System and Method for Performing Inventory Using a Mobile Inventory Robot
First Claim
1. A processor-implemented method for performing inventory of products with identifiers disposed on a plurality of shelves in a store, using a mobile inventory robot, the method comprising:
- navigating the mobile inventory robot to a shelf through the store;
capturing an image of the shelf;
decoding a product barcode from the captured shelf image;
segmenting the captured shelf image to detect an image of at least one of the products on the shelves;
retrieving a product visual descriptor from the decoded product barcode;
determining whether the detected image of the at least one of the products matches the retrieved product visual descriptor; and
upon determination that the detected image of the at least one of the products does not match the retrieved product visual descriptor, setting an out-of-stock flag for the product corresponding to the decoded product identifier.
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Abstract
A mobile inventory robot system generates an inventory map of a store and a product database when a mobile inventory robot is manually navigated through the store to identify items on shelves, a location for each of the items on the shelves, and a barcode for each of the items. The system performs inventory of the items by navigating through the store via the inventory map, capturing a shelf image, decoding a product barcode from the captured shelf image, retrieving a product image for the decoded product barcode from the product database, segmenting the captured shelf image to detect an image of an item on the shelves, determining whether the detected image matches the retrieved image and, if not, setting an out-of-stock flag for an the item.
585 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A processor-implemented method for performing inventory of products with identifiers disposed on a plurality of shelves in a store, using a mobile inventory robot, the method comprising:
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navigating the mobile inventory robot to a shelf through the store; capturing an image of the shelf; decoding a product barcode from the captured shelf image; segmenting the captured shelf image to detect an image of at least one of the products on the shelves; retrieving a product visual descriptor from the decoded product barcode; determining whether the detected image of the at least one of the products matches the retrieved product visual descriptor; and upon determination that the detected image of the at least one of the products does not match the retrieved product visual descriptor, setting an out-of-stock flag for the product corresponding to the decoded product identifier. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A processor-implemented system for performing inventory of products with identifiers disposed on a plurality of shelves in a store, using a mobile inventory robot, the system comprising:
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a tracking system for navigating the mobile inventory robot to a shelf through the store; an imaging device for capturing an image of the shelf; a decoder for decoding a product barcode from the captured shelf image; a product image segmentation module for segmenting the captured shelf image to detect an image of at least one of the products on the shelves; an inventory control module for retrieving a product visual descriptor from the decoded product barcode; an out-of-stock detector for determining whether the detected image of the at least one of the products matches the retrieved product visual descriptor; and upon determination by a product visual descriptor that the detected image of the at least one of the products does not match the retrieved product visual descriptor, the inventory control module setting an out-of-stock flag for the product corresponding to the decoded product identifier. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A computer program product that includes executable instruction codes stored on a computer readable medium, for performing inventory of products with identifiers disposed on a plurality of shelves in a store, using a mobile inventory robot, the computer program product comprising:
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a set of instruction codes for navigating the mobile inventory robot to a shelf through the store; a set of instruction codes for capturing an image of the shelf; a set of instruction codes for decoding a product barcode from the captured shelf image; a set of instruction codes for segmenting the captured shelf image to detect an image of at least one of the products on the shelves; a set of instruction codes for retrieving a product visual descriptor from the decoded product barcode; a set of instruction codes for determining whether the detected image of the at least one of the products matches the retrieved product visual descriptor; and a set of instruction codes for setting an out-of-stock flag for the product corresponding to the decoded product identifier, upon determination by a product visual descriptor that the detected image of the at least one of the products does not match the retrieved product visual descriptor.
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Specification