Arm-detecting overhead sensor for inventory system
First Claim
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1. A method comprising, under the control of one or more computer systems configured with executable instructions:
- instructing a mobile drive unit to move an inventory holder having a plurality of bins into a receiving zone that is at least partly within a field of vision of a sensor;
receiving, at a computer system, an identification of an item for a storage operation, the storage operation including placement by a person of the item in the inventory holder;
receiving distance information from the sensor, the distance information including information about distances between the sensor and portions of objects within the field of vision of the sensor, the objects including the inventory holder and at least a portion of an arm of the person;
identifying distance information corresponding to the at least the portion of the arm of the person in association with the storage operation;
calculating a height of the at least the portion of the arm relative to the inventory holder based on the distance information corresponding to the at least the portion of the arm;
calculating a lateral position of the at least the portion of the arm relative to the inventory holder based on the distance information corresponding to the at least the portion of the arm; and
associating the item with a bin on the inventory holder based on the calculated height and the calculated lateral position of the at least the portion of the arm relative to the inventory holder.
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Abstract
Inventory systems may include one or more sensors capable of detecting spatial positioning of inventory holders and an arm of a worker interacting with the inventory holder. Data can be received from a sensor, a gesture of the arm can be determined from the data, and a bin location or other information can be determined based on the gesture.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method comprising, under the control of one or more computer systems configured with executable instructions:
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instructing a mobile drive unit to move an inventory holder having a plurality of bins into a receiving zone that is at least partly within a field of vision of a sensor; receiving, at a computer system, an identification of an item for a storage operation, the storage operation including placement by a person of the item in the inventory holder; receiving distance information from the sensor, the distance information including information about distances between the sensor and portions of objects within the field of vision of the sensor, the objects including the inventory holder and at least a portion of an arm of the person; identifying distance information corresponding to the at least the portion of the arm of the person in association with the storage operation; calculating a height of the at least the portion of the arm relative to the inventory holder based on the distance information corresponding to the at least the portion of the arm; calculating a lateral position of the at least the portion of the arm relative to the inventory holder based on the distance information corresponding to the at least the portion of the arm; and associating the item with a bin on the inventory holder based on the calculated height and the calculated lateral position of the at least the portion of the arm relative to the inventory holder. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a computer system, cause the computer system to at least:
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instruct a mobile drive unit to move an inventory holder having a plurality of bins into at least partly within a field of vision of a sensor; receive data from the sensor, the data including information about a spatial position of the inventory holder and at least a portion of an arm of a person in proximity to the inventory holder; determine a spatial position of the at least the portion of the arm during an interaction with the inventory holder; and identify a location on the inventory holder corresponding to the spatial position of the at least the portion of the arm during the interaction. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An inventory management system comprising:
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an inventory holder; a mobile drive unit operable to move the inventory holder; a station comprising; a receiving zone configured to receive the inventory holder in response to movement of the inventory holder by the mobile drive unit; a sensor aimed at the receiving zone; and one or more processors configured to; instruct the mobile drive unit to move the inventory holder into the receiving zone; receive data from the sensor about objects in the receiving zone; determine, based on the data, a spatial representation of datapoints in which each datapoint has a value indicative of a spatial position of an associated object detected by the sensor; determine, based on the spatial representation, a subset of datapoints associated with at least a portion of an arm of a person; determine a gesture based on the subset of datapoints associated with the at least the portion of the arm of the person; and generate instructions for at least one of the person, the inventory holder, or the one or more processors based on the gesture. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification