Robotic communication with fiber-optics

• US 9,494,934 B2
• Filed: 06/06/2014
• Issued: 11/15/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Brazeau, Jeremiah David, Palamarchuk, Andriy
• Primary Examiner(s): LOGAN, KYLE O
• Application Number:
  US14/298,756
• Publication Number:
  US 20150353280A1
• Time in Patent Office: 893 Days
• Field of Search: 700/214
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/00 Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots drive control systems specially adapted for autonomous road vehicles B60W60/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0234 using optical markers or beacons optical beacons per se G01S1/70
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30

Abstract

A system for managing inventory items includes a portable inventory holder and an unmanned drive unit configured to move the inventory holder between locations in an inventory facility. The inventory facility includes a plurality of light emitting elements. The drive unit captures an image of a subset of the light emitting elements. The captured image is processed to determine the location of the drive unit within the facility. A path is determined along which the drive unit moves to an inventory holder and moves the inventory holder to another location. The light emitting elements can be provided by optical fibers embedded in the floor of the inventory facility.

Claims

1. A system for managing inventory items, comprising:

a portable inventory holder configured to store at least one inventory item at a first location in an inventory facility, the inventory facility having a floor including a plurality of light emitting optical fibers;

an unmanned drive unit including an image capture device oriented substantially towards the floor surface; and

a management module having computer-executable instructions configured to cause the system to perform actions including;

instructing the drive unit to move about the inventory facility;

causing capture of at least one image of one or more of the light emitting optical fibers using the image capture device;

processing the at least one captured image to locate the drive unit within the inventory facility, the processing including referencing a map of locations of the light emitting optical fibers;

determining a path to move the drive unit to the first location and then to a second location;

instructing the drive unit to move along the path to the first location based at least in part on the at least one captured image; and

using the drive unit to move the portable inventory holder along the path from the first location to the second location based at least in part on the at least one captured image.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the optical fibers are at least partially embedded within the floor.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising one or more light sources operatively coupled with the optical fibers to transmit light through the optical fibers for imaging by the image capture device, wherein the one or more light sources are configured to transmit at least one of a plurality of different wavelengths of light or data to the drive unit via light transmitted through one or more of the optical fibers.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the drive unit comprises a drive unit light source oriented substantially towards the floor surface; and

the computer-executable instructions are further configured to cause the drive unit to transmit data from the drive unit over one or more of the optical fibers via light emitted by the drive unit light source.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the optical fibers are distributed in a random pattern.

6. A system for managing inventory items, comprising:

an inventory facility including a plurality of light emitting elements;

a drive unit-configured to;

(a) capture at least one image of one or more of the light emitting elements while the drive unit moves about the inventory facility;

(b) determine or receive a location of the drive unit in the inventory facility, the location being based at least partially on processing of the at least one captured image; and

(c) receive a task assignment transmitted to the drive unit via light emitted by one or more of the light emitting elements; and

(d) move the drive unit in the inventory facility based at least in part on the at least one captured image and the task assignment; and

a management module configured to transmit the task assignment to the drive unit via the light emitted by the one or more of the light emitting elements.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the light emitting elements are configured to transmit at least one of:

(a) different wavelengths of light, (b) different frequencies, (c) different sequences, (d) different patterns, (e) different intensities for imaging by the drive unit, and (f) different signal types.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the light emitting elements are configured to transmit data to the drive unit via light emitted by the light emitting elements.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the data transmitted to the drive unit is encoded at least partially via at least one of:

(a) different wavelengths of light, (b) different frequencies, (c) different sequences of light, (d) different patterns of light, and (e) different intensities of light.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein the light emitting elements include optical fibers operatively coupled with one or more light sources that are configured to transmit light through the optical fibers for imaging by the drive unit.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein a plurality of the optical fibers emit light from a floor of the inventory facility for imaging by the drive unit.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the drive unit is configured to transmit data to the management module over one or more of the optical fibers via light emitted by a drive unit light source controlled by the drive unit.

13. A method for managing inventory items, the method comprising:

instructing a drive unit to move about an inventory facility having a floor via light emitted by one or more of a plurality of light emitting elements distributed within the inventory facility;

capturing at least one image of one or more of the light emitting elements with an image capture device coupled with the drive unit;

processing the at least one captured image to locate the drive unit within the inventory facility; and

controlling the drive unit based at least in part on the at least one captured image.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising emitting a plurality of different wavelengths from the light emitting elements so as to communicate one or more control commands to the drive unit.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the light emitting elements are distributed in a random pattern.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising transmitting at least one of data and a control command to the drive unit via light emitted by the light emitting elements.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the transmitted at least one of data and a control command is encoded at least partially via changes in wavelength of light emitted by the light emitting elements.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the light emitting elements include optical fibers operatively coupled with one or more light sources that are configured to transmit light through the optical fibers to transmit at least one of data and a control command to the drive unit.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein a plurality of the optical fibers emit light from the floor of the inventory facility so as to transmit the at least one of data and a control command to the drive unit.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising transmitting data from the drive unit over one or more of the optical fibers via light emitted by a drive unit light source controlled by the drive unit.