About Podrones Patent #10,621,5430

The patent titled “System and method to enable delivery and pick up of packages using pods and unmanned vehicles”, is for various methods related to delivering parcels. Specifically, the patent is a solution that incorporates electronic digital lockers and unmanned vehicles (aerial as well as terrestrial drones). A single electronic locker is called a “Pod” and various models include a “HomePod™” and “BizPod™” for home and business use respectively. A number of Pods, typically of varying sizes, incorporated into a single unit is called a “PodBank™”.

An important aspect covered by this patent is the communication between Pods/PodBanks and Drones. A drone needs to prove its identity to a standalone Pod or one that is part of a PodBank, so that it can take commands from the drone. The obvious commands are open/close – only a specific drone should be able to open a Pod, deposit a parcel and close the Pod. This is significant, because where there are multiple Pods or multiple open locations for deposit of a package, without this authentication, the drone might leave the package in an incorrect location.

Another significant aspect describes how a drone finds a Pod. A detailed description is provided of three levels of Positioning Systems including a Global, a Short-Range, and a Precision Positioning system. The Global positioning system is of course commonly known as GPS and can bring a drone to within a few meters of a Pod. The Short-Range Positioning System allows it to recognize one or more signals from the Pod, other Pods nearby as well as WiFi devices and cell towers.

Finally, the Precision Positioning System allows the drone to position itself to within millimeters of where it needs to hover or land so that it can deposit the parcel perfectly into a Pod. Even a few millimeters error in this may result in the parcel sticking out (thus preventing the Pod from closing) or falling out of the Pod.