Intelligent inventory management and related systems and methods

• US 10,373,116 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2018
• Issued: 08/06/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2014
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fellow Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Fellow Incorporated
• Inventors: Medina, Marco Octavio Mascorro, Ranatunga, Thavidu, Sinha, Utkarsh, Kaza, Sivapriya, Hoang, Jason, Mahendran, Jagadish, Yang, Christopher, Fan, Zhengqin
• Primary Examiner(s): Patton, Spencer D
• Application Number:
  US16/138,758
• Publication Number:
  US 20190087772A1
• Time in Patent Office: 319 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1697 Vision controlled systems
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/30 for imaging, photography or videography
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/64 for parcel delivery or retrieval
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/10 autonomous, i.e. by navigating independently from ground or air stations, e.g. by using inertial navigation systems [INS]
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0246 using a video camera in combination with image processing means
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/106 Change initiated in response to external conditions, e.g. avoidance of elevated terrain or of no-fly zones
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/016 After-sales
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/01 Mobile robot
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/47 Optical

Abstract

An intelligent system for performing inventory management within a facility includes at least one imaging sensor, a transmitter for sending inventory information to a database, a receiver for receiving information from a database, and a computer in communication with the locomotion platform, at least one imaging sensor, the transmitter, and the receiver. The computer is configured to capture inventory images from the at least one imaging sensor, detect inventory by comparing captured inventory images with stored inventory images, determine inventory information, determine a confidence level for the inventory information, and communicate at least a portion of the inventory information to the database. In one embodiment, the system includes a robot having a locomotion platform, the at least one imaging sensor, the transmitter, the receiver, and the computer.

Claims

1. A robot for performing inventory management within a commercial facility, comprising:

a locomotion platform;

at least one imaging sensor;

a transmitter for sending inventory information to a database;

a receiver for receiving inventory information from a database; and

a robot computer in communication with the locomotion platform, the at least one imaging sensor, the transmitter, and the receiver, the robot computer having a processor and computer-readable memory, wherein the robot computer is configured to;

capture inventory images from the at least one imaging sensor,

detect inventory by comparing captured inventory images with stored inventory images,

determine inventory information,

determine a confidence level for the inventory information, wherein the confidence level is determined based on at least a type of inventory items detected and a number of inventory items detected, and

communicate at least a portion of the inventory information having a confidence level above a threshold to the database.

2. The robot of claim 1, shaped as an aerial drone, wherein the locomotion platform comprises at least one set of propellers.

3. The robot of claim 1, comprising at least one visible spectrum imaging sensor and at least one non-visible spectrum imaging sensor.

4. The robot of claim 3, wherein the at least one visible spectrum imaging sensor is configured to capture inventory images, and wherein the at least one non-visible spectrum imaging sensor is configured to detect obstacles in a travel path of the robot.

5. The robot of claim 3, wherein the at least one visible spectrum imaging sensor and at least one non-visible spectrum imaging sensor are operated in sequence.

6. The process of claim 1, wherein the confidence level is determined by at least one factor selected from the group consisting of:

captured image quality, stock status, and similarity to historic results.

7. A system for performing automated inventory management within a commercial facility, comprising:

at least one imaging sensor;

a transmitter for sending inventory information to a database;

a receiver for receiving inventory information from a database;

a computer in communication with the at least one imaging sensor, the transmitter, and the receiver, the computer having a processor and computer-readable memory, wherein the computer is configured to;

capture inventory images from the at least one imaging sensor,

detect inventory by comparing captured inventory images with stored inventory images,

determine inventory information,

determine a confidence level for the inventory information, wherein the confidence level is determined based on at least a type of inventory items detected and a number of inventory items detected, and

communicate at least a portion of the inventory information having a confidence level above a threshold to the database.

8. The system of claim 7, further comprising a plurality of wheels and a handle, and wherein the system is user-drivable.

9. The system of claim 7, comprising at least one visible spectrum imaging sensor and at least one non-visible spectrum imaging sensor.

10. The robot of claim 9, wherein the at least one visible spectrum imaging sensor and at least one non-visible spectrum imaging sensor are operated in sequence.

11. The process of claim 7, wherein the confidence level is determined by at least one factor selected from the group consisting of:

captured image quality, stock status, and similarity to historic results.

12. The process of claim 7, wherein the inventory information communicated to the database includes a portion of the captured inventory images at a first resolution and a portion of the captured inventory images at a second resolution, wherein the second resolution is different from the first resolution.

13. A method of inventorying a commercial facility with a robot, the method comprising:

providing a robot within a commercial facility, wherein the robot has a locomotion platform, at least one imaging sensor, a transmitter for sending inventory information to a database, a receiver for receiving inventory information from a database, and a robot computer in communication with the locomotion platform, the at least one imaging sensor, the transmitter, and the receiver, the robot computer having a processor and computer-readable memory;

capturing inventory images with the at least one imaging sensor;

detecting inventory information by comparing captured inventory images with stored inventory images;

determining a confidence level for the inventory information, wherein the confidence level is determined based on at least a type of inventory items detected and a number of inventory items detected, and

communicating at least a portion of the inventory information having a confidence level above a threshold to the database.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the robot computer is configured to direct the robot to at least one waypoint location within the commercial facility, and wherein the robot captures the inventory images at the at least one waypoint.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of detecting inventory information includes comparing the inventory images captured at a waypoint to stored inventory images captured at the same waypoint.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of detecting inventory information includes at least one from the group consisting of barcode detection, label detection, and out-of-stock detection.

17. The process of claim 13, wherein the confidence level is determined by at least one factor selected from the group consisting of:

captured image quality, stock status, and similarity to historic results.

18. The process of claim 13, wherein the inventory information communicated to the database includes a portion of the captured inventory images at a first resolution and a portion of the captured inventory images at a second resolution, wherein the second resolution is different from the first resolution.

19. The process of claim 13, wherein at least a portion of the step of detecting inventory information is performed by the robot, and a portion of the step of detecting inventory information is performed by the database.

20. The process of claim 13, wherein the at least one imaging sensor further comprises at least one of a visible spectrum imaging sensor or a non-visible spectrum imaging sensor.