Providing transport operation

Abstract

The application relates to a computer system (100) for providing handling operation recommendations for an electrically powered material handler, in particular a computer system (100) for providing handling operation recommendations (118) for an electrically powered material handler (10), the computer system (100) comprising processing circuitry (102) configured to: acquire container-related data (110) for a plurality of containers (30) located at a venue (20); acquiring a battery property of the electric material handling machine (10) (112); determining, based on the container-related data (110), a handling operation (114) in which the motorized material handler (10) is operable for the plurality of containers (30); determining energy management data (116) based on the battery properties (112) and the handling operation (114); and providing a handling operation recommendation (118) for the powered material handler (10) based on the energy management data (116).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to vehicle energy management. In particular aspects, the present disclosure relates to providing handling operation recommendations for electric material handling machines. The present disclosure can be applied to electric industrial vehicles, such as electric material handling machines, electric forklifts, electric aerial work platforms, electric pallet trucks, electric winches, electric automated guided vehicles, and electric tractors, as well as other vehicle types. Although the present disclosure may be described with respect to specific vehicles, the present disclosure is not limited to any particular vehicle. Background Art

[0002] Electric industrial vehicles (such as electric material handling machines) are widely used for material management and transportation across various sites, spanning logistics centers and indoor or outdoor areas with different types of material containers. However, limitations associated with contemporary battery technologies (such as energy management, chassis space constraints, weight issues, and cost factors) tend to impede the full installation and utilization of energy storage devices in these machines. Accordingly, the present inventors have identified opportunities to improve the efficiency of these material handling machines, with a primary focus on the energy management of handling operations. Summary of the Invention

[0003] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer system for providing handling operation recommendations for an electric material handling machine. The computer system includes processing circuitry configured to: obtain container-related data of a plurality of containers located at a site; obtain battery attributes of the electric material handling machine; determine, based on the container-related data, handling operations that the electric material handling machine can perform on the plurality of containers; determine energy management data based on the battery attributes and the handling operations; and provide a handling operation recommendation for the electric material handling machine based on the energy management data. The first aspect of the present disclosure may seek to improve the operating efficiency of a material handling machine. Technical advantages may include: saving money and space since there is no need to install more batteries than required for its operation; extending the expected lifespan of the battery; and improving the operation of the electric material handling machine in terms of energy efficiency.

[0004] Optionally, in some examples, including in at least one preferred example, the energy management data includes a priority order of performing the handling operations on the battery attributes based on the amount of energy consumed or regenerated when performing the handling operations. Technical advantages may include providing a practical solution for providing handling operation priorities such that the operation of the electric material handling machine is improved in terms of energy efficiency.

[0005] Optionally, in some examples, including in at least one preferred example, the amount of energy consumed or regenerated during the carrying operation is calculated based on the container-related data, which includes the weight of the container, the time or distance that the electric material handling machine is expected to transport the container, the time or distance that the electric material handling machine is expected to move towards or away from the container, and optionally the height difference of the repositioning of the container. Technical advantages can include providing a functional relationship between the container-related data, the battery attributes, and the carrying operations operable on the container. Accordingly, calculations are provided for improving the operation of the electric material handling machine in terms of energy efficiency.

[0006] Optionally, in some examples, including in at least one preferred example, the priority is related to the corresponding energy consumption of the carrying operation that is a container lifting operation. Technical advantages can include specifically considering the energy consumption operation that is a container lifting operation as one of the main actions for energy consumption, and accordingly planning the energy management data to improve the operation of the electric material handling machine in terms of energy efficiency.

[0007] Optionally, in some examples, including in at least one preferred example, the priority involves, within the acceptable value of the recovery time included in the battery attributes, assigning a container lifting operation with a higher energy consumption to a higher state of charge value included in the battery attributes compared to a container lifting operation with a lower energy consumption. Technical advantages can include considering both the recovery time and the state of charge of the battery when planning the carrying operation to improve the overall operation of the electric material handling machine in terms of energy efficiency.

[0008] Optionally, in some examples, including in at least one preferred example, the processing circuit is configured to prioritize the energy regeneration of the carrying operation that is a container lowering operation. Technical advantages can include specifically considering the energy regeneration operation that is a container lowering operation as one of the main actions for energy regeneration, and accordingly planning the energy management data to improve the operation of the electric material handling machine in terms of energy efficiency.

[0009] Optionally, in some examples, including in at least one preferred example, the priority involves assigning a container lowering operation with a higher energy regeneration to a lower state of charge value included in the battery attributes compared to a container lowering operation with a lower energy regeneration. Technical advantages can include considering the state of charge of the battery when planning the carrying operation to improve the overall operation of the electric material handling machine in terms of energy efficiency.

[0010] Optionally, in some examples, including at least one preferred example, the processing circuit is further configured to optimize the energy management data based on an optimization property of the electric material handling machine, the optimization property being one or more of: a minimum energy consumption of the electric material handling machine, a number of the plurality of containers that the electric material handling machine has moved or is to move, and a number of battery charging sequences that the electric material handling machine has performed. Technical advantages may include improving the energy management data to enhance the operating efficiency of the electric material handling machine.

[0011] Optionally, in some examples, including at least one preferred example, the battery property depends on one or more of the weight of the electric material handling machine, the energy efficiency of the electric material handling machine, battery characteristics of the battery of the electric material handling machine, and idle data of the electric material handling machine. Technical advantages may include taking into account the battery property of the electric material handling machine, such that the energy management data of a particular type of electric material handling machine is improved.

[0012] Optionally, in some examples, including at least one preferred example, the processing circuit is further configured to control the electric material handling machine to perform a handling operation based on the handling operation recommendation. Technical advantages may include being able to perform (autonomously or manually) control of the handling operation of the electric material handling machine based on the provided recommendation, thereby achieving the advantages discussed above in the current setup of the site.

[0013] Optionally, in some examples, including at least one preferred example, the processing circuit is configured to control the electric material handling machine to perform an auxiliary handling machine operation based on the handling operation recommendation, the auxiliary handling machine operation being one or more of: a charging operation, a driving operation (including an autonomous navigation operation, a collision avoidance operation, and an ADAS operation), a climate control operation, a telematics operation, and a diagnostic operation. Technical advantages may include being able to perform (autonomously or manually) control of the auxiliary handling operation of the electric material handling machine based on the provided recommendation, thereby achieving the advantages discussed above in the current setup of the site.

[0014] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an electric material handling machine, the electric material handling machine including the computer system of the first aspect. The second aspect of the present disclosure may seek to improve the operating efficiency of the material handling machine. Technical advantages may include: saving money and space since there is no need to install more batteries than required for its operation; extending the expected life of the battery; and improving the operation of the electric material handling machine in terms of energy efficiency.

[0015] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer-implemented method for providing handling operation recommendations for an electric material handling machine. The method includes: obtaining, by a processing circuit of a computer system, container-related data of a plurality of containers located at a site; obtaining, by the processing circuit, battery attributes of the electric material handling machine; determining, by the processing circuit, handling operations that the electric material handling machine can perform on the plurality of containers based on the container-related data; determining, by the processing circuit, energy management data based on the battery attributes and the handling operations; and providing, by the processing circuit, handling operation recommendations for the electric material handling machine based on the energy management data. The third aspect of the present disclosure may seek to improve the operating efficiency of the material handling machine. Technical advantages may include: saving money and space as there is no need to install more batteries than required for its operation; extending the expected life of the battery; and improving the operation of the electric material handling machine in terms of energy efficiency.

[0016] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer program product including program code for performing the method of the third aspect when executed by the processing circuit. The fourth aspect of the present disclosure may seek to improve the operating efficiency of the material handling machine. Technical advantages may include: saving money and space as there is no need to install more batteries than required for its operation; extending the expected life of the battery; and improving the operation of the electric material handling machine in terms of energy efficiency.

[0017] According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by the processing circuit, cause the processing circuit to perform the method of the third aspect. The fifth aspect of the present disclosure may seek to improve the operating efficiency of the material handling machine. Technical advantages may include: saving money and space as there is no need to install more batteries than required for its operation; extending the expected life of the battery; and improving the operation of the electric material handling machine in terms of energy efficiency.

[0018] Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the disclosed aspects, examples (including any preferred examples) and / or the appended claims may be appropriately combined with each other. Additional features and advantages are disclosed in the following description, claims and drawings, and will be partly apparent to those skilled in the art or recognized by practicing the present disclosure as described herein.

[0019] Also disclosed herein are computer systems, control units, code modules, computer-implemented methods, computer-readable media and computer program products associated with the technical benefits discussed above. Description of the Drawings

[0020] Examples are described in more detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0021] Figure 1 is an exemplary electric material handling machine according to an example, the electric material handling machine including a computer system for providing handling operation recommendations.

[0022] Figure 2 is a diagram of an exemplary site with multiple containers according to an example, where the electric material handling machine can operate in the site.

[0023] Figure 3 is an example schema of how energy management data can be determined according to an example.

[0024] Figure 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for providing handling operation recommendations for an electric material handling machine according to an example.

[0025] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary computer system for implementing the examples disclosed herein according to an example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The detailed description set forth below provides information and examples of the disclosed technology in sufficient detail for a person skilled in the art to practice the disclosure.

[0027] The present disclosure solves the problems raised in the background section by predicting the energy usage and power consumption of an electric material handling machine for containers available at a site and more specifically for handling operations that can be performed on the containers. By obtaining container-related data and determining handling operations based thereon, a relationship between the obtained battery attributes and the handling operations can be established. This relationship provides energy management data, which is then used to recommend handling operations for the electric material handling machine. Thus, the electric material handling machine can be operated in an energy-efficient manner such that different handling operations can be performed at different times of the day to improve the utilization of the battery. For example, it may be beneficial to perform some lifts that require higher energy at the start of a shift and some lighter lowers at the end of the shift. Some technical advantages of this method include: saving money and space since there is no need to install more batteries than required for its operation; extending the expected life of the battery; and improving the operation of the electric material handling machine in terms of energy efficiency.

[0028] Figure 1FIG. 0 is a schematic diagram of a computer system 100 including a processing circuit 102. The computer system 100 is configured to provide a handling operation recommendation 118 for an electric material handling machine 10. In this example, the computer system 100 is disposed within the electric material handling machine 10, but in other examples, such as in a cloud-based service, the computer system 100 may be provided external to the electric material handling machine 10. The cloud-based service may be arranged to communicate with the processing circuit of the electric material handling machine 10 to provide the handling operation recommendation 118. In yet another alternative example, some components of the computer system 100 are disposed within the electric material handling machine 10, while other components of the computer system 100 are disposed in the cloud service.

[0029] The electric material handling machine 10 may be any type of electric industrial vehicle commonly used in indoor and / or outdoor sites to manage and transport containers. In non-limiting examples, the electric industrial vehicle may include an electric forklift, an electric aerial work platform, an electric pallet truck, an electric winch, an electric automated guided vehicle, an electric tractor, and other vehicle types.

[0030] This particular electric material handling machine 10 includes various components and parts adapted to manage and transport containers or components stored in the containers. Those skilled in the art will understand that other electric material handling machines may also be employed to achieve similar purposes as explained in the present disclosure. The electric material handling machine 10 includes a body portion, which is separated herein into a main body portion 11 and a cab portion 12. The electric material handling machine 10 further includes a mobility enabling portion 13, which in this particular example involves a pair of wheels 13-1, 13-2 configured to enable the electric material handling machine 10 to move. The mobility enabling portion 13 may be arranged to move the electric material handling machine 10 from a first position to one or more second positions different from the first position, such as positions within a site / facility.

[0031] The electric material handler 10 further includes a container handling device 14 adapted to handle a container 30. The container handling device 14 may be adapted to handle an entire container 30 (as shown), two or more containers 30, or one or more components of a container (such as sub - containers and / or assemblies located within the container). The container handling device 14 may be adapted to cause a lifting operation such that a container 30 having a weight w1 at a height h1 relative to the ground height h0 can be lifted to a height h2. The container handling device 14 may be adapted to cause a lowering operation such that a container 30 having a weight w1 at a height h2 relative to the ground height h0 can be lowered to a height h1. The heights h1, h2 may be any heights that the electric material handler 10 and more specifically the container handling device 14 can reach. In this particular example, the container handling device 14 includes a static member 14 - 1 extending upward from the electric material handler 10. The container handling device 14 further includes an extendable member 14 - 2 arranged to extend upward from the electric material handler 10. The container handling device 14 further includes a handling member 14 - 4 arranged to handle the container 30 via a handling portion 14 - 6. The handling member 14 - 4 is arranged to rotate about a first rotation mechanism 14 - 3, and the handling portion 14 - 6 is arranged to rotate about a second rotation mechanism 14 - 5.

[0032] The electric material handler 10 further includes a battery management system 15 and a battery 16. The battery management system 15 is adapted to monitor, protect, and optimize the performance of the battery 16, thereby ensuring safe and efficient operation and extending the expected life of the battery 32. The battery 32 (e.g., a lithium - ion battery) is used to store electrical energy in the form of chemical energy. The battery 32 is rechargeable and adapted to provide a power source. An energy source may be provided for the container handling device 14 to perform the lifting or lowering operation of the container 30. This energy source may additionally be provided for the operation of the auxiliary vehicle system 17 of the electric material handler 10. After being powered by the energy from the battery 32, the electric material handler 10 may be configured to perform a handling operation 114 or an auxiliary handling operation 114.

[0033] The electric material handler 10 also includes one or more auxiliary vehicle systems 17. The auxiliary vehicle systems 17 provide auxiliary functions in addition to functions related to the handling operation 114. To this end, an energy source can be provided for enabling the movement of, for example, the enabling portion 13 so that the electric material handler 10 can move. In some examples, the auxiliary vehicle system 17 can include one or more of a power take-off (PTO) system, a hydraulic system, an air compression system, an auxiliary generator, a cooling system, a power steering system, an air conditioning system, an auxiliary lighting system, an infotainment system, etc. The auxiliary vehicle system 17 is associated with corresponding auxiliary energy consumption and / or regeneration. By way of example only, the auxiliary vehicle system 17 can be a regenerative braking system adapted to regenerate energy for the battery 32 in response to a braking event, or a climate control system adapted to consume energy from the battery 32 in response to an activated cooling event. Other such examples will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0034] The processing circuit 102 is configured to obtain container-related data 110 of the container 30. It should be understood that the container-related data 110 will be obtained for a plurality of containers located at the site, although this example focuses only on this one container 30 for the sake of brevity. The container-related data 110 can be any data related to the container 30 that has an impact on the energy management of the electric material handler 10. The container-related data 110 can be provided to the computer system 30 by a central controller of the site, by a cloud-based service, by a controller of the container 30, a measuring device, a sensing device or an estimating device, by a controller, a measuring device, a sensing device or an estimating device of the electric material handler 10, or by a controller, a measuring device, a sensing device or an estimating device of another electric material handler operating at the site. The other electric material handler can be part of the same unit as the electric material handler 10, or alternatively part of a different unit.

[0035] The container-related data 110 can include the weight of the container 30. It should be understood that a heavier weight generally causes the electric material handler 10 to consume or regenerate more energy compared to a lighter weight. The weight can be obtained by a weight measuring device configured to directly and / or indirectly obtain the weight. The weight measuring device can include one or more load cells, scales, lever systems, force sensors, strain gauges, piezoelectric sensors, capacitive sensors, magnetic sensors, optical sensors, ultrasonic sensors, and similar devices / units.

[0036] The container-related data 110 can include the time or distance that the electric material handler 30 is expected to transport the container 30. It should be understood that traveling a longer distance or a longer travel distance taking a longer time generally causes the electric material handler 10 to consume or regenerate more energy when transporting the container 30 compared to a shorter distance / travel distance taking a shorter time.

[0037] Container-related data 110 may include the time or distance that the electric material handling machine 10 is expected to move towards or away from the container 30. It should be understood that compared with a shorter distance / traveling distance taking less time, traveling a longer distance or a traveling distance taking a longer time when moving towards or away from different containers generally results in the electric material handling machine 10 consuming or regenerating more energy.

[0038] The above-mentioned time or distance (for either or both of the time / distance for transporting the container 30 or moving between containers) can be obtained by an estimation system. The estimation system can be configured to obtain the position data of the electric material handling machine 10 to track its position, speed, and / or route. The position data can be GPS data, GNSS data, triangulation data (e.g., from WiFi or cellular triangulation), Bluetooth beacon data, photogrammetry data, satellite image data, etc. The position data of the starting position where the electric material handling machine 10 moves and the ending position where the electric material handling machine 10 is expected to move to can be obtained. Based on the difference between the position data of the starting point and the ending point, the expected distance can be calculated. The expected time can be calculated in a similar manner but additionally considering the expected moving speed between the origin position and the ending position. The estimation system can optionally be configured to adopt machine learning algorithms to improve its estimation accuracy. The machine learning model can be based on any suitable algorithms known in the art, such as artificial neural networks, regression algorithms, K-nearest neighbors, decision trees, support vector machines, etc. The machine learning model may consider some exemplary learning parameters such as historical driving data, current traffic conditions at the site, weather conditions, etc.

[0039] Container-related data 110 may also optionally include the height difference of the relocation of the container 30. This data may be relevant in cases where there is a height difference when the container 30 is relocated from a first height (such as h1) to a second height (such as h2). However, in some cases, the relocation of the container 30 does not necessarily involve a height difference, so it is optional. The height can be obtained by a height measuring device configured to directly and / or indirectly obtain the height difference. The height measuring device can include one or more ultrasonic distance sensors, laser distance sensors, infrared distance sensors, capacitive proximity sensors, photoelectric sensors, lidar sensors, pressure sensors, strain gauge sensor encoders, load cells, and similar devices / units.

[0040] The processing circuit 102 is also configured to obtain battery attributes 112 of the electric material handling machine 10. The battery attributes 112 are related to the battery 16. The battery attributes 112 may include the state of charge (SoC). The SoC is a percentage showing the amount of energy currently held by the battery 16 compared to its full capacity. It ranges from 0% (completely empty) to 100% (fully charged). The SoC can be obtained from the battery management system 15. The battery attributes 112 may include the recovery time. The recovery time is sometimes referred to as the power supply ability of the battery. The recovery time refers to the time required for the battery 16 to return to a stable functional state after a high energy consumption operation or a significant discharge. During this recovery time, the chemical processes and internal components of the battery 16 may need to be readjusted and stabilized. Once the recovery period ends, the battery should be ready to provide its rated performance and capacity again.

[0041] The battery attributes 112 may depend on the characteristics of the electric material handling machine 10. Thus, it is assumed that the battery attributes 112 of the battery 16 may vary depending on the type of electric material handling machine (or general electric industrial vehicle) in which it is located. The characteristics of the electric material handling machine 10 may be one or more of weight, energy efficiency (i.e., the efficiency with which the electric material handling machine 10 can perform the handling operation 114), internal battery characteristics of the battery 16 (such as capacity, voltage, energy / power density, chemistry, temperature range, etc.), and idle data of the electric material handling machine 10. The idle data may refer to information or data related to the operation of the machine when it is in an idle or inactive state (e.g., parked). The idle data may include details about the behavior, energy consumption, and performance of the electric material handling machine 10 when it is not actively performing its main task, such as the time taken to charge the battery 16.

[0042] In the examples of the present disclosure, it should be understood that the container-related data 110 and / or the battery attributes 112 can be obtained at any time. Thus, this information can be obtained before, during, or after the execution of the handling operation. Therefore, the specific order of obtaining this information is not necessarily relevant.

[0043] The processing circuit 102 is also configured to determine a handling operation 114 that the electric material handling machine 10 can perform on the container 30 based on the container-related data 110. Since different containers are typically associated with different properties, such as those related to the one or more container-related data 110, it should be understood that different types of handling operations 114 can be performed on different containers. The handling operations 114 discussed herein are primarily lifting operations and lowering operations, although other energy-consuming or regenerative handling operations 114 can readily be envisioned. Such handling operations 114 can be related to loading and unloading operations, stacking and storage operations, transportation operations, sorting operations, inspection operations, weighing operations, repair and maintenance operations, stripping and stuffing operations, etc. Generally speaking, a handling operation can be regarded as causing the container 30 or the components loaded therein to be repositioned within the site where the container 30 is located.

[0044] The processing circuit 102 is also configured to determine energy management data 116 based on the battery attributes 112 and the handling operation 114. Since the handling operation 114 is based on the container-related data 110, the energy management data 116 will also be indirectly based on the container-related data 110. Thus, the energy management data 116 relates to the relationship regarding how the energy should be managed with respect to the container-related data 110 for the handling operation 114 that can be performed on the container 30.

[0045] In some examples, the energy management data 116 can relate to the priority of the order in which the handling operations 114 are performed. This is based on the amount of energy consumed or regenerated when performing the handling operation 114. Thus, the energy management data 116 can include a list or some other type of data structure that relates to one or more handling operations 114 in a priority order based on the container-related data 110 and the battery attributes 112. The data structure can be sorted by time, i.e., in descending order of the time at which each handling operation should be performed, based on the predicted evolution of the battery attributes within a time period defined by the chronological order. Thus, taking into account the container-related data 110, the energy management data 116 can provide a practical method that allows the handling operations 114 to be performed in as energy-efficient an order as possible.

[0046] In the above example, the amount of energy consumed or regenerated when performing the handling operation 114 can be calculated based on the container-related data 110. The function can consider the weight of the container 30, the time or distance that the electric material handling machine 10 is expected to transport the container 30, the time or distance that the electric material handling machine is expected to move from another container to the container 30 / to another container, and optionally the height difference of the repositioning of the container 30.

[0047] In some examples, the processing circuit 102 can be configured to optimize the energy management data 116 based on an optimization property of the electric material handling machine 10. The optimization property can be the minimum energy consumption of the electric material handling machine 10. Optimization based on the minimum energy consumption can reduce operating costs, reduce environmental impact, and improve operating efficiency. The optimization property can be the number of containers that the electric material handling machine 10 has moved or is about to move. Optimization based on the number of containers that have been moved or are about to be moved can provide an estimate of the future operation of the electric material handling machine 10. The optimization property can be the number of battery charge sequences that the battery 16 of the electric material handling machine 10 has performed. Optimization based on the battery charge sequence can consider idle data, such as how long it takes for the battery 16 to charge and when the battery 16 is expected to require maintenance or replacement. The optimization property can be one or more of the above properties and, optionally, a weighted value that takes into account multiple optimization properties that are related to each other. Ultimately, the optimization discussed above can provide an improved method of planning the handling operation 114, such as the priority of the planned handling operations relative to each other.

[0048] In some examples, the processing circuit 102 can be configured to optimize the energy management data 116 based on the geographical data of the site in which the electric material handling machine 10 operates. In these examples, the location data discussed above can be considered to optimize the way in which the energy management data 116 is processed. By way of example only, GPS data can indicate the layout of the current site. Based on this knowledge, the energy management data 116 can be optimized by traveling along a preferred travel route that does not involve unnecessary energy consumption.

[0049] The processing circuit 102 is also configured to provide a handling operation recommendation 118 for the electric material handling machine 10 based on the determined energy management data 116. The method can vary depending on a variety of factors, such as whether the electric material handling machine 10 is manually operated or autonomous by a user. The handling operation recommendation 118 generally indicates the highest priority handling operations, as is apparent from the energy management data 116. Optionally, one or more of the handling operations 114 with the highest priority can be skipped or postponed. This can occur, for example, if other handling operations 114 are set with a priority indicator, or if the recovery time of the battery 16 does not allow a particular handling operation to be performed.

[0050] For an autonomously operated electric material handling machine, the handling operation recommendation 118 can be provided as instruction data for performing autonomous control actions (such as assisting the operation of the handling machine, for example, including driving operations). To this end, the processing circuit 102 can be configured to autonomously control the electric material handling machine 10 to perform a handling operation based on the handling operation recommendation 118. The autonomous control can be accomplished by converting the decision to perform the recommended handling operation into control commands for one or more actuators of the electric material handling machine 10 (for example, the actuators of the container conveying device 14).

[0051] For a manually operated electric material handling machine, the handling operation recommendation 118 can be provided as instruction data via a user interface. The user interface can be any suitable user interface arranged to provide an information prompt to an operator of the manually operated electric material handling machine. The user interface can be several exemplary user interfaces such as a graphical user interface (such as a control panel of a vehicle or an augmented reality device), an auditory user interface (such as a speaker), or a tactile user interface (such as a tactile device arranged in the steering device of the vehicle). The instruction data can include one or more indicators or instruction prompts for the operator to follow to perform the recommended handling operation, such as "Drive to location X", "Lift container Y", "Place container Y at location Z", and so on.

[0052] The handling operation recommendation 118 may also be related to one or more auxiliary handling machine operations. The auxiliary handling machine operations may be associated with any of the auxiliary systems 17. The auxiliary handling machine operations include operations that are not necessarily associated with lifting or lowering the container 30 but may still result in energy regeneration or consumption. The auxiliary handling machine operations may be one or more of a charging operation, driving operations including autonomous navigation operations, collision avoidance operations, and ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) operations, climate control operations, telematics operations, and diagnostic operations. The charging operation may include one or more of the location for charging the electric material handling machine 10, the time to charge the electric material handling machine 10, the speed to charge the electric material handling machine 10, the selected charging protocol, and the payment and authentication process. The autonomous navigation operations may include one or more of steering operations, braking operations, propulsion operations, etc. The collision avoidance operations may include a set of planned driving actions to be taken to navigate to avoid collisions with other vehicles and / or objects. The climate control operations may include one or more of the time, power, and schedule for controlling the climate impact device of the electric material handling machine 10. The telematics operations may include one or more of wireless communication with other vehicles or a central yard controller or an external controller, activating / deactivating GPS tracking, initiating or shutting down data collection, controlling vehicle connectivity, etc. The diagnostic operations may include one or more of on-vehicle diagnostics, maintenance, inspections, repairs, data analysis, etc. In view of the above, the energy management data 116 may accordingly relate to both the handling operations 114 and the auxiliary handling machine operations sorted together according to the disclosure herein.

[0053] Further reference Figure 2 shows an exemplary yard 20 in which the electric material handling machine 10 may operate according to one example. The yard 20 is not limited to a specific yard and may be any indoor or outdoor area with different types of material containers for the transportation, management, and distribution of goods. In a non-limiting example, the yard 20 may be a container port and terminal, a logistics facility, a warehouse or distribution center, a cross-docking facility, an intermodal freight station, a manufacturing and production plant, an air cargo hub, a railroad yard, an e-commerce fulfillment center, a border crossing, and a customs facility. The yard 20 includes a plurality of containers 30 distributed across the yard 20. The containers 30 may be associated with an operating area 24 in which the electric material handling machine 10 may perform its operations on the associated containers 30. The yard 20 may include a charging area 22 where the electric material handling machine 10 may charge its battery 16 at an associated charging station 23.

[0054] Figure 2An exemplary illustration shows a potential route that the electric material handling machine 10 can take based on a plurality of handling operation recommendations 118 explained in the present disclosure. This route involves six (6) different locations, as indicated by the numbers in the figure. The number of handling operations 114 for this route depends on various factors, such as battery attributes 112, geographical data of the site 20, characteristics of the electric material handling machine 20, and / or details of the container-related data 110. Note that this is just an exemplary route. Other routes can involve any number of handling operations 114 or auxiliary handling operations 114 and can be executed for the electric material handling machine at a given time. In the example of the present disclosure, the electric material handling machine can be operated to perform a single handling operation or can be operated to perform handling operations 114 throughout the entire service life of the electric material handling machine. Thus, there are no restrictions in this regard. The route to be taken has been determined based on energy management data 116, which in turn is based on battery attributes 112 and the handling operations 114 that can be performed on the container 30 based on the container-related data 110. To this end, the container-related data 110 of a plurality of containers 30 located at the site 20 has been obtained. In addition, the battery attributes 112 of the electric material handling machine 10 have been obtained.

[0055] At location (1), the electric material handling machine 10 is located at the origin position. It has been recommended that the electric material handling machine 10 perform an auxiliary handling machine operation to move towards the operation area 24. At location (2), the electric material handling machine 10 has reached the operation area 24 and is recommended to perform an operation to relocate the container 30a to another position. This relocation involves a lifting operation, a moving operation, and a lowering operation. At location (3), the electric material handling machine 10 has lifted the container 30a from the pick-up position, moved to another position while transporting the container 30a, and lowered the container 30a such that it is now placed at the second position. Due to the low state of charge of the battery, it has been recommended to move the electric material handling machine 10 to the charging area 22. At step (4), the electric material handling machine 10 has performed a charging operation and received an additional recommended action to be taken, which involves driving to location (5). At location (5), the electric material handling machine 10 is instructed to relocate the container 30b to location (6). This is achieved by performing a lifting operation on the container 30b such that the container can be transported, performing an auxiliary moving operation towards location (6), and performing a lowering operation to place the container 30b on the ground. Then the route is completed. One or more of the various handling operations 114 performed during the route can be recommended before the electric material handling machine 10 moves from location (1), or can be recommended one after another at each new location or after the previous handling operation is performed. In this context, no restrictions should be imposed on when the various operations are recommended to be taken, as future actions can be predicted.

[0056] Figure 3 Figure 3 is an exemplary diagram showing how energy management data 116 can be determined by exemplary prioritization. The horizontal axis of this diagram shows the current SoC [%] of the vehicle's battery 15, and the vertical axis of this diagram shows the power [kWh] for discharging or charging for certain operations of the electric material handling machine 10. This diagram has four regions. The first region (1) corresponds to higher energy regeneration operations, i.e., operations that regenerate more energy compared to the second region (2) of lower energy regeneration operations. For example, if moving a container from a height of 10 meters to the ground, this generally regenerates more energy compared to moving the container from a height of 1 meter to the ground. The third region (3) corresponds to lower energy consumption operations, i.e., operations that consume a smaller amount of energy compared to the fourth region (4) of higher energy consumption operations. For example, if moving a container from the ground to a height of 10 meters, this generally consumes more energy compared to moving the container from the ground to a height of 1 meter. Note that each of the regions (1) to (4) can be divided into multiple sub-regions as needed, such that the regeneration or consumption operations can be further divided into quantiles according to their respective energy regeneration or consumption values.

[0057]

[0057] In some examples, the priority of the handling operation 114 is related to the corresponding energy regeneration of the handling operation 114 as a container lowering operation (or optionally, any other handling operation that results in energy regeneration). These examples correspond to regions (1) and (2). According to the diagram, a lowering operation with higher energy regeneration is more likely to be assigned to a lower percentage level of the SoC, because they can regenerate more energy for the battery 15 compared to a lifting operation with lower energy consumption. This can advantageously mitigate the risk of regenerating energy when it is not needed, and can alternatively utilize higher regeneration operations when more energy is needed (e.g., when the current SoC is lower).

[0058]

[0058] In some examples, the priority of the handling operation 114 is related to the corresponding energy consumption of the handling operation 114 as a container lifting operation (or optionally, any other handling operation that results in energy consumption). These examples correspond to regions (3) and (4). According to the diagram, a lifting operation with higher energy consumption is more likely to be assigned to a higher percentage level of the SoC, because they require more energy to perform compared to a lifting operation with lower energy consumption. This can advantageously mitigate the risk of consuming too much energy when the current SoC is low, and can alternatively utilize the execution of higher energy consumption operations when the SoC level is high enough. A possible exception is that since a high energy consumption operation has been recently performed, the battery 15 is still recovering. For this possible exception, the battery property 112 is not within an acceptable value range during the recovery time, which may cause an operation with lower energy consumption to be prioritized for a higher SoC value.

[0059] In some examples, the container-related data 110 can include an operation priority indicator. This indicator can indicate whether the container 30 associated with it is involved in a priority loading. An indicator indicating a higher priority loading can receive the priority of a certain handling operation, while an indicator indicating a lower priority loading can receive the right of way of the certain handling operation. For example, if another handling operation of the container is prioritized based on the operation priority indicator, the priority of the handling operation associated with the higher energy consumption of the container can be postponed. This may be the case regardless of the available battery attributes 112 (such as the current SoC).

[0060] Figure 4 is a flowchart of a method 200 for providing handling operation recommendations 118 for an electric material handling machine (such as the electric material handling machine 10 discussed herein). The method 200 includes obtaining 210, by a processing circuit of a computer system (such as the processing circuit 102 of the computer system 100), container-related data 110 of a plurality of containers (such as the containers 30 located at the site 20) located at the site. The method 200 further includes obtaining 220, by the processing circuit, battery attributes 112 of the electric material handling machine. The method 200 further includes determining 230, by the processing circuit, handling operations 114 that the electric material handling machine can perform on the plurality of containers based on the container-related data 110. The method 200 further includes determining 240, by the processing circuit, energy management data 116 based on the battery attributes 112 and the handling operations 114. The method 200 further includes providing 250, by the processing circuit, handling operation recommendations 118 for the electric material handling machine based on the energy management data 116.

[0061] Figure 5FIG. 0 is a schematic diagram of a computer system 500 for implementing the examples disclosed herein. The computer system 500 is adapted to execute instructions from a computer-readable medium to perform these and / or any functions or processes described herein. The computer system 500 may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines in a LAN (local area network), LIN (local interconnect network), automotive network communication protocol (e.g., FlexRay), intranet, extranet, or the Internet. Although only a single device is shown, the computer system 500 may include any collection of devices that individually or jointly execute an instruction set (or instruction sets) to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein. Thus, any reference in this disclosure and / or the claims to a computer system, computing system, computer device, computing device, control system, control unit, electronic control unit (ECU), processor device, processing circuit, etc. includes a reference to one or more such devices to individually or jointly execute an instruction set (or instruction sets) to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein. For example, a control system may include a single control unit or multiple control units connected to or otherwise communicatively coupled to each other such that any executed function can be distributed among the control units as needed. Additionally, such devices may communicate with each other or with other devices via various system architectures, such as directly or via a controller area network (CAN) bus, etc.

[0062] The computer system 500 may include at least one computing device or electronic device capable of including firmware, hardware, and / or executing software instructions to implement the functionality described herein. The computer system 500 may include a processing circuit 502 (e.g., a processing circuit including one or more processor devices or control units), a memory 504, and a system bus 506. The computer system 500 may include at least one computing device having the processing circuit 502. The system bus 506 provides an interface for system components including, but not limited to, the memory 504 and the processing circuit 502. The processing circuit 502 may include any number of hardware components for performing data or signal processing or for executing computer code stored in the memory 504. The processing circuit 502 may, for example, include a general-purpose processor, a special-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a circuit including processing components, a group of distributed processing components, a group of distributed computers configured for processing, or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The processing circuit 502 may also include computer-executable code for controlling the operation of the programmable device.

[0063] The system bus 506 can be any one of several types of bus structures, which can further be interconnected to a memory bus (with or without a memory controller), a peripheral bus, and / or a local bus using any one of a variety of bus architectures. The memory 504 can be one or more devices for storing data and / or computer code to perform or facilitate the methods described herein. The memory 504 can include database components, object code components, script components, or any type of information structure for supporting the various activities herein. Any distributed or local memory device can be utilized with the systems and methods of this specification. The memory 504 can be communicatively connected to the processing circuit 502 (e.g., via circuitry or any other wired, wireless, or network connection) and can include computer code for performing one or more of the processes described herein. The memory 504 can include non-volatile memory 508 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), etc.) and volatile memory 510 (e.g., random access memory (RAM)), or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of machine-executable instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer or other machine having the processing circuit 502. The basic input / output system (BIOS) 512 can be stored in the non-volatile memory 508 and can include basic routines that help transfer information between elements within the computer system 500.

[0064] The computer system 500 can also include or be coupled to a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium such as a storage device 514, which can include, for example, an internal or external hard disk drive (HDD) (e.g., enhanced integrated drive electronics (EIDE) or serial advanced technology attachment (SATA)), an HDD for storage (e.g., EIDE or SATA), flash memory, and so on. The storage device 514 and other drives associated with the computer-readable medium and computer-usable medium can provide non-volatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executable instructions, and the like.

[0065] Hard-coded or soft-coded computer code may be provided in the form of one or more modules. The modules may be implemented as software and / or hard-coded in circuitry to implement all or part of the functionality described herein. These modules may be stored in a storage device 514 and / or volatile memory 510, which may include an operating system 516 and / or one or more program modules 518. All or part of the examples disclosed herein may be implemented as a computer program 520 stored on a transient or non-transient computer-usable or computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a single medium or multiple media) such as storage device 514, the computer program including complex programming instructions (e.g., complex computer-readable program code) that cause processing circuitry 502 to perform the actions described herein. Thus, the computer-readable program code of computer program 520 may include software instructions for implementing the functionality of the examples described herein when executed by processing circuitry 502. In some examples, storage device 514 may be a computer program product (e.g., a readable storage medium) on which computer program 520 is stored, where at least a portion of computer program 520 may be loadable (e.g., loaded into a processor) for implementing the functionality of the examples described herein when executed by processing circuitry 502. Processing circuitry 502 may serve as a controller or control system for computer system 500, the controller or control system for implementing the functionality described herein.

[0066] Computer system 500 may include an input device interface 522 configured to receive inputs and selections to be transmitted to computer system 500, such as from a keyboard, mouse, touch-sensitive surface, etc., when executing instructions. Such input devices may be connected to processing circuitry 502 via input device interface 522 coupled to system bus 506, but may be connected via other interfaces (such as a parallel port, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394 serial port, Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, IR interface, etc.). Computer system 500 may include an output device interface 524 configured to forward outputs to, such as, a display, a video display unit (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). Computer system 500 may include a communication interface 526 suitable for communicating with a network, as appropriate or as needed.

[0067] Operational actions described in any of the exemplary aspects herein are provided for example and discussion. These actions may be performed by hardware components, may be embodied in machine-executable instructions to cause a processor to perform these actions, or may be performed by a combination of hardware and software. Although a particular order of method actions may be shown or described, the order of the actions may be different. Additionally, two or more actions may be performed simultaneously or partially simultaneously.

[0068] Example 1: A computer system (100) for providing handling operation recommendations (118) for an electric material handling machine (10), the computer system (100) including processing circuitry (102) configured to: obtain container-related data (110) of a plurality of containers (30) located at a site (20); obtain battery attributes (112) of the electric material handling machine (10); determine handling operations 114 that the electric material handling machine (10) can perform on the plurality of containers (30) based on the container-related data (110); determine energy management data (116) based on the battery attributes (112) and the handling operations 114; and provide a handling operation recommendation (118) for the electric material handling machine (10) based on the energy management data (116).

[0069] Example 2: The computer system (100) according to Example 1, wherein the energy management data (116) includes a priority for the order of performing the handling operations 114 on the battery attributes (112) based on the amount of energy consumed or regenerated when performing the handling operations 114.

[0070] Example 3: The computer system (100) according to any one of Examples 2, wherein the amount of energy consumed or regenerated when performing the handling operations 114 is calculated according to the container-related data (110), the container-related data including the weight of the container (30), the time or distance that the electric material handling machine (10) is expected to transport the container (30), the time or distance that the electric material handling machine (10) is expected to move towards or away from the container (30), and optionally the height difference of the repositioning of the container (30).

[0071] Example 4: The computer system (100) according to any one of Examples 2 to 3, wherein the priority is related to the respective energy consumption of the handling operation 114 as a container lifting operation.

[0072] Example 5: The computer system (100) according to Example 4, wherein the priority involves, within an acceptable value of the recovery time included in the battery attributes (112), assigning a container lifting operation with a higher energy consumption to a higher state of charge value included in the battery attributes (112) compared to a container lifting operation with a lower energy consumption.

[0073] Example 6: The computer system (100) according to any one of Examples 2 to 5, wherein the processing circuitry (102) is configured to prioritize the energy regeneration of the handling operation 114 as a container lowering operation.

[0074] Example 7: The computer system (100) as described in Example 6, wherein the priority involves allocating the container lowering operation with higher energy regeneration to the lower state of charge values included in the battery attribute (112) compared to the container lowering operation with lower energy regeneration.

[0075] Example 8: The computer system (100) as described in any one of Examples 1 to 7, wherein the container-related data (110) further includes an operation priority indicator configured to indicate the priority of container loading.

[0076] Example 9: The computer system (100) as described in any one of Examples 1 to 8, wherein the processing circuit (102) is further configured to optimize the energy management data (116) based on the optimized properties of the electric material handling machine (10).

[0077] Example 10: The computer system (100) as described in Example 9, wherein the optimized properties are one or more of the following: the minimum energy consumption of the electric material handling machine (10), the number of the plurality of containers (30) that the electric material handling machine (10) has moved or is about to move, and the number of battery charging sequences that the electric material handling machine (10) has executed.

[0078] Example 11: The computer system (100) as described in any one of Examples 1 to 10, wherein the processing circuit (102) is further configured to optimize the energy management data (116) based on the geographical data of the site (20).

[0079] Example 12: The computer system (100) as described in any one of Examples 1 to 11, wherein the handling operation 114 causes the container (30) or the components loaded therein to be relocated within the site (20).

[0080] Example 13: The computer system (100) as described in any one of Examples 1 to 12, wherein the battery attribute (112) depends on one or more of the weight of the electric material handling machine (10), the energy efficiency of the electric material handling machine (10), the battery characteristics of the battery of the electric material handling machine (10), and the idle data of the electric material handling machine (10).

[0081] Example 14: The computer system (100) as described in any one of Examples 1 to 13, wherein the processing circuit (102) is configured to control the electric material handling machine (10) to perform the handling operation based on the handling operation recommendation (118).

[0082] Example 15: The computer system (100) as described in any one of Examples 1 to 14, wherein the processing circuit (102) is configured to control the electric material handling machine (10) to perform an auxiliary handling machine operation based on the handling operation recommendation (118), and the auxiliary handling machine operation is one or more of the following: a charging operation, a driving operation including an autonomous navigation operation, a collision avoidance operation, and an ADAS operation, a climate control operation, a telematics operation, and a diagnostic operation.

[0083] Example 16: The computer system (100) as described in any one of Examples 1 to 15, the computer system being arranged in the electric material handling machine (10) and / or being arranged as a cloud-based resource, the cloud-based resource being configured to communicate with the electric material handling machine.

[0084] Example 17: An electric material handling machine (10) comprising the computer system (100) as described in any one of Examples 1 to 16.

[0085] Example 18: A computer-implemented method (200) for providing a handling operation recommendation (118) for an electric material handling machine (10), comprising: obtaining (210) container-related data (110) of a plurality of containers (30) located at a site (20) by a processing circuit (102) of a computer system (100); obtaining (220) battery attributes (112) of the electric material handling machine (10) by the processing circuit (102); determining (230) a handling operation 114 that the electric material handling machine (10) can perform for the plurality of containers (30) based on the container-related data (110) by the processing circuit (102); determining (240) energy management data (116) based on the battery attributes (112) and the handling operation 114 by the processing circuit (102); and providing (250) a handling operation recommendation (118) for the electric material handling machine (10) based on the energy management data (116) by the processing circuit (102).

[0086] Example 19: A computer program product comprising program code that, when executed by the processing circuit (102), performs the method (200) as described in Example 18.

[0087] Example 20: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by the processing circuit (102), cause the processing circuit (102) to perform the method (200) as described in Example 18.

[0088] The terms used herein are for the purpose of describing particular aspects only and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. As used herein, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, the singular forms "a" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It should also be understood that the terms "comprises" and / or "comprising," when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, acts, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, acts, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0089] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element.

[0090] Relative terms such as "below" or "above" or "upper" or "lower" or "horizontal" or "vertical" may be used herein to describe the relationship of one element to another, as shown in the figures. It should be understood that these terms, as well as those discussed above, are intended to cover different device orientations in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. It should be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "coupled" to another element, the element may be directly connected or directly coupled to the other element, or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly coupled" to another element, no intervening elements are present.

[0091] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein (including technical and scientific terms) have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It should also be understood that, unless clearly defined herein, the terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art, and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense.

[0092] It should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the aspects described above and shown in the figures; rather, those skilled in the art will recognize that many changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims. In the figures and the specification, the aspects have been disclosed for illustrative purposes only and not for purposes of limitation, and the scope of the disclosure is set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A computer system for providing handling operation recommendations for an electric material handler, the computer system comprising a processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to: obtaining container-related data for a plurality of containers located at a site; Obtaining battery properties of the electric material handler; determining, based on the container-related data, handling operations that the electric material handler can perform on the plurality of containers; determining energy management data based on the battery properties and the handling operation; as well as A handling operation recommendation is provided for the electric material handler based on the energy management data.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the energy management data includes a priority for the battery attributes in an order to perform the transport operations based on an amount of energy consumed or regenerated when performing the transport operations.

3. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the amount of energy consumed or regenerated when performing the handling operation is calculated based on the container-related data, the container-related data including the weight of the container, the time or distance the electric material handler is expected to transport the container, the time or distance the electric material handler is expected to move toward or away from the container, and optionally the height difference for repositioning of the container.

4. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the priority is related to a corresponding energy consumption of the handling operation being a container lifting operation.

5. The computer system of claim 4, wherein the priority relates to assigning higher energy consuming container lifting operations to higher state of charge values ​​included in the battery attributes than lower energy consuming container lifting operations within acceptable values ​​for recovery time included in the battery attributes.

6. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the processing circuit is configured to prioritize energy regeneration of the handling operation over a container lowering operation.

7. The computer system of claim 6, wherein the priority relates to assigning a container lowering operation with higher energy regeneration to a lower state of charge value included in the battery attribute than a container lowering operation with lower energy regeneration.

8. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the container-related data further comprises an operational priority indicator configured to indicate a priority container loading.

9. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to optimize the energy management data based on an optimized property of the electric material handler.

10. The computer system of claim 9, wherein the optimization property is one or more of: The minimum energy consumption of the electric material handler, the number of the plurality of containers moved or to be moved by the electric material handler, and The number of battery charging sequences that the electric material handler has performed.

11. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to optimize the energy management data based on geographic data of the site.

12. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the moving operation results in repositioning of the container or components loaded therein within the yard.

13. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the battery attribute depends on one or more of a weight of the electric material handler, an energy efficiency of the electric material handler, a battery characteristic of a battery of the electric material handler, and idle data of the electric material handler.

14. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is configured to control the electric material handler to perform a handling operation based on the handling operation recommendation.

15. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is configured to control the electric material handler to perform an auxiliary handler operation based on the handling operation recommendation, the auxiliary handler operation being one or more of: Charging operation, driving operations, including autonomous navigation operations, collision avoidance operations, and ADAS operations, Climate control operation, Telematics operations, and Diagnostic operations.

16. The computer system of claim 1, the computer system being disposed in the electric material handler and / or as a cloud-based resource configured to communicate with the electric material handler.

17. An electric material handling machine comprising the computer system of claim 1.

18. A computer-implemented method for providing handling operation recommendations for an electric material handler, comprising: acquiring, by processing circuitry of a computer system, container-related data for a plurality of containers located at a yard; obtaining, by the processing circuit, battery properties of the electric material handler; determining, by the processing circuit, handling operations operable by the electric material handler for the plurality of containers based on the container-related data; determining, by the processing circuit, energy management data based on the battery properties and the handling operation; as well as The processing circuitry provides handling operation recommendations for the electric material handler based on the energy management data.

19. A computer program product comprising program code for performing the method of claim 18 when the program code is executed by the processing circuit.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by the processing circuit, cause the processing circuit to perform the method of claim 18.

Images