Stacking planning system and robot for loading operation

Abstract

The invention provides a stacking planning system and robot for loading operation, the stacking planning system comprises a processing unit, a driving unit and a visual perception unit, a stack type planning unit in the processing unit performs stacking planning and determines a target stack type; the candidate position screening unit carries out sliding direction screening on the to-be-stacked position of the current layer in the 3D direction according to the target stack type, and a target candidate position is determined; the grabbing and releasing mode determining unit determines the grabbing and releasing mode of the material according to the target candidate position; and the driving unit receives the control instruction sent by the processing unit so as to drive the mechanical arm to grab at least one material from the conveying mechanism according to the grabbing mode and stack the at least one material on the target candidate position according to the placement mode. Therefore, layer-by-layer stacking in the optimal stacking sequence can be ensured, collision among the cargoes in the stacking process is avoided, the piece falling rate is effectively reduced, the cargo loss caused by loading is effectively reduced, a manual loading mode can be well replaced, and the overall loading efficiency of the cargoes is greatly improved.

Description

Background Art

[0002] With the development of the logistics industry, the use of robots to perform logistics loading, unloading, sorting and other operations is being promoted by more and more enterprises. This method can greatly improve the efficiency of loading, unloading and sorting, and meet the high-intensity work requirements.

[0003] However, existing depalletizing robots generally operate at fixed positions (i.e., fixed at a specified position, and then the manipulator is extended to meet the operation requirements within a certain range). When dealing with more complex logistics scenarios, such as semi-closed carriages or loading goods in containers at the dock, existing robots are difficult to adapt to the palletizing operation within a narrow space range, resulting in this link still highly dependent on manual handling and low efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Aiming at the defects in the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a stacking planning system and a robot for loading operations.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a stacking planning system for loading operations, including: a processing unit, a driving unit, and a visual perception unit. The visual perception unit is used to obtain image data during the entire loading operation process and transmit the image data to the processing unit. The processing unit includes: a stack type planning unit, a candidate position screening unit, and a grasping and placing method determination unit; where:

[0006] The stack type planning unit is used to perform palletizing planning according to the material information conveyed by the conveying mechanism or the known incoming material information to determine the target stack type;

[0007] The candidate position screening unit is used to perform sliding direction screening on the positions to be stacked in the current layer in the 3D direction according to the target stack type to determine the target candidate positions;

[0008] The grasping and placing method determination unit is used to determine the grasping method and placing method of the material according to the target candidate positions;

[0009] The driving unit is used to receive the control instructions sent by the processing unit to drive the manipulator to grasp at least one material from the conveying mechanism according to the grasping method and stack it at the target candidate position according to the placing method.

[0010] Optionally, the grasping methods include: top suction, side suction, and side suction with a bottom support; the placing methods include: top placement and side placement.

[0011] Optionally, the stack type planning unit is specifically used for:

[0012] According to the size of the loading space, as well as the size and type of the materials conveyed by the conveying mechanism, or the known incoming material information, palletizing planning is carried out according to the preset pallet type parameters to determine the target pallet type; wherein, the loading space includes: containers, carriages, trucks, warehouses; the pallet type parameters include: loading rate, maximum load-bearing height.

[0013] Optionally, the candidate position screening unit is specifically configured to:

[0014] Determine all the positions to be palletized in the current layer and label the serial numbers from 1 to N, where N is the total number of positions to be palletized;

[0015] Traverse all the positions to be palletized. Assume that the i-th position to be palletized is currently being screened, where i = 1, 2, 3,..., N;

[0016] Slide the remaining positions to be palletized except the i-th position to be palletized along the preset 3D direction as a whole, and detect whether there is a collision with the i-th position to be palletized during the sliding. If there is no collision, mark the i-th position to be palletized as the target candidate position;

[0017] If there is a collision, exclude the i-th position to be palletized.

[0018] Optionally, the processing unit further includes: a palletizing priority determination unit, which is configured to determine the palletizing priority of the target candidate positions according to preset conditions when the number of the target candidate positions is greater than 1, where the preset conditions include: palletizing from low to high, palletizing from left to right.

[0019] Optionally, it further includes: a placement matching unit, which is used for:

[0020] When the number of materials grasped by the robot at one time is M and M is greater than 1, determine K target candidate positions corresponding to the number of grasped materials, where K is greater than or equal to M;

[0021] According to the K target candidate positions, determine the matching method when the robot places the materials. The matching method includes: rotating along any one or any combination of the X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, and Z-axis direction so that the M materials match the target candidate positions, and there is no conflict and collision between the materials to be palletized and other materials during placement.

[0022] Optionally, it further includes: a dropped part detection unit, which is used to detect whether there are dropped materials; if there are dropped materials, determine the original position where the dropped materials were placed;

[0023] The driving unit is further configured to control the robotic arm to re-palletize the dropped materials at the original position where the dropped materials were placed according to the original position where the dropped materials were placed.

[0024] Optionally, it further includes: a start-stop control unit, which is configured to automatically control the robotic arm to adjust to a specified posture and then enter the standby state when a preset condition is met; wherein, the preset condition includes:

[0025] The loading operation is completed;

[0026] The materials conveyed on the conveying mechanism are all grabbed;

[0027] A remote or local shutdown instruction is received.

[0028] Optionally, it further includes: a storage unit, which is configured to record material information, target stack type, stacking order of each layer, grabbing method, and placing method;

[0029] When performing the same loading operation, the processing unit directly extracts relevant information from the storage unit and generates a control instruction, so that the driving unit drives the robotic arm to perform the stacking task according to the control instruction.

[0030] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a robot, including: a robot body, a mobile base, and a stacking planning system for the loading operation as described in any one of the first aspects, the robot is used to perform the loading operation, wherein:

[0031] The robot body is installed on the mobile base, and the mobile base freely moves inside the operation space according to the progress of the loading operation. The operation space includes: a container, a cargo cabinet, a carriage, and a cabin;

[0032] The stacking planning system for the loading operation is configured to control at least one robotic arm on the robot body to grab at least one material from the conveying mechanism according to the grabbing method and stack it at the target candidate position according to the placing method.

[0033] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0034] In this application, a system including a processing unit, a driving unit, and a visual perception unit is set up. The visual perception unit is used to obtain image data during the entire loading operation process and transmit the image data to the processing unit. The processing unit includes: a stack pattern planning unit, a candidate position screening unit, and a grasping and placing method determination unit. Among them: The stack pattern planning unit is used to perform stack planning according to the material information conveyed by the conveying mechanism or the known incoming material information to determine the target stack pattern. The candidate position screening unit is used to screen the sliding direction of the positions to be stacked on the current layer in the 3D direction according to the target stack pattern to determine the target candidate position. The grasping and placing method determination unit is used to determine the grasping method and placing method of the material according to the target candidate position. The driving unit is used to receive the control instructions sent by the processing unit to drive the robotic arm to grasp at least one material from the conveying mechanism according to the grasping method and stack it at the target candidate position according to the placing method. Thereby, it can ensure that stacking is performed layer by layer in the best stacking order, avoid collisions between goods during the stacking process, effectively reduce the dropping rate, and reduce the loss of goods caused by loading. It can well replace the manual loading method and greatly improve the overall loading efficiency of the goods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the following-described drawings are only the embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to the provided drawings without creative efforts. By reading the detailed description of the non-restrictive embodiments with reference to the following drawings, other features, objectives, and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious:

[0036] Figure 1 Structural schematic diagram of a stacking planning system for a loading operation provided by an embodiment of this application;

[0037] Figure 2 Vertical plane schematic diagram of sliding direction screening provided by an embodiment of this application Figure 1 ;

[0038] Figure 3 Vertical plane schematic diagram of sliding direction screening provided by an embodiment of this application Figure 2 ;

[0039] Figure 4 Structural schematic diagram of another stacking planning system for a loading operation provided by an embodiment of this application;

[0040] Figure 5 Structural schematic diagram of yet another stacking planning system for a loading operation provided by an embodiment of this application;

[0041] Figure 6 This is a schematic structural diagram of another stacking planning system for loading operations provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] Figure 7 This is a schematic structural diagram of a stacking planning device for loading operations provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] Figure 8 This is a schematic structural diagram of a computer-readable storage medium in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed implementation manners

[0044] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Apparently, the described embodiments are some but not all of the embodiments of the present application. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments in the present application without creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0045] It should be noted that when a component is referred to as being "fixed to" another component, it can be directly on the other component or there may also be an intermediate component. When a component is considered to be "connected" to another component, it can be directly connected to the other component or there may be an intermediate component at the same time.

[0046] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the technical field to which this application belongs. The terms used herein in the specification of this application are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit this application. The term "and / or" used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the related listed items.

[0047] The terms "first", "second", "third", "fourth", etc. (if any) in the specification and claims of the present invention and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances so that the embodiments of the present invention described herein, for example, can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein. In addition, the terms "include" and "have" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units clearly listed, but may include other steps or units not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products, or devices.

[0048] The technical solution of the present invention and how the technical solution of the present application solves the above technical problems will be described in detail below with specific embodiments. The following several specific embodiments can be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be repeated in some embodiments.

[0049] The following will describe in detail some embodiments of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings. Without conflict, the embodiments and features in the embodiments below can be combined with each other.

[0050] Figure 1 The following is a schematic structural diagram of a stacking planning system for loading operations provided by an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 1 shown, the stacking planning system 100 for loading operations in this embodiment may include: a processing unit 110, a driving unit 120, and a visual perception unit 130. The visual perception unit 130 is used to obtain image data during the entire loading operation process and transmit the image data to the processing unit 110. The processing unit 110 includes: a stack type planning unit 111, a candidate position screening unit 112, and a grasping and placing method determination unit 113. Among them: The stack type planning unit 111 is used to perform stacking planning according to the material information conveyed by the conveying mechanism or the known incoming material information to determine the target stack type; the candidate position screening unit 112 is used to perform sliding direction screening on the positions to be stacked in the current layer in the 3D direction according to the target stack type to determine the target candidate positions; the grasping and placing method determination unit 113 is used to determine the grasping method and placing method of the material according to the target candidate positions; the driving unit 120 is used to receive the control instructions sent by the processing unit to drive the robotic arm to grasp at least one material from the conveying mechanism according to the grasping method and stack it at the target candidate position according to the placing method.

[0051] In this embodiment, the stack type planning unit 111 can perform stacking planning according to the size of the loading space, the size and type of the materials conveyed by the conveying mechanism, or the known incoming material information, and determine the target stack type according to the preset stack type parameters. Among them, the loading space includes: containers, carriages, trucks, warehouses; the stack type parameters include: loading rate, maximum load height.

[0052] In a possible implementation manner, during loading operations, the robot does not know the material information conveyed by the conveying mechanism, that is, the size of the incoming material is unknown. This situation is more of a mixed stacking scenario, that is, multiple different materials need to be stacked in a container carriage. In this case, the visual system built into the robot and / or the visual devices arranged in the on-site environment collect the material images conveyed by the conveying mechanism in real time to obtain the material information. Then, according to the obtained material information, the stack type for stacking during loading is dynamically planned. At this time, the target stack type generally changes.

[0053] In another possible implementation, for example, in the scenario of loading containers onto a truck at a dock, the materials within a container often belong to the same or similar categories. Therefore, palletizing planning can be carried out based on the known incoming material information to determine the target pallet pattern.

[0054] In this embodiment, the candidate position screening unit 112 is first used to determine all the positions to be stacked on the current layer and label them with serial numbers 1 to N, where N is the total number of positions to be stacked. Then, it traverses all the positions to be stacked. Assume that the current i-th position to be stacked is being screened, where i = 1, 2, 3,..., N. Next, the remaining positions to be stacked except the i-th position to be stacked are slid as a whole along a preset 3D direction, and it is detected whether there is a collision with the i-th position to be stacked during the sliding. If there is no collision, the i-th position to be stacked is marked as a target candidate position; if there is a collision, the i-th position to be stacked is excluded.

[0055] Exemplarily, the above system may further include: a stacking priority determination unit 140. The stacking priority determination unit 140 is used to, when the number of target candidate positions is greater than 1, determine the stacking priorities of the target candidate positions according to preset conditions, where the preset conditions include: stacking from low to high, stacking from left to right.

[0056] In this embodiment, sometimes more than 1 position to be stacked passes the collision screening in the preset sliding direction. At this time, the placement priority can be set according to actual operation experience, such as stacking from low to high, from left to right, or from right to left. It should be noted that this embodiment does not limit the specific setting strategy of the priority, and common priority setting strategies can all be applied in this embodiment.

[0057] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the vertical plane for screening the sliding direction provided by the embodiment of the present application Figure 1 , as Figure 2 shown, assume that a total of 9 materials can be stacked on the vertical plane of the carriage (i.e., the same layer) (the target pallet pattern is stratified by the vertical plane, because the truck loading operation is carried out layer by layer from the inside to the outside). Among them, the numbers 1 to 6 represent a total of six positions to be stacked. Starting from the first position to be stacked, each position to be stacked is traversed, and the collision screening for the preset sliding direction is carried out. Taking the first position to be stacked as an example, when the other positions to be stacked (2 to 6) are slid as a whole along the preset direction, there will be no collision with the first position to be stacked. Therefore, the first position to be stacked is marked as a target candidate position.

[0058] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the vertical plane for screening the sliding direction provided by the embodiment of the present application Figure 2 , as Figure 3As shown in the figure, when performing collision screening in the sliding direction for the second position to be stacked, when the other positions to be stacked (1, 3-6) are slid as a whole along the preset direction, the first position to be stacked will collide with the second position to be stacked. That is, if the material is first placed at the second position to be stacked, then when the material is placed at the first position to be stacked subsequently, due to limitations such as the movement angle (joint angle) of the robotic arm itself, collisions will occur between the materials, resulting in situations such as parts dropping and material damage.

[0059] It should be noted that in this embodiment, Figure 2 、 Figure 3 Collision screening is performed for a sliding direction shown in the figure. In practical applications, it may be necessary to perform similar collision screening for two or more sliding directions. The principle is similar to that of the screening in one direction in the above embodiment, and will not be elaborated here.

[0060] It should be noted that when stacking materials, in order not to damage the materials already placed on the stack, the robotic arm of the robot often uses an inclined insertion method to place the materials. This is also the reason why collision screening in different sliding directions is performed in this embodiment.

[0061] In this embodiment, the grasping methods include: top suction, side suction, and side suction with a bottom support; the placing methods include: top placing and side placing.

[0062] In this embodiment, after determining the target candidate position, the materials are stacked according to the grasping method and placing method determined in step S103.

[0063] Exemplarily, when placing materials at a lower position, the top suction and top placing method is preferably used. When placing materials at a higher position, the top suction and side placing method is used, so that the stacking of materials in a narrow space can be completed flexibly, the loading rate of the space can be improved as much as possible, and the safety during material stacking can be ensured.

[0064] In this embodiment, by performing palletizing planning based on the material information conveyed by the conveying mechanism or the known incoming material information, the target pallet type is determined; according to the target pallet type, the sliding direction screening is performed on the positions to be stacked in the current layer in the 3D direction to determine the target candidate position; according to the target candidate position, the grasping method and placing method of the material are determined; at least one material is grasped from the conveying mechanism according to the grasping method and stacked at the target candidate position according to the placing method. Thus, it can be ensured that the stacking is performed layer by layer in the best stacking order, avoiding collisions between goods during the stacking process, effectively reducing the part dropping rate, and the loss of goods caused by loading the vehicle, and can well replace the manual loading method, greatly improving the overall loading efficiency of the goods.

[0065] Figure 4The structural schematic diagram of another stacking planning system for loading operations provided by the embodiments of the present application is as follows Figure 4 As shown, the stacking planning system 100 for loading operations in this embodiment may include: a processing unit 110, a driving unit 120, a visual perception unit 130, a stacking priority determination unit 140, and a placement matching unit 150. The visual perception unit 130 is configured to acquire image data during the entire loading operation process and transmit the image data to the processing unit 110. The processing unit 110 includes: a stack type planning unit 111, a candidate position screening unit 112, and a grasping and placing method determination unit 113. Among them, the placement matching unit is configured to: when the number of materials grasped by the robot at one time is M and M is greater than 1, determine K target candidate positions corresponding to the number of grasped materials, where K is greater than or equal to M; according to the K target candidate positions, determine the matching method when the robot places the materials. The matching method includes: rotating in any one or any combination of the X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, and Z-axis direction so that the M materials match the target candidate positions. When placing, there is no conflict or collision between the materials to be stacked and other materials.

[0066] In this embodiment, the matching method includes: rotating in any one or any combination of the X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, and Z-axis direction so that the M materials match the target candidate positions. When placing, there will be no conflict or collision between the materials to be stacked and other materials.

[0067] This embodiment is applicable to the scenario of multi-grasping at one time. When the robotic arm of the robot grasps two or more materials simultaneously, through the matching control of the robotic arm in the 3D direction, multiple materials can be placed at the corresponding target candidate positions simultaneously, thereby significantly improving the stacking efficiency.

[0068] Figure 5 The structural schematic diagram of yet another stacking planning system for loading operations provided by the embodiments of the present application is as follows Figure 5 As shown, the stacking planning system 100 for loading operations in this embodiment may include: a processing unit 110, a driving unit 120, a visual perception unit 130, a stacking priority determination unit 140, a placement matching unit 150, and a dropped part detection unit 160. The visual perception unit 130 is configured to acquire image data during the entire loading operation process and transmit the image data to the processing unit 110. The processing unit 110 includes: a stack type planning unit 111, a candidate position screening unit 112, and a grasping and placing method determination unit 113. Among them, the dropped part detection unit 160 is configured to detect whether there are dropped materials; if there are dropped materials, determine the original placement position of the dropped materials; the driving unit 120 is further configured to control the robotic arm to re-stack the dropped materials at the original placement position according to the original placement position of the dropped materials.

[0069] In this embodiment, during the loading operation of the robot, the stacking situation of the materials can be monitored. For example, through the vision system built in the robot or the cameras arranged at the operation site, the environmental images of the loading are collected, and based on the environmental images, it is determined whether there are dropped materials. When there are dropped materials, the robot can be controlled to timely confirm the positions of the dropped materials and re-stack the materials at their original stacking positions.

[0070] Figure 6 It is a schematic structural diagram of another stacking planning system for the loading operation provided by the embodiment of the present application. As Figure 6 shown, the stacking planning system 100 for the loading operation in this embodiment may include: a processing unit 110, a driving unit 120, a visual perception unit 130, a stacking priority determination unit 140, a placement matching unit 150, a dropped part detection unit 160, a start-stop control unit 170, and a storage unit 180. The visual perception unit 130 is used to acquire the image data during the entire loading operation process and transmit the image data to the processing unit 110. The processing unit 110 includes: a stack type planning unit 111, a candidate position screening unit 112, and a grasping and placing method determination unit 113. Among them, the start-stop control unit 170 and the storage unit 180 are used to automatically control the robotic arm to adjust to a specified posture and then enter the standby state when a preset condition is met. The preset conditions include:

[0071] The loading operation ends;

[0072] All the materials conveyed on the transmission mechanism have been grabbed;

[0073] A remote or local shutdown instruction is received.

[0074] In this embodiment, the storage unit 180 is used to record material information, the target stack type, the stacking order of each layer, the grasping method, and the placing method. When performing the same loading operation, the processing unit directly extracts relevant information from the storage unit and generates a control instruction, so that the driving unit drives the robotic arm to execute the stacking task according to the control instruction.

[0075] In this embodiment, by setting the start-stop control unit to ensure the operation safety of the robot. When a remote or local shutdown instruction is received, the robot timely enters the standby state, and at this time, the robotic arm stops moving. When the loading operation ends, or all the materials conveyed on the transmission mechanism have been grabbed, the robotic arm is automatically controlled to adjust to a specified posture and then enter the standby state, thereby reducing the power consumption of the robot and saving electricity.

[0076] In this embodiment, by setting up a storage unit, the previous loading operation information can be stored, which is convenient for quick calling when performing the same loading operation subsequently, reducing the debugging time and improving the loading efficiency of the robot.

[0077] The embodiment of the present application further provides a stacking planning method for loading operations, and the method may include the following steps:

[0078] Step S1: Perform stacking planning according to the material information conveyed by the conveying mechanism or the known incoming material information to determine the target stack type.

[0079] In this embodiment, the stacking planning can be performed according to the size of the loading space, the size and type of the materials conveyed by the conveying mechanism, or the known incoming material information, in accordance with the preset stack type parameters to determine the target stack type; wherein, the loading space includes: containers, carriages, trucks, warehouses; the stack type parameters include: loading rate, maximum load-bearing height.

[0080] In a possible implementation manner, during the loading operation, the robot does not know the material information conveyed by the conveying mechanism, that is, the size of the incoming material is unknown. This situation is more of a mixed stacking scenario, that is, multiple different materials need to be stacked in a container carriage. In this case, the vision system built into the robot and / or the vision devices arranged in the on-site environment collect the material images conveyed by the conveying mechanism in real time to obtain the material information. Then, according to the obtained material information, the stack type for stacking during loading is dynamically planned. At this time, the target stack type generally changes.

[0081] In another possible implementation manner, for example: in the scenario of loading a container at a dock, the materials in a container are often of the same or similar categories. Therefore, the stacking planning can be performed according to the known incoming material information to determine the target stack type.

[0082] Step S2: According to the target stack type, screen the sliding directions of the positions to be stacked in the current layer in the 3D direction to determine the target candidate positions.

[0083] In this embodiment, first, all the positions to be stacked in the current layer are determined and numbered from 1 to N, where N is the total number of positions to be stacked; all the positions to be stacked are traversed. Assume that the i-th position to be stacked is currently screened, where i = 1, 2, 3,..., N. Then, the remaining positions to be stacked except the i-th position to be stacked are slid as a whole along the preset 3D direction, and it is detected whether there is a collision with the i-th position to be stacked during the sliding. If there is no collision, the i-th position to be stacked is marked as the target candidate position; if there is a collision, the i-th position to be stacked is excluded.

[0084] Exemplarily, when the number of target candidate positions is greater than 1, the stacking priority of the target candidate positions can be determined according to preset conditions, where the preset conditions include: stacking from low to high, stacking from left to right.

[0085] In this embodiment, sometimes more than 1 position to be stacked passes the collision screening in the preset sliding direction. At this time, the placement priority can be set according to actual operation experience, such as stacking from low to high, from left to right, or from right to left. It should be noted that this embodiment does not limit the specific setting strategy of the priority, and common priority setting strategies can be applied to the method of this embodiment.

[0086] Figure 2 Vertical plane schematic diagram of sliding direction screening provided by an embodiment of the present application Figure 1 , such as Figure 2 shown. Assume that a total of 9 materials can be stacked on the vertical plane of the carriage (i.e., the same layer) (stratifying the target stack type by the vertical plane, because the loading operation is carried out layer by layer from the inside to the outside). Among them, the numbers 1 to 6 represent a total of six positions to be stacked. Starting from the first position to be stacked, each position to be stacked is traversed, and the collision screening of the preset sliding direction is performed. Taking the first position to be stacked as an example, when the other positions to be stacked (2 to 6) slide as a whole along the preset direction, it will not collide with the first position to be stacked. Therefore, the first position to be stacked is marked as a target candidate position.

[0087] Figure 3 Vertical plane schematic diagram of sliding direction screening provided by an embodiment of the present application Figure 2 , such as Figure 3 shown. For the collision screening of the sliding direction of the second position to be stacked, when the other positions to be stacked (1, 3 to 6) slide as a whole along the preset direction, the first position to be stacked will collide with the second position to be stacked. That is, if the material is first placed at the second position to be stacked, then when the material is placed at the first position to be stacked later, due to restrictions such as the movement angle (joint angle) of the robotic arm itself, collisions will occur between the materials, resulting in situations such as dropping parts and material damage.

[0088] It should be noted that in this embodiment, Figure 2 , Figure 3 shown, a collision screening is performed in one sliding direction. In practical applications, it may be necessary to perform similar collision screenings for two or more sliding directions. The principle is similar to the screening in one direction in the above embodiment, and will not be elaborated here.

[0089] It should be noted that when stacking materials, in order not to damage the materials already placed on the stack, the robotic arm usually places the materials in an inclined insertion manner, which is the reason for screening collisions in different sliding directions in this embodiment.

[0090] Step S3: Determine the grasping method and placement method of the material according to the target candidate position.

[0091] In this embodiment, the grasping methods include: top suction, side suction, and side suction with a bottom support; the placement methods include: top placement and side placement.

[0092] Step S4: Grasp at least one material from the conveying mechanism according to the grasping method and stack it at the target candidate position according to the placement method.

[0093] In this embodiment, after determining the target candidate position, stack the materials according to the grasping method and placement method determined in step S103.

[0094] Exemplarily, when placing materials at a lower position, the top suction and top placement method is preferably used. When placing materials at a higher position, the top suction and side placement method is used, so that the stacking of materials in a narrow space can be completed flexibly, the loading rate of the space can be improved as much as possible, and the safety during material stacking can be ensured.

[0095] In this embodiment, by performing palletizing planning based on the material information conveyed by the conveying mechanism or the known incoming material information to determine the target pallet pattern; screening the sliding directions of the positions to be stacked in the current layer in the 3D direction according to the target pallet pattern to determine the target candidate positions; determining the grasping method and placement method of the materials according to the target candidate positions; grasping at least one material from the conveying mechanism according to the grasping method and stacking it at the target candidate position according to the placement method. Thus, it can be ensured that the stacking is carried out layer by layer in the best stacking order, avoiding collisions between goods during the stacking process, effectively reducing the dropping rate, and the loss of goods caused by loading the vehicle, and can well replace the manual loading method, greatly improving the overall loading efficiency of the goods.

[0096] Exemplarily, the above method may further include:

[0097] Step S5: When the number of materials grasped by the robot at one time is M and M is greater than 1, determine K target candidate positions corresponding to the number of grasped materials, where K is greater than or equal to M.

[0098] Step S6: Determine the matching method when the robot places according to the K target candidate positions.

[0099] In this embodiment, the matching method includes: rotating along any one or multiple directions of the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction, so that the M materials are matched with the target candidate positions. When placing, there will be no conflict or collision between the materials to be stacked and other materials.

[0100] Step S7: grab at least one material from the transmission mechanism according to the grabbing method, and stack the M materials on the target candidate positions according to the placement method according to the determined matching method.

[0101] This embodiment can be applied to scenarios where multiple materials need to be grasped at a time. When the robot's manipulator grasps two or more materials at the same time, multiple materials can be placed at corresponding target candidate positions at the same time by matching and controlling the manipulator in the 3D direction, thereby significantly improving the stacking efficiency.

[0102] Exemplarily, the above method may further include:

[0103] Step S8: Detect whether there is any fallen material.

[0104] Step S9: If there is any fallen material, determine the original location of the fallen material.

[0105] Step S10: Control the robot to re-stack the fallen materials at their original locations.

[0106] In this embodiment, the robot can monitor the stacking of materials during the loading process. For example, it can use its built-in vision system or cameras deployed at the work site to capture images of the loading environment and determine whether there are any dropped materials based on these images. If there are dropped materials, the robot can be controlled to promptly confirm their location and re-stack them to their original location.

[0107] Figure 7 This is a structural diagram of a stacking planning device for a loading operation provided in an embodiment of the present application. The stacking planning device 700 for a loading operation in this embodiment may include: a processor 701 and a memory 702.

[0108] A memory 702 for storing programs; the memory 702 may include volatile memory, such as random-access memory (RAM), such as static random-access memory (SRAM), Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (DDR SDRAM), etc.; the memory may also include non-volatile memory, such as flash memory. The memory 702 is used to store computer programs (such as application programs and functional modules for implementing the above methods), computer instructions, etc. The above computer programs, computer instructions, etc. can be stored in partitions in one or more memories 702. And the above computer programs, computer instructions, data, etc. can be called by the processor 701.

[0109] The above computer programs, computer instructions, etc. can be stored in partitions in one or more memories 702. And the above computer programs, computer instructions, data, etc. can be called by the processor 701.

[0110] A processor 701 for executing the computer programs stored in the memory 702 to implement the respective steps in the methods involved in the above embodiments.

[0111] Specifically, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0112] The processor 701 and the memory 702 can be of independent structure or integrated together. When the processor 701 and the memory 702 are of independent structure, the memory 702 and the processor 701 can be coupled and connected through a bus 703.

[0113] The stacking planning device 700 for loading operations in this embodiment can execute Figures 2 to 5 the technical solutions in the method shown, and the specific implementation process and technical principle are referred to Figures 2 to 5 the relevant descriptions in the method shown, which will not be elaborated here.

[0114] Those skilled in the art can understand that various aspects of the present invention can be implemented as a system, a method, or a program product. Therefore, various aspects of the present invention can be specifically implemented in the following forms, namely: a complete hardware implementation, a complete software implementation (including firmware, microcode, etc.), or an implementation combining hardware and software aspects, which can be collectively referred to as "circuit", "module", or "platform" here.

[0115] In addition, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which computer-executable instructions are stored. When at least one processor of the user device executes the computer-executable instructions, the user device executes the above various possible methods.

[0116] Among them, the computer-readable medium includes a computer storage medium and a communication medium. The communication medium includes any medium that facilitates the transmission of a computer program from one place to another. The storage medium can be any available medium accessible by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor, so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in the user device. Of course, the processor and the storage medium can also exist as discrete components in the communication device.

[0117] The present application also provides a program product. The program product includes a computer program. The computer program is stored in a readable storage medium. At least one processor of the server can read the computer program from the readable storage medium, and the at least one processor executes the computer program to enable the server to implement the method according to any one of the above embodiments of the present invention.

[0118] Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that all or part of the steps of implementing the above method embodiments can be completed by hardware related to program instructions. The foregoing program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When the program is executed, it executes the steps including the above method embodiments; and the foregoing storage medium includes: Read-Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), magnetic disk, or optical disk, etc., which can store program codes.

[0119] Figure 8 is a schematic structural diagram of the computer-readable storage medium in the embodiment of the present invention. Refer to Figure 8As shown, a program product 800 for implementing the above method according to an embodiment of the present invention is described. It can be a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) and includes program code, and can run on a terminal device, such as a personal computer. However, the program product of the present invention is not limited to this. In this document, a readable storage medium can be any tangible medium that contains or stores a program that can be used by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0120] The program product can adopt any combination of one or more readable media. The readable media can be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. The readable storage medium can, for example, but not be limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination of the above. More specific examples of the readable storage medium (a non-exhaustive list) include: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above.

[0121] The computer-readable storage medium can include a data signal propagated in a baseband or as part of a carrier wave, which carries the readable program code. Such a propagated data signal can take various forms, including but not limited to an electromagnetic signal, an optical signal, or any suitable combination of the above. The readable storage medium can also be any readable medium other than the readable storage medium, which can send, propagate, or transmit a program for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The program code contained on the readable storage medium can be transmitted by any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wired, optical fiber, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the above.

[0122] The program code for performing the operations of the present invention can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The programming languages include object-oriented programming languages - such as Java, C++, etc., and also include conventional procedural programming languages - such as the "C" language or similar programming languages. The program code can be executed entirely on the user's computing device, partially on the user's device, executed as an independent software package, partially on the user's computing device and partially on a remote computing device, or entirely on a remote computing device or server. In the case of a remote computing device, the remote computing device can be connected to the user's computing device through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or can be connected to an external computing device (for example, by using an Internet service provider to connect through the Internet).

[0123] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner. Each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. For the same or similar parts among the various embodiments, reference can be made to each other. The above description of the disclosed embodiments enables those skilled in the art to implement or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be obvious to those skilled in the art. The general principles defined herein can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention will not be limited to these embodiments shown herein, but rather will conform to the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0124] The specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above specific embodiments, and those skilled in the art can make various deformations or modifications within the scope of the claims, which does not affect the essence of the present invention.

Claims

1. A stacking planning system for loading operations, characterized in that, Including: A processing unit, a driving unit, and a visual perception unit. The visual perception unit is used to acquire image data during the entire loading operation process and transmit the image data to the processing unit. The processing unit includes: a stack pattern planning unit, a candidate position screening unit, and a grasping and placing method determination unit. Among them: The stack pattern planning unit is used to perform stack pattern planning based on the material information conveyed by the conveying mechanism or known incoming material information to determine the target stack pattern. The candidate position screening unit is used to perform sliding direction screening on the positions to be stacked in the current layer in the 3D direction according to the target stack pattern to determine the target candidate positions. The grasping and placing method determination unit is used to determine the grasping method and placing method of the material according to the target candidate positions. The driving unit is used to receive the control instructions sent by the processing unit to drive the robotic arm to grasp at least one material from the conveying mechanism according to the grasping method and stack it at the target candidate position according to the placing method.

2. The stacking planning system for loading operations according to claim 1, characterized in that, The grasping methods include: top suction, side suction, and side suction with a bottom support. The placing methods include: top placement and side placement.

3. The stacking planning system for loading operations according to claim 1, characterized in that, The stack pattern planning unit is specifically used for: Performing stack pattern planning according to the size of the loading space, the size and type of the materials conveyed by the conveying mechanism, or known incoming material information, in accordance with preset stack pattern parameters to determine the target stack pattern. Among them, the loading space includes: containers, carriages, trucks, and warehouses. The stack pattern parameters include: loading rate and maximum load height.

4. The stacking planning system for loading operations according to claim 1, characterized in that The candidate position screening unit is specifically used for: Determining all the positions to be stacked in the current layer and calibrating the serial numbers from 1 to N, where N is the total number of positions to be stacked. Traversing all the positions to be stacked, assuming that the i-th position to be stacked is currently screened, where i = 1, 2, 3,..., N. Sliding the remaining positions to be stacked except the i-th position to be stacked as a whole along a preset 3D direction, and detecting whether there is a collision with the i-th position to be stacked during the sliding. If there is no collision, the i-th position to be stacked is marked as the target candidate position. If there is a collision, the i-th position to be stacked is excluded.

5. The stacking planning system for loading operations according to claim 4, wherein, The processing unit further includes: a stacking priority determination unit. The stacking priority determination unit is used to determine the stacking priority of the target candidate positions according to preset conditions when the number of target candidate positions is greater than 1. Among them, the preset conditions include: stacking from low to high and stacking from left to right.

6. The stacking planning system for loading operations according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, Also including: A placement matching unit. The placement matching unit is used for: When the number of materials grasped by the robot at one time is M and M is greater than 1, determining K target candidate positions corresponding to the number of grasped materials, where K is greater than or equal to M. According to the K target candidate positions, determining the matching method when the robot places the materials. The matching methods include: rotating along any one or any combination of the X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, and Z-axis direction so that the M materials match the target candidate positions, and when placing, there is no conflict or collision between the materials to be stacked and other materials.

7. The stacking planning system for loading operations according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, Also including: The part loss detection unit is used to detect whether there are any dropped materials; if there are dropped materials, it determines the original placement position of the dropped materials. The driving unit is further used to control the robotic arm to re-stack the dropped materials at their original placement positions according to the original placement positions of the dropped materials.

8. The stacking planning system for loading operations according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, It further includes: The start-stop control unit is used to automatically control the robotic arm to adjust to a specified posture and then enter the standby state when a preset condition is met; wherein, the preset conditions include: The loading operation is completed. All the materials conveyed on the conveying mechanism have been grabbed. A remote or local shutdown command is received.

9. The stacking planning system for loading operations according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, It further includes: a storage unit, which is used to record material information, the target stack type, the stacking order of each layer, the grasping method, and the placement method. When performing the same loading operation, the processing unit directly extracts relevant information from the storage unit and generates a control command, so that the driving unit drives the robotic arm to perform the stacking task according to the control command.

10. A robot, characterized in that, It includes: A robot body, a mobile base, and the stacking planning system for the loading operation according to any one of claims 1-9, wherein the robot is used to perform the loading operation, and: The robot body is installed on the mobile base, and the mobile base freely moves inside the operation space according to the progress of the loading operation. The operation space includes: a container, a cargo cabinet, a carriage, and a cabin. The stacking planning system for the loading operation is used to control at least one robotic arm on the robot body to grab at least one material from the conveying mechanism according to the grasping method and stack it at the target candidate position according to the placement method.

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