United Parcel Service of America, Inc.

Bala Ganesh

Scott Castaldo

Amber Sappington

Thomas Ramsager

Julio Gil

Robert J Gillen

An indication that one or more physical objects have been detected in a first geographical environment is received via one or more sensors. The one or more sensors are coupled to a logistics vehicle as the logistics vehicle performs one or more shipping operations. Based at least in part on the receiving of the indication that one or more physical objects have been detected, a mapping of the first geographical environment is caused to be generated. The mapping includes at least an image representation of the first geographical environment associated with the first geographical environment. The mapping is stored. The stored mapping is for use by an autonomous vehicle or partially autonomous vehicle for detecting objects in the first geographical environment.

Logistics operation environment mapping for autonomous vehicles

An elevated delivery platform having a delivery surface that can be placed at a location off the ground to better facilitate delivery of parcels by unmanned aerial vehicles, such as delivery drones, is provided. By placing the elevated delivery platform in an area above the ground, such as atop a home or a pole, a drone is more capable of making deliveries because it avoids obstacles nearer to the ground that typically make drone delivery challenging. The elevated delivery platform raises and lowers parcels to a position where they can easily be retrieved. Some systems also provide a deployable cover to protect parcels from adverse weather conditions while awaiting pickup or following delivery. The elevated delivery platform can be used as part of a drone delivery system that can also include a containment unit, a computer application, or any combination of these aspects.

Drone delivery platform to facilitate delivery of parcels by unmanned aerial vehicles

Systems, and methods of shifting objects using a vehicle and at least one drone are provided. The vehicle and drone are configured to communicate using communication components to coordinate movement of the at least one drone relative to the wheeled object. The system for shifting objects may include sensors for detecting characteristics of the environment. The system may include shifting the object to a second location based on the characteristics detected.

Methods and systems for shifting objects

The present systems and methods describe a computer system that collects user shipping preferences, including, for example, the shipping speeds (e.g., standard three to five day shipping) a user selects on various retailer websites. The system is configured to determine the one or more preferred shipping methods for the user based on the collected shipping preferences and to save the preferred shipping methods to memory (e.g., the user commonly prefers standard shipping). When the user visits an online retailer, the system, detects a shipping field (e.g., where the user may select or input a shipping preference), accesses the saved preferred shipping method (e.g., the user prefers standard shipping), and populates the shipping field with the saved preferred shipping method (e.g., the system automatically selects 'standard shipping' for the user).

Shipping preferences population systems and related methods

A system and method for allowing a purchaser of a gift to associate a personal message (e.g., an audio and/or video message) with the gift is described. The personal message may be associated with the gift via a unique identifier associated with a parcel (e.g., a parcel tracking number) in which the gift is shipped to the intended recipient of the gift. Once the gift is received by the gift recipient, the gift recipient may also associate a message with the gift via the unique identifier. The gift recipient's message may be in response to the purchaser's message, an unrelated message to the purchaser, a message to the retailer where the gift was purchased, or a message to a common carrier.

Systems and related methods for associating personal messages with parcels

Systems, methods, apparatus, and computer program products are provided for delivery of items in connection with social networks. For example, in various embodiments, a customer can register with a carrier and identify participation is various social networks. The carriers may then use the social network contacts of the customer to facilitate improved delivery efficiency.

Systems and methods for item delivery and pick-up using social networks

A system and method for enhancing search results is described. The system receives information and data about retailers and social network data about a user. The system then detects search terms input by the user into a search field (e.g., on a search webpage) and modifies the search terms at least partially based on the information associated with the various retailers and the social network data. The system (or the user) then submits the modified search terms to a search engine and receives search results based on the modified search terms.

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Alpharetta, GA, United States of America

Bala Ganesh