18, 2038

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H04L2209/84
• WIPO field: Control
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

Systems, apparatuses, and methods are provided herein for autonomous vehicles task management and organization. A system for organizing autonomous product delivery vehicles comprises a locomotion system of a first autonomous vehicle, a communication device, a memory device, and a control circuit. The control circuit being configured to retrieve one or more vehicle tasks assigned to the first autonomous vehicle from a hash chain database, decrypt the task parameters with a private key of the first autonomous vehicle stored on the memory device, identify a second autonomous vehicle as a transferee of the one or more vehicle tasks based on transfer rules in the task parameters, and update the hash chain database with a new block comprising a hash of preceding data in the hash chain database and the task parameters of the one or more vehicle tasks encrypted with a public key of the second autonomous vehicle.