Dynamic layout management for robotics warehouse system

• US 10,210,212 B2
• Filed: 06/15/2017
• Issued: 02/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP SE
• Inventors: Wang, YongHui, Zhang, ZhengXiang, Zhao, XuTan, Han, YingJie
• Primary Examiner(s): Randazzo, Thomas
• Application Number:
  US15/624,455
• Publication Number:
  US 20180364719A1
• Time in Patent Office: 614 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/0492 with cars adapted to travel in storage aisles
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/1371 with data records
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 2209/06 Use of order trucks
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0426 Programming the control sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/124 using tapes, cards or discs with optically sensed marks or codes G05B19/128, G05B19/14 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/41895 using automatic guided vehicles [AGV] control of position or course of AGV's G05D1/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40523 Path motion planning, path in space followed by tip of robot
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0212 with means for defining a desired trajectory involving a plurality of land vehicles G05D1/0287
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0297 by controlling means in a control room
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/22 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24561 Intermediate data storage techniques for performance improvement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/60 Electric or hybrid propulsion means for production processes

Abstract

Embodiments implement a minispace concept to dynamically manage layout of a robotics warehouse system. The warehouse space is divided into a plurality of equally sized minispaces, each corresponding to a standard rack footprint. Each minispace is identified by tagging with a unit location ID and attribute(s) such as coordinates. Minispaces may be referenced in a task planning process flow that initially comprises determining stock and rack, followed by determining a relevant workstation. The task is then assigned to an appropriate robot, and a travel route is planned (e.g., shortest path in minispace layout). Robot actions within the route are then planned and executed by the warehouse management system according to the minispace layout. Minispaces allow a robot to identify each minispace by the tagging, and to plan the next movement accordingly. The use of minispaces may facilitate collision avoidance by grouping actions together and allowing performance of minispace locking/checking procedures.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising an in-memory database engine:

dividing a warehouse space into a plurality of minispaces having a same dimension;

storing the plurality of minispaces in an in-memory database;

storing a warehouse layout model in the in-memory database;

storing a location map model in the in-memory database;

referencing, in response to a task specifying a product, the plurality of minispaces to determine a rack of the warehouse space relevant to the product;

referencing the plurality of minispaces to determine a static workstation of the warehouse space to receive the rack;

referencing the plurality of minispaces and the warehouse layout model to prepare a route plan between the rack and the static workstation, preparation of the route plan not considering the location model;

referencing the location map model, the layout model, and the route plan to prepare a robot action plan to move the rack to the static workstation; and

communicating with a robotics system to cause a robot to execute atomic actions to deliver the rack to the static workstation, the communicating considering the location map model but not considering the layout model.

2. The method as in claim 1 wherein dividing the warehouse space comprises dividing the warehouse space into a minispace comprising a square of the dimensions corresponding to a footprint of the rack.

3. The method as in claim 1 wherein:

the warehouse layout model comprises a robot travel lane;

the route plan crosses the robot travel lane; and

referencing the location map model and the route plan comprises grouping robot actions.

4. The method as in claim 1 further comprising the in-memory database engine ensuring that a stock strategy planning, including the product, is consistent with the warehouse layout model.

5. The method as in claim 1 wherein the atomic actions comprise movement and docking.

6. The method as in claim 5 wherein the movement comprises an exclusively forward movement, and atomic actions further comprise a turn.

7. The method as in claim 1 wherein the minispace comprises an attribute.

8. The method as in claim 7 wherein the attribute comprises a coordinate.

9. The method as in claim 8 wherein the coordinate comprises a quick response (QR) code.

10. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium embodying a computer program for performing a method, said method comprising an in-memory database engine:

dividing a warehouse space into a plurality of minispaces having a same dimension;

storing the plurality of minispaces in an in-memory database;

storing a warehouse layout model in the in-memory database;

storing a location map model in the in-memory database;

referencing, in response to a task specifying a product, the plurality of minispaces to determine a rack of the warehouse space relevant to the product;

referencing the plurality of minispaces to determine a static workstation of the warehouse space to receive the rack;

referencing the plurality of minispaces and the warehouse layout model to prepare a route plan between the rack and the static workstation, the route plan including a minispace where the route plan crosses a robot travel lane of the warehouse layout model, preparation of the route plan not considering the location model;

referencing the location map model, the layout model, and the route plan to prepare a robot action plan to move the rack to the static workstation;

communicating with a robotics system to cause a robot to execute atomic actions to deliver the rack to the static workstation, including locking the minispace, the communicating considering the location map model but not considering the layout model.

11. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as in claim 10 wherein referencing the location map and the route plan comprises grouping robot actions.

12. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as in claim 10 wherein dividing the warehouse space comprises dividing the warehouse space into a minispace comprising a square of the dimensions corresponding to a footprint of the rack.

13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as in claim 10 wherein the minispace comprises an attribute including a quick response (QR) code.

14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as in claim 10 wherein the atomic actions comprise a movement and a docking.

15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as in claim 10 wherein the method further comprises the in-memory database engine ensuring that a stock strategy planning including the product, is consistent with the warehouse layout model.

16. A computer system comprising:

one or more processors;

a software program, executable on said computer system, the software program configured to cause an in-memory database engine of an in-memory database to;

receive a task specifying a product in a warehouse space;

in response to the task, reference a plurality of minispaces stored in the in-memory database, to determine a rack of the warehouse space relevant to the product;

store a warehouse layout model in the in-memory database;

store a location map model in the in-memory database;

reference the plurality of minispaces to determine a static workstation of the warehouse space to receive the rack;

reference the plurality of minispaces and the warehouse layout model to prepare a route plan between the rack and the static workstation, preparation of the route plan not considering the location model;

reference the location map model, the layout model, and the route plan to prepare a robot action plan to move the rack to the static workstation;

communicate with a robotics system to cause a robot to execute a series of atomic actions to deliver the rack to the static workstation, the communicating considering the location map model but not considering the layout model.

17. The computer system as in claim 16 wherein each of the plurality of minispaces comprises an attribute including a coordinate.

18. The computer system as in claim 17 wherein the coordinate comprises a quick response (QR) code.

19. The computer system as in claim 16 wherein:

the warehouse layout model comprises a robot travel lane;

the route plan crosses the robot travel lane; and

referencing the location map model and the route plan comprises grouping robot actions.

20. The computer system as in claim 16, further comprising the in-memory database engine ensuring that a stock strategy planning including the product, is consistent with the warehouse layout model.