ROBOTIC INVENTORY SYSTEMS

• US 20140247116A1
• Filed: 05/09/2014
• Published: 09/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/11/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: RFID Resolution Team Incorporated
• Original Assignee: BAR Code Specialties, Inc. (OMNIQ Corp.)
• Inventors: Davidson, William Edward
• Application Number:
  US14/274,087
• Publication Number:
  US 20140247116A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.1
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0261 using magnetic plots
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0272 comprising means for registering the travel distance, e.g. revolutions of wheels measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles, e.g. using odometers G01C22/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2007/10504 Data fields affixed to objects or articles
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10297 arrangements for handling protocols designed for non-contact record carriers such as RFIDs NFCs, e.g. ISO/IEC 14443 and 18092 cryptographic protocols H04L9/00; network security protocols H04L63/00; real-time communication protocols in data switching networks H04L65/00; network protocols for data switching network services H04L67/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10376 the interrogation device being adapted for being moveable
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/01 Mobile robot
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/46 Sensing device

Abstract

Embodiments of a robotic inventory system are provided that include a mobile robot for inventorying an inventory area, such as store or warehouse. The mobile robot can move through the inventory area collecting data from tagged items (e.g., RFID tags). Based on the collected data, the robotic inventory system can determine the items in the inventory area and the location of those items. In some embodiments, no additional infrastructure is needed for the installation of the robotic inventory system. This can allow, for example, the inventorying system to be shipped to an end customer and used by the end customer without having a professional installer setup the robot and/or the inventorying system.

Claims

1. A mobile robotic device for inventorying items, the mobile robotic device comprising:

a navigation module configured to identify the boundaries of an inventory storage area and automatically determine a search route through the inventory storage area;

a propulsion module configured to receive the search route from the navigation module and move the mobile robotic device along the search route;

an RFID reader configured to receive multiple RFID readings from RFID tags associated with inventory items, the multiple RFID readings received along multiple locations along the search route; and

an inventory locator module, the locator module configured to identify the location of inventory items within the inventory storage area based at least partly on the multiple RFID readings from the multiple locations.

2. The robotic device of claim 1, further comprising a location tracking module configured to determine location data for the mobile robotic device.

3. The robotic device of claim 2, wherein the inventory locator module is configured to determine the location of the inventory items based at least partly on the location data for the mobile robotic device.

4. The robotic device of claim 2, wherein the location tracking module includes a dead reckoning system for determining the current location.

5. The robotic device of claim 1, wherein the search route is updated based at least partly on detected obstacles.

6. The robotic device of claim 5, wherein the detected obstacles include inventory items identified by their associated RFID tags.

7. The robotic device of claim 1, wherein the search route is calculated based at least partly on a previous inventory scan of the inventory storage area.

8. A robotic inventory system for inventorying items, the system comprising:

a mobile robot having an electronic tag reader configured to receive electronic tag data from electronic tags associated with inventory items;

a navigation module configured to determine a search route through an inventory area and direct the mobile robot to move along the search route; and

an inventory identification module configured to receive the electronic tag data from the mobile robot and identify the inventory items in the inventory area based at least partly on the electronic tag data;

wherein the mobile robot is configured to collect multiple readings from one or more of the electronic tags associated with the inventory items, the multiple readings taken at multiple locations along the search route.

9. The robotic system of claim 8, further comprising an inventory location module configured to identify the location of the inventory items within the inventory storage area based at least partly on the multiple readings from the multiple locations.

10. The robotic system of claim 9, wherein the inventory location module is configured to identify the location of the inventory items by triangulating the location of the inventory items from the multiple readings from the multiple locations.

11. The robotic system of claim 8, wherein the mobile robot collects signal characteristics of the multiple readings, including signal strength.

12. The robotic system of claim 11, further comprising an inventory location module configured to identify the location of the inventory items within the inventory storage area based at least partly on the multiple RFID readings and the signal characteristics of the multiple readings.

13. The robotic system of claim 8, wherein the electronic tags are RFID tags.

14. The robotic system of claim 8, wherein electronic tag reader includes directional antennas.

15. The robotic system of claim 8, wherein the electronic tag data is used to identify obstacles in the search route and the navigation module is configured to update the search route based on the identified obstacles.

16. A method for inventorying a storage area using a mobile robot, the method comprising:

moving the mobile robot to a first area;

collecting inventory data related to the one or more RFID tags associated with inventory items using an RFID reader from the first area;

moving the mobile robot to a second area;

collecting inventory data related to the one or more RFID tags using the RFID reader from the second area; and

determining location of the inventory items based at least partly on the inventory data collected from the first area and the second area.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the inventory data includes the location of the first area and the second area.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein determining the location of the inventory items comprises:

determining a first range to the one or more RFID tags from the mobile robot at the first area;

determining a second range to the one or more RFID tags from the mobile robot at the second area; and

determining the location of the inventory items in the storage area based at least on the first range, the second range, and the locations of the first area and the second area.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the first range is calculated based on return phase angles at different frequencies of signals sent from the RFID reader.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the inventory data includes signal strengths of the signals received from the one or more RFID tags.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein determining the location of the inventory items is based at least partly on the signal strengths of the signals from the one or more RFID tags.

22. The method of claim 16, wherein determining the location of the inventory items is performed on the mobile robot.

23. The method of claim 16, wherein determining the location of the inventory items is performed on an inventory management system separate from the mobile robot after the mobile robot communicates the inventory data to the inventory management system.