Picking method, apparatus, electronic device and readable storage medium

Abstract

The picking method disclosed herein includes the steps of generating transport tasks corresponding to each piece of cargo information based on multiple pieces of cargo information in a shipping order, then sending each transport task to multiple first robots, and having each first robot transport the target carrier corresponding to the transport task to a stay point of the target workstation based on the corresponding transport task; and determining a picking order for multiple target carriers based on picking information for each target carrier of the multiple target carriers, where the picking information includes a picking time and / or a picking priority, sending a target picking command to picking equipment based on the picking order of the multiple target carriers, and having the picking equipment transport the target cargo on each target carrier to the target workstation according to the picking order of the multiple target carriers.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of intelligent warehousing, and in particular to a picking method, apparatus, electronic device and readable storage medium. [CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS] This application claims priority from Chinese patent application No. 202310477329.6, filed on April 27, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, the rapid development of robotics technology has brought about major technological innovations throughout the logistics industry, and the "baggage-to-person" robotic system has brought new technologies and design concepts to the warehousing industry. "Baggage-to-person" robotic systems include various methods, such as "shelf-to-person." "Shelf-to-person" refers to the robot transporting the target shelf to the destination point, using picking equipment at the destination point to transport the luggage on the shelf to a workstation, where the worker at the workstation completes the luggage picking.

[0003] Typically, one workstation can include multiple dwell points, and after the robot transports each shelf from the luggage storage area to each dwell point, the picking equipment can sequentially perform picking tasks on each shelf based on the time sequence in which each shelf arrived at the dwell point. However, when the picking equipment performs picking tasks based on the time sequence in which each shelf arrived at the dwell point, there is a problem that the robot utilization rate is low. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The present disclosure provides a picking method, apparatus, electronic device and readable storage medium. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a picking method applicable to a control device, the picking method including: a step of generating a transport task corresponding to each of a plurality of pieces of luggage information in a shipping order based on the plurality of pieces of luggage information; a step of sending each transport task to a plurality of first robots, respectively, so that each of the first robots transports a target carrier corresponding to the transport task to a stay point of a target workstation including a plurality of stay points based on the transport task corresponding to the transport task; a step of determining a picking order of a plurality of target carriers based on picking information of each target carrier in the plurality of target carriers, the picking information including a picking time and / or a picking priority; and a step of sending a target picking instruction to a picking equipment based on the picking order of the plurality of target carriers, the target picking instruction being used to instruct the picking equipment to transport the target luggage on each target carrier to the target workstation in accordance with the picking order of the plurality of target carriers.

[0006] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a picking method applicable to a picking facility, the picking method including the steps of receiving a target picking command, and when each first robot among a plurality of first robots has transported a target carrier corresponding to the transport task to a stay point of the target workstation based on the corresponding transport task, transporting target luggage in each target carrier to the target workstation in accordance with a picking order of the plurality of target carriers in response to the target picking command, wherein the target workstation includes a plurality of stay points, the picking order of the plurality of target carriers is determined based on picking information of each target carrier among the plurality of target carriers, and the picking information includes a picking time and / or a picking priority.

[0007] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a picking device including a task generation module, a task transmission module, a picking order determination module, and an instruction transmission module, wherein the task generation module is configured to generate transport tasks corresponding to each of a plurality of pieces of luggage information in a shipping order based on the plurality of pieces of luggage information; the task transmission module is configured to transmit each transport task to a plurality of first robots, respectively, so that each of the first robots transports a target carrier corresponding to the transport task to a stay point of a target workstation including a plurality of stay points based on the corresponding transport task; the picking order determination module is configured to determine a picking order for a plurality of target carriers based on picking information of each of the plurality of target carriers, the picking information including a picking time and / or a picking priority; and the instruction transmission module is configured to transmit picking instructions to a picking equipment according to the picking order of the target carriers, the picking instructions being used to instruct the picking equipment to transport target luggage on the plurality of target carriers to the target workstation.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides another picking device, the picking device including an instruction receiving module and a transport module, wherein the instruction receiving module is configured to receive a target picking instruction, and the transport module is configured to transport target cargo in the target carrier to the target workstation in accordance with a picking order of the multiple target carriers when each first robot in the multiple first robots transports a target carrier corresponding to the transport task to a stay point of the target workstation based on a corresponding transport task, the target workstation including multiple stay points, the picking order of the multiple target carriers is determined based on picking information of each target carrier in the multiple target carriers, and the picking information includes a picking time and / or a picking priority.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an electronic device comprising a memory and a processor, wherein a computer program is stored in the memory, and wherein the processor, when executing the computer program, implements the steps of the picking method described in the first and second aspects.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a computer readable storage medium having computer instructions stored thereon, the computer instructions causing a computer to perform the steps of the picking method described in the first and second aspects above.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer program product, the computer program including a computer program stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the computer program including program instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the steps of the picking method described in the first and second aspects.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer program that, when executed by a processor, can implement the steps of the picking method described in the first and second aspects. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] In order to more clearly describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly described below. It is apparent that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without making creative efforts. [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a picking scenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2A] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a transportation scenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2B] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3A] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of another picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3B] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of another picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3C] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of another picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of another picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of another picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of another picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of another picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of another picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of another picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a temporary storage area scenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of another picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] 1 is a schematic diagram of a picking device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of another picking device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 14] 1 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] In order to allow those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, and to make the above-mentioned objectives, features and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure more clear and understandable, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0015] In the intelligent warehouse system, when a robot receives a transport command, it can transport the corresponding carrier from the luggage storage area to the designated workstation stay point based on the transport command.

[0016] 1 is a schematic diagram of a picking scenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, multiple dwell points can be installed at one workstation, and picking equipment (e.g., a robot arm) can sequentially perform picking tasks on each shelf based on the time sequence in which each shelf arrives at each dwell point. After the picking equipment completes the picking task, a robot waiting at the corresponding dwell point returns the shelf on which the picking task has been completed to the luggage storage area.

[0017] For example, referring to FIG. 1 , Robot 1 transports Carrier A to the P1 dwell point according to the corresponding shelf transport command, Robot 2 transports Carrier B to the P2 dwell point according to the corresponding shelf transport command, Robot 3 transports Carrier C to the P3 dwell point according to the corresponding shelf transport command, and Robot 4 transports Carrier D to the P4 dwell point according to the corresponding shelf transport command. If the arrival order of each shelf at the corresponding dwell point is Carrier B (arrives at P2), Carrier C (arrives at P3), Carrier D (arrives at P4), and Carrier A (arrives at P1), the picking equipment sequentially performs picking tasks on Carrier B, Carrier C, Carrier D, and Carrier A based on the arrival order of each carrier at the dwell point. That is, the picking equipment transports the target parcels in each carrier to the parcel placement position of the workstation, so that the worker can pick the target parcels. After completing the picking, the electronic device sends a transport command to a robot waiting at the corresponding dwell point to have the robot return the shelf to the parcel storage area.

[0018] In some cases, when picking equipment executes picking tasks based on the order in which each carrier arrives at a dwell point, a problem of low robot utilization rate may occur. For example, if a carrier that arrives at a workstation dwell point first has a large number of target packages, the corresponding picking time is long. When the picking equipment prioritizes picking for that carrier, other carriers at the dwell point must wait for a long time. This means that the robot cannot be released in a timely manner to execute other transportation tasks, resulting in low robot transportation efficiency. In other words, when the related art executes picking tasks based on the time order in which each carrier arrives at a dwell point, it does not take into account the time of different picking tasks. Therefore, if a carrier's picking task time is short and it arrives at a dwell point late, that carrier must wait for a long time at the dwell point, resulting in a problem of low robot utilization rate.

[0019] In view of this, the present disclosure provides a picking method, apparatus, electronic device, and readable storage medium that can determine the picking order of each carrier based on the picking time and / or picking priority corresponding to each carrier, and that when picking based on the picking order, the picking equipment can shorten the time that each robot waits at a stay point, release each robot early to perform other transportation tasks, and improve the operating rate of the robots.

[0020] In some examples, a parcel may be placed on a carrier by itself, or may be stored in a container, a shelf, a pallet, or a turnover box. The transport task performed by the picking equipment may be a transport for a parcel, or a transport for a container such as a pallet, a shelf, or a turnover box, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, an example will be described in which a parcel is stored in a container, and the container is placed on a carrier.

[0021] 2A is a schematic diagram of a transportation scenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, an application scenario of the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 2A.

[0022] As shown in Figure 2A, the application scenario includes an electronic device 11, a robot 12, and a workstation 13. As shown in Figure 1, each workstation 13 can include multiple dwell points and picking equipment.

[0023] For example, the electronic device 11 sends a transport command to the robot 12, the robot 12 transports the target carrier in the luggage storage area to the stay point of the workstation based on the transport command, the picking equipment of the workstation picks up the target container in the target carrier and places it in the workstation, and the worker at the workstation 13 can pick the target luggage in the target container.

[0024] In some examples, the electronic device 11 is communicatively connected to enable data communication between the robot 12 and / or the workstation 13. For example, the electronic device 11 can be communicatively connected to the robot 12 and / or the workstation 13 via a local area network (LAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), and other networks.

[0025] For example, the electronic device 11 may be a terminal or a server, or may be an apparatus in which a robot warehouse management system (WMS) and a robot management system (RMS) are installed. The terminal may be various personal computers, laptops, smartphones, tablets, portable wearable devices, etc., and the server may be an independent server or a server cluster consisting of multiple servers, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto.

[0026] 2B is a schematic diagram of a picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The picking method shown in FIG. 2B can be realized by a control device, which may be the electronic device 11 of FIG. 2A. The following embodiment will be described by taking the case where the control device is an electronic device as an example. As shown in FIG. 2B, the picking method includes the following steps S210 to S240.

[0027] In S210, a transport task corresponding to each piece of package information is generated based on a plurality of pieces of package information in the shipping order.

[0028] In S220, each transport task is sent to each of the multiple first robots, and each first robot transports the target carrier corresponding to the transport task to a stay point of a target workstation including multiple stay points based on the corresponding transport task.

[0029] In some examples, the robot may be a transport robot in a warehouse, and the transport robot may be a robot that transports carriers or a robot that transports luggage. Here, the carrier may be a shelf, a luggage container, a material container, an empty container, a pallet, etc., and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. The following embodiments will be described by taking the carrier as a shelf as an example.

[0030] For example, the target carrier is a carrier corresponding to multiple parcels in a shipping order, and the first robot is a robot for transporting the target carrier within a warehouse. The number of target carriers may be one or more. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a case where the number of target carriers is multiple will be described as an example.

[0031] In S230, a picking order of the plurality of target carriers is determined based on the picking information of each of the plurality of target carriers. The picking information includes a picking time and / or a picking priority.

[0032] In some embodiments, if the picking information is a picking priority, S230 includes determining a picking order for the multiple target carriers based on the picking priority of each target carrier, where the higher the picking priority of a target carrier, the earlier the picking order of the target carrier.

[0033] In other words, when the picking priorities of multiple target carriers are different, the picking operation can be preferentially performed on the target carrier with the higher picking priority according to the picking priority of each target carrier.

[0034] In some embodiments, when the picking information is a picking time, S230 includes determining a picking order of the multiple target carriers based on the picking time of each target carrier, where the shorter the picking time of a target carrier, the earlier the picking order of the target carrier.

[0035] That is, the picking time of each target carrier is determined in advance, and according to the picking time of each target carrier, the picking operation can be performed preferentially on the target carrier with the shortest picking time.

[0036] In some embodiments, if the picking information includes a picking priority and a picking time, S230 includes determining a picking order for the multiple target carriers based on the picking priority and the picking time of each target carrier.

[0037] In some embodiments, determining a picking order for the plurality of target carriers based on the picking priority and picking time of each target carrier includes: when the plurality of target carriers include a plurality of first carriers and at least one second carrier and the picking priorities of the first carriers and the second carriers are different, determining a picking order for the plurality of first carriers and the at least one second carrier based on the picking priority of the first carrier and the picking priority of the second carrier; and when the plurality of first carriers have the same picking priority, determining a picking time for each first carrier in the plurality of first carriers and determining a picking order for the plurality of first carriers based on the picking time of each first carrier.

[0038] In some examples, the multiple target carriers include a first carrier and a second carrier with different picking priorities, and if the picking priority of the first carrier is higher than the picking priority of the second carrier, the picking operation is preferentially performed on the first carrier, and if the picking priority of the first carrier is lower than the picking priority of the second carrier, the picking operation is preferentially performed on the second carrier.

[0039] In some examples, after determining the picking order of the first carrier and the second carrier based on the picking priority, if there are multiple first carriers and the picking priorities of the multiple first carriers are all the same, the picking order of each first carrier can be further determined based on the picking time of each first carrier among the multiple first carriers.

[0040] Therefore, the picking order of each target carrier can be determined by S230, and after the picking order of each target carrier is determined, S240 can be subsequently executed.

[0041] In S240, a target picking instruction is sent to a picking equipment based on a picking order of the plurality of target carriers.

[0042] The target picking instruction is used to instruct the picking equipment to transport the target loads in each target carrier to the target workstation according to the picking order of the multiple target carriers.

[0043] Hereinafter, steps S210 to S240 of the above picking method will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3A to 9.

[0044] 3A is a schematic diagram of another picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, a process of the picking method when the picking information is the picking time will be described with reference to FIG. 3A. As shown in FIG. 3A, the picking method includes steps S302 to S310.

[0045] In S302, a transport task corresponding to each piece of package information is generated based on a plurality of pieces of package information in the shipping order.

[0046] In some examples, the shipping order includes at least one package to be shipped and package information corresponding to each package to be shipped, where the package information may include package name, package number, package code, package barcode, package lot, package owner, etc., although embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto.

[0047] For example, after obtaining a shipping order, the electronic device can determine the location of each package in the package storage area based on package information corresponding to each package in the shipping order, i.e., determine a target carrier corresponding to the package in the package storage area and / or a target package position of the package on the target carrier. Then, the electronic device generates a transport task corresponding to each package based on the target carrier corresponding to the package and / or the target package position of the package on the target carrier.

[0048] In some embodiments, the target carrier for multiple packages to be shipped may be multiple carriers or may be the same carrier, e.g., if multiple packages to be shipped correspond to the same carrier, the multiple packages to be shipped may be located at different package locations on the carrier.

[0049] In some examples, the transport task may include a target carrier, a target cargo location, a target workstation, a travel path, and a dwell point at the target workstation. The target cargo location may be location information of a target container. The transport task may instruct the robot to transport a target carrier containing cargo to be shipped in a shipping order to a dwell point at the target workstation.

[0050] 3B is a schematic diagram of another picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3B, the above step S302 may include the following steps S3021 to S3025.

[0051] In S3021, a target carrier corresponding to each piece of package information is determined based on a plurality of pieces of package information in the shipping order.

[0052] In some embodiments, the electronic device can determine, based on the plurality of package information in the shipping order, packages corresponding to each package information in the plurality of package information and target carriers corresponding to the packages.

[0053] For example, a shipping order may include three pieces of package information, which correspond to package A, package B, and package C, respectively. Based on the three pieces of package information in the shipping order, the electronic device can determine that package A is stored on carrier A, package B is stored on carrier B, and package C is stored on carrier C. That is, carrier A, carrier B, and carrier C are target carriers corresponding to the shipping order.

[0054] In S3022, it is determined whether there is an idle dwell point among the multiple dwell points of the target workstation.

[0055] In some embodiments, the electronic device may determine whether there is an idle dwell point among the plurality of dwell points based on the number of carriers dwelling at each dwell point of the target workstation.

[0056] In some instances, there may be one carrier resident at each dwell point of the target workstation, or multiple carriers resident thereat.

[0057] For example, if the number of carriers staying at a stay point is small, for example, if the number is smaller than the preset number of carriers, the stay point can be called an idle stay point. In other words, an idle stay point may be a stay point where the number of carriers staying at the multiple stay points is smaller than the preset number of carriers. The number of preset carriers can be set according to needs, and may be one or more. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the number of preset carriers. The following embodiments will be described using the case where the number of preset carriers is one as an example.

[0058] For example, when the number of pre-set carriers is one, the target workstation includes a P1 stay point, a P2 stay point, and a P3 stay point, and there is no carrier currently staying at the P1 stay point, there is no carrier currently staying at the P2 stay point, and there are two carriers currently staying at the P3 stay point, it can be determined that there is an idle stay point among the multiple stay points of the target workstation, and both the P1 stay point and the P2 stay point are idle stay points.

[0059] In S3023, if there is an idle stay point among the multiple stay points of the target workstation, a transport task corresponding to each luggage information is generated based on the target carrier and the idle stay point, and the transport task is used to instruct the first robot to transport the target carrier to the idle stay point.

[0060] In some embodiments, when there are idle dwell points among the multiple dwell points of the target workstation, the number of idle dwell points may be one or more, so the electronic device can generate a transport task corresponding to each piece of luggage information based on the target carrier and the idle dwell points. That is, when there are idle dwell points among the multiple dwell points, it can determine the idle dwell points corresponding to each target carrier.

[0061] For example, when the electronic device determines that among the multiple residence points of the target workstation, both the P1 residence point and the P2 residence point are idle residence points and the target carrier includes a carrier A and a carrier B, the electronic device can generate a transfer task 1 based on the carrier A and the P1 residence point, and generate a transfer task 2 based on the carrier B and the P2 residence point. Then, the electronic device executes S304 to send the transfer task 1 to the first robot 1 and the transfer task 2 to the first robot 2, so that the first robot 1 can transfer the carrier A to the P1 residence point and the second robot can transfer the carrier B to the P2 residence point.

[0062] In some embodiments, the electronic device can generate a transport task corresponding to each piece of cargo information based on the number of target carriers and the number of idle dwell points. For example, the electronic device can determine a dwell point corresponding to each target carrier from among the multiple idle dwell points based on the number of target carriers and the number of idle dwell points. After determining the target dwell points corresponding to each target carrier, the electronic device can generate a transport task to instruct the first robot to transport each target carrier to its corresponding idle dwell point.

[0063] For example, when the number of target carriers is equal to or less than the number of idle stay points, a stay point corresponding to each target carrier can be randomly determined from the multiple idle stay points, or an idle stay point close to each target carrier can be determined as the stay point corresponding to the target carrier based on the distance between each target carrier and each idle stay point, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto.

[0064] For example, among the multiple stay points of the target workstation, both the P1 stay point and the P2 stay point are idle stay points, the number of pre-set carriers is one, and the target carrier includes carrier A and carrier B. If the P1 stay point is close to carrier A and the P2 stay point is close to carrier B, the P1 stay point can be determined as the idle stay point corresponding to carrier A, and the P2 stay point can be determined as the idle stay point corresponding to carrier B.

[0065] Also, for example, if the number of preset carriers is greater than one, the P1 stay point can be determined as an idle stay point corresponding to carrier A; and if, after carrier A stays at the P1 stay point, the number of carriers staying at the P1 stay point is still less than the number of preset carriers, that is, the P1 stay point is still an idle stay point, the P1 stay point can be determined as an idle stay point corresponding to carrier B.

[0066] For example, when the number of target carriers is greater than the number of idle sojourn points, some target carriers may be transported to idle sojourn points and other target carriers may be transported to non-idle sojourn points (sojourn points where at least one carrier is sojourn), or all target carriers may be transported to idle sojourn points. If all target carriers are transported to idle sojourn points, multiple target carriers will be sojourned at at least one idle sojourn point.

[0067] For example, when the number of pre-set carriers is one, if the target carriers include carrier A, carrier B, and carrier C, and the idle stay point of the target workstation is the P1 stay point, carrier A may be transported to the P1 stay point, and carrier B and carrier C may be transported to other non-idle stay points (e.g., the same non-idle stay point or a different non-idle stay point), or carrier A, carrier B, and carrier C may all be transported to the P1 stay point, in which case, after carrier A is transported to the P1 stay point, the P1 stay point becomes a non-idle stay point, and carrier B and carrier C will be transported to the non-idle P1 stay point.

[0068] In some examples, when a target carrier is transported to a non-idle stay point, the non-idle stay point (which may also be referred to as a target stay point) corresponding to the target carrier can be determined based on S3024 to S3025 in the following embodiments.

[0069] In S3024, if there is no idle dwell point among the multiple dwell points of the target workstation, a target dwell point among the multiple dwell points of the target workstation is determined based on the estimated picking time of the target carrier and the picking time of at least one carrier staying at each dwell point.

[0070] In some examples, if there are no idle dwell points among the multiple dwell points of the target workstation, an estimated picking time for each target carrier and a picking time for at least one carrier staying at each dwell point can be determined, and a target dwell point among the multiple dwell points of the target workstation can be determined based on the estimated picking time for the target carrier and the picking time for at least one carrier staying at each dwell point.

[0071] Illustratively, the predetermined picking time for a target carrier may be determined based on the number of target parcels on the target carrier and / or the average time required for the picking equipment to pick the target parcels from the target carrier. For example, the longer the average time to pick the target parcels from the target carrier and / or the greater the number of target parcels on the target carrier, the longer the estimated picking time for the target carrier.

[0072] In some examples, the average time required for the picking equipment to retrieve a target parcel from a target carrier varies depending on the location of the target parcel on the target carrier, for example, if the target parcel is located in a parcel location at the rear of the target carrier, the picking equipment may require a longer time to retrieve the target parcel from the target carrier, and if the target parcel is located in a parcel location at the outer side of the target carrier, the picking equipment may require a shorter time to retrieve the target parcel from the target carrier.

[0073] For example, based on the time it takes the picking equipment to pick a parcel from each rear parcel location on each carrier, a first average time it takes the picking equipment to pick one parcel from the rear parcels can be determined, and based on the time it takes the picking equipment to pick a parcel from each outer parcel location on each carrier, a second average time it takes the picking equipment to pick one parcel from the outer parcels. Thus, based on the number of target parcels, the location of each target parcel on the target carrier (i.e., a rear parcel location or an outer parcel location), the first average time, and the second average time, an estimated picking time for the target carrier can be determined.

[0074] 3C is a schematic diagram of another picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3C, the above step S3024 may include the following steps S3024a to S3024b.

[0075] In S3024a, a total picking time for each dwell point is determined based on the picking time of at least one carrier staying at each dwell point.

[0076] In some embodiments, the electronic device determines a total picking time for each dwell point by determining the sum of the picking times for each carrier for at least one carrier visiting each dwell point.

[0077] In some examples, the total picking time for a dwell point may be the sum of the picking times for each carrier dwelling at that dwell point.

[0078] For example, if at least one carrier staying at the P4 dwell point of the target workstation includes carrier Q, carrier W, carrier E, and carrier R, and the picking time of carrier Q is 2 minutes, the picking time of carrier W is 4 minutes, the picking time of carrier E is 1 minute, and the picking time of carrier R is 3 minutes, then the total picking time of the P4 dwell point is the sum of the picking times of carrier Q, carrier W, carrier E, and carrier R, i.e., the total picking time of the P4 dwell point is 10 minutes.

[0079] In S3024b, if the estimated picking time of the target carrier is less than the preset time, the stay point with the shortest total picking time among the plurality of stay points is determined as the target stay point.

[0080] In some embodiments, after determining the estimated picking time of the target carrier, the electronic device further determines a magnitude relationship between the estimated picking time of the target carrier and a preset time, where the preset time may be set as needed, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the preset time.

[0081] For example, if the estimated picking time of the target carrier is short, e.g., less than a preset time, it indicates that the target carrier can be preferentially picked once it is transported to the target workstation. This allows the target carrier to be released as soon as possible, in which case the target carrier is transported to a non-idle dwell point and awaits the execution of the picking operation. If the estimated picking time of the target carrier is long, e.g., greater than or equal to a preset time, it will need to wait a long time after it is transported to the target workstation before it can perform the picking operation, and therefore the target carrier cannot be released as soon as possible, in which case there is no need to transport the target carrier to a non-idle dwell point and await the execution of the picking operation.

[0082] For example, if the estimated picking time of the target carrier is less than a predetermined time, the electronic device can determine the dwell point with the shortest total picking time among the multiple dwell points as the target dwell point corresponding to the target carrier based on the total picking time of each dwell point. Because the estimated picking time of the target carrier is short, determining the dwell point with the shortest total picking time as the target dwell point can shorten the waiting time of the robot transporting the target carrier and improve the transport efficiency of the robot.

[0083] For example, if the estimated picking time of the target carrier is less than a predetermined time, and the total picking time of the P3 stay point is the shortest among the P1 stay point, P2 stay point, and P3 stay point, the P3 stay point can be determined as the target stay point.

[0084] In S3025, a transport task corresponding to each piece of luggage information is generated based on the target carrier and the target stay point, and the transport task is used to instruct the first robot to transport the target carrier to the target stay point.

[0085] In some embodiments, if all target carriers have not been transported after the electronic device executes S3023, the electronic device may execute S3022 again to determine whether an idle dwell point exists among the plurality of dwell points of the target workstation. Then, if an idle dwell point exists among the plurality of dwell points of the target workstation, the electronic device executes S3023 again, or if an idle dwell point does not exist among the plurality of dwell points of the target workstation, the robot transports all target carriers determined by the electronic device executing S3021 to the dwell points of the target workstation by executing S3024 and S3025.

[0086] In S304, each transport task is sent to each of the multiple first robots, and each first robot transports the target carrier corresponding to the transport task to a stay point of a target workstation including multiple stay points based on the corresponding transport task.

[0087] In some embodiments, the electronic device can generate a transport task corresponding to each package information, and then send the transport task to a corresponding robot, where if the target carrier corresponding to multiple transport tasks is the same carrier, the robots performing the multiple transport tasks are the same first robot; if the target carrier corresponding to multiple transport tasks is different, each transport task may correspond to one first robot, or some transport tasks may correspond to one first robot.

[0088] For example, after receiving the transfer task, the first robot can, based on the transfer task, travel to the location of the target carrier according to the travel path in the transfer task, thereby transferring the target carrier to a stay point of the target workstation, where the stay point of the target workstation includes an idle stay point and / or a target stay point.

[0089] In some embodiments, each workstation corresponds to at least one shipping order, and when a workstation corresponds to multiple shipping orders, multiple robots travel along travel paths based on the transport task to transport the target carrier to the stay point of the target workstation.

[0090] In S306, the picking times of the plurality of first carriers in each target carrier are determined.

[0091] In some embodiments, the picking time of the first carrier includes a first time required for the first robot to transport the first carrier to a dwell point of the target workstation, a second time required for the picking equipment to move the target container storing the target cargo in the target carrier to the target workstation, a third time for picking at the target workstation, and a fourth time required for the picking equipment to return the target container from the target workstation to the target carrier. For example, the picking time of the first carrier may be the sum of the first time, the second time, the third time, and the fourth time.

[0092] The method for determining the picking time of each target carrier among multiple target carriers is the same as the method for determining the picking time of the first carrier, and the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described using the picking time of the first carrier as an example.

[0093] 4 is a schematic diagram of another picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, S306 includes the following steps S3062 and S3064.

[0094] In S3062, the position information of the target cargo corresponding to each transport task in each target carrier is determined.

[0095] That is, based on the transport task, the position information of each target cargo stored in the target carrier and corresponding to each transport task can be determined.

[0096] In S3064, the picking time of each target carrier is determined based on the position information of the target cargo corresponding to each transport task.

[0097] In some examples, the picking time includes a first time required to transport the first carrier to the docking point of the target workstation, a time for the picking equipment to remove the target container storing the target load from the target carrier, a time to pick the target load, and a time for the picking equipment to return the target container to the target carrier after completing picking of the target load.

[0098] In some embodiments, each transport task includes location information of the corresponding load to be picked on the target carrier, and after each transport task is obtained, the location information of the target load in all transport tasks corresponding to the target carrier can be obtained for each target carrier. Based on the preset movement speed of the picking equipment and the location information of the target load corresponding to each transport task, the time required for the picking equipment to move to the location of the target load on the target carrier, the time required to move the target container containing the target load to the load placement position of the target workstation, and the time required to return the target container to the target carrier can be calculated, that is, the picking time for each target carrier can be determined.

[0099] 5 is a schematic diagram of another picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, the above step S3064 includes S3064a and S3064b.

[0100] In S3064a, the picking time for each target package is determined.

[0101] In some examples, the picking time for the target loads may include the time required for a worker to remove a predetermined number of target loads from the target container or the time required for picking equipment to remove a predetermined number of target loads from the target container.

[0102] In S3064b, the picking time of each target carrier is determined based on the picking time of each target unit and the position information of the target unit corresponding to each transport task.

[0103] For example, based on the location information of the target luggage corresponding to the transport task, the picking equipment determines the time to take out and return (or take out) the target luggage, and the picking time of each target carrier is determined by adding the time the picking equipment takes out and returns the target container and the picking time of the target luggage.

[0104] In S308, the picking order of the plurality of first carriers is determined based on the picking times of the plurality of first carriers.

[0105] For example, the shorter the picking time of the first carrier, the earlier the picking order of the first carrier. Note that the process of determining the picking order of the multiple target carriers based on the picking time of each target carrier in the multiple target carriers is similar to the process of determining the picking order of the multiple first carriers based on the picking time of the first carrier in S308, and the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described using the first carrier as an example.

[0106] For example, if the multiple first carriers include carrier Q, carrier W, carrier E, and carrier R, and the picking time of carrier Q is 2 minutes, the picking time of carrier W is 4 minutes, the picking time of carrier E is 1 minute, and the picking time of carrier R is 3 minutes, based on the picking time of each first carrier, the picking order of the multiple first carriers is carrier E (shortest picking time), carrier Q, carrier R, and carrier W (longest picking time).

[0107] In some embodiments, the number of first carriers staying at each stay point may be one or more. When the number of first carriers staying at each stay point is more than one, the first carriers need to be picked in order of their stay.

[0108] In some examples, the picking order of the first carriers can be determined based on the picking time of each first carrier and the stay positions of the first carriers at each stay point, where, at the same stay point, the closer the stay position of the first carrier to the location of the picking equipment, the earlier the picking order, and the shorter the picking time, the earlier the picking order of the first carrier.

[0109] For example, at the target workstation, at least one first carrier staying at the P3 dwell point is sequential carrier E and carrier F. The picking time of carrier E is 3 minutes, and the picking time of carrier F is 1 minute, and at least one first carrier staying at the P4 dwell point is sequential carrier Q, carrier W, and carrier R. The picking time of carrier Q is 2 minutes, the picking time of carrier W is 4 minutes, and the picking time of carrier R is 3 minutes. Since the picking time of the carrier currently to be picked at the P4 dwell point (i.e., carrier Q) is shorter than the picking time of the carrier currently to be picked at the P3 dwell point (i.e., carrier E), carrier Q at the P4 dwell point can be picked preferentially. After the picking of Carrier Q is completed, Carrier Q leaves the target workstation, and Carrier W becomes the current carrier to be picked at the P4 dwell point. Then, the picking time of the current carrier to be picked at the P4 dwell point (i.e., Carrier W) and the current carrier to be picked at the P3 dwell point (i.e., Carrier E) is determined. Since the picking time of the current carrier to be picked at the P3 dwell point (i.e., Carrier E) is shorter than the picking time of the current carrier to be picked at the P4 dwell point (i.e., Carrier W), the picking equipment can then pick Carrier E at the P3 dwell point. By repeating this process, the picking order of the multiple first carriers at the target workstation becomes Carrier Q, Carrier E, Carrier F, Carrier W, and Carrier R.

[0110] In other words, when multiple first carriers are staying at one stay point, the multiple first carriers need to be picked based on both the picking time and the order in which the multiple first carriers are staying.

[0111] In S310, a first picking command is sent to the picking equipment based on the picking order of the plurality of first carriers.

[0112] The first picking instruction is used to instruct the picking equipment to transport the target load in each first carrier to the target workstation according to the picking order of the multiple first carriers. The target picking instruction includes the first picking instruction.

[0113] In some examples, after determining the picking order of multiple first carriers, first picking instructions can be sent sequentially to the picking equipment according to the picking order of each first carrier, and the first picking instructions include location information of the target luggage of the first carrier, etc.

[0114] In some other examples, after determining the picking order of multiple first carriers, a first picking instruction can be sent to the picking equipment according to the picking order of the first carriers, and the first picking instruction includes the picking order of each first carrier.

[0115] In some embodiments, upon receiving a picking completion signal transmitted from the target workstation, the electronic device controls a first robot corresponding to the target carrier to return the target carrier to the luggage storage area.

[0116] In some examples, when the electronic device receives a picking completion signal for one target carrier transmitted from the target workstation, the electronic device can control a first robot corresponding to the target carrier to transport the target carrier from the target workstation to the luggage storage area, where the first robot for returning the target carrier to the luggage storage area may be the robot that transports the target carrier from the luggage storage area to the target workstation or another first robot in an idle state, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto.

[0117] In a picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a transport task corresponding to each piece of parcel information in a shipping order is generated based on the parcel information, and then the transport task is sent to a plurality of first robots, so that each first robot transports the target carrier corresponding to the transport task to a stay point of the target workstation based on the corresponding transport task. After determining the picking time of the plurality of first carriers for each target carrier, a picking order for the plurality of first carriers is determined according to a rule that the shorter the picking time, the earlier the picking order. A first picking command is sent to the picking equipment, so that the picking equipment transports the target parcels in each first carrier to the target workstation according to the picking order of the plurality of first carriers. In the picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a picking command is sent to the first carrier with the shortest picking time, and that carrier is given priority for picking. This allows the robot waiting at the stay point to return the target carrier to its initial position as soon as possible after the picking equipment completes the picking operation, so that it can perform another transport task. This reduces the total time that a multi-stay point robot stays at a workstation and improves the robot's operating rate.

[0118] The above example describes a picking method, which determines the picking time for each carrier and determines a picking order based on the picking time for each carrier. The picking equipment then picks items based on the picking order, thereby reducing the total time that robots at multiple stations spend at their workstations. To meet different service needs, the priority of each transportation task may be prioritized. The following example describes the picking method.

[0119] In some embodiments, before determining the picking order of each target carrier based on the picking time, the picking order of each target carrier with different picking priorities may be determined based on the picking priority of each target carrier among the multiple target carriers, and then the picking order of each target carrier with the same picking priority may be determined based on S308.

[0120] 6 is a schematic diagram of another picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 6, before S306, the picking method further includes the following S602 to S604.

[0121] In S602, the picking order of each target carrier is determined based on the picking priority of each target carrier.

[0122] In some examples, the picking priority of the target carrier can be determined based on the priority of the order (e.g., shipping order), for example, the shipping order includes a priority identifier, which is used to indicate the priority of each package to be picked in the shipping order, i.e., the package information includes the priority of each package to be picked.

[0123] In some examples, the picking priority of each target carrier can be determined based on the priority of each piece of package information in the transport task. When multiple transport tasks correspond to the target carrier, the picking priority of the target carrier can be determined based on the priority of the multiple pieces of package information in each transport task. For example, the average value of the priorities corresponding to the multiple pieces of package information in each transport task can be set as the picking priority of the target carrier, or the highest priority among the multiple pieces of package information in each transport task can be set as the picking priority of the target carrier.

[0124] In some embodiments, the plurality of target carriers includes a plurality of first carriers and at least one second carrier, where the plurality of first carriers have the same picking priority and the second carrier has a higher picking priority than the first carrier, and thus the picking order of the plurality of target carriers is second carrier, first carrier, i.e., picking of the second carrier is prioritized, followed by picking of the plurality of first carriers.

[0125] In addition, the picking priority of each of the at least one second carriers is different, and the picking priority of each of the second carriers is higher than that of the first carrier. The picking order of the at least one second carrier can be determined based on the picking priority of each of the second carriers, and the picking order of the multiple first carriers can be determined based on the picking time of each of the first carriers (for example, S308).

[0126] For example, the multiple target carriers include carrier Z, carrier X, carrier C, and carrier V, where the picking priority of carrier X and carrier C is level 3, the picking priority of carrier Z is level 1, and the picking priority of carrier V is level 2, with carrier Z being higher than the picking priority of carrier V, and carrier V being higher than the picking priority of carrier X and carrier C (the smaller the picking priority number, the higher the picking priority). Therefore, the picking order of carrier Z is earlier than carrier V, and the picking order of carrier V is earlier than carrier X and carrier C. Because carrier X and carrier C have the same picking priority, the picking order of carrier X and carrier C can be determined based on the picking times of carrier C and carrier X. If carrier C has a shorter picking time than carrier X, the picking order of carrier C is earlier than carrier X, and if carrier C has a longer picking time than carrier X, the picking order of carrier C is later than carrier X.

[0127] In some embodiments, when there are multiple target carriers at each dwell point and multiple target carriers need to queue for picking, the electronic device can determine the picking order of the multiple target carriers based on the picking priority of each target carrier and the dwell location of each target carrier at each dwell point. The closer the dwell location of a target carrier at the same dwell point is to the location of the picking equipment, the earlier the picking order of the target carrier, and the higher the picking priority of the target carrier, the earlier the picking order of the target carrier. When the dwell locations of the target carriers at each dwell point are the same and the picking priorities are also the same, the electronic device executes S308 and determines the picking order based on the picking time of the target carrier.

[0128] For example, the target carriers staying at the P1 dwell point are sequentially Carrier G, Carrier H, and Carrier I. The target carriers staying at the P2 dwell point are sequentially Carrier Z, Carrier X, Carrier C, and Carrier V. The picking priority of Carrier X and Carrier C is Level 3, the picking priority of Carrier V, Carrier I, and Carrier G is Level 2, and the picking priority of Carrier Z and Carrier H is Level 1. Because the picking priority (i.e., Level 2) of the current carrier to be picked at the P1 dwell point (i.e., Carrier G) is lower than the picking priority (i.e., Level 1) of the current carrier to be picked at the P2 dwell point (i.e., Carrier Z), Carrier Z at the P2 dwell point can be picked first. After Carrier Z has completed picking, Carrier Z leaves the target workstation, and Carrier X becomes the current carrier to be picked at the P2 dwell point, which further determines the picking priority of the current carrier to be picked at the P2 dwell point (i.e., Carrier X) and the current carrier to be picked at the P1 dwell point (i.e., Carrier G). Since the picking priority (i.e., level 2) of the carrier currently to be picked (i.e., carrier G) at the P1 sojourn point is higher than the picking priority (i.e., level 3) of the carrier currently to be picked (i.e., carrier X) at the P2 sojourn point, the picking equipment can then pick carrier G at the P1 sojourn point, and by repeating this process, the picking order of the multiple target carriers at the target workstation is carrier Z, carrier G, carrier H, carrier I, carrier X, carrier C, and carrier V.

[0129] In some other embodiments, the picking priority of the second carrier may be lower than the picking priority of the first carrier. When the picking priority of the second carrier is lower than the first carrier, the picking order of the multiple target carriers is the first carrier, then the second carrier. That is, after picking of the multiple first carriers is completed, the picking order of the second carrier is determined based on the picking priority of each second carrier in at least one second carrier. Note that the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the order of priority of the first carrier and the second carrier, and the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described using as an example a case where the picking priority of the second carrier is higher than the picking priority of the first carrier.

[0130] In S604, a second picking command is sent to the picking equipment based on the picking order of each target carrier.

[0131] The second picking instruction is used to instruct the picking equipment to transport the target packages in the second carriers to the target workstations according to the picking order of each target carrier. The target picking instruction includes the second picking instruction.

[0132] In some examples, the second picking instruction may include a picking order for all target carriers, and the second picking instruction is sent to the picking equipment, and the picking equipment sequentially transports the target packages in the second carriers to the target workstations based on the second picking instruction.

[0133] In some other examples, the second picking instruction may include only the picking order of one target carrier, and the second picking instruction may be sent to the picking equipment sequentially according to the picking order of each target carrier, so that the picking equipment can transport the target packages on the second carrier to the target workstation sequentially.

[0134] In the picking method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, a picking order for each target carrier is determined based on the picking priority of each target carrier, and a second picking instruction is sent to the picking equipment based on the picking order of each target carrier, thereby instructing the picking equipment to transport the target packages in the second carrier to the target workstation according to the picking order of each target carrier. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the multiple target carriers include multiple first carriers and at least one second carrier, and the multiple first carriers have the same picking priority, and the picking priority of the second carrier is higher than the picking priority of the first carrier, so that various customer needs can be met and the picking equipment can perform picking operations based on the picking priority.

[0135] In some embodiments, each dwell point of a target workstation may include a designated dwell point, which may be used to place a carrier with the highest picking priority. For example, with continued reference to FIG. 1, among the multiple dwell points of a target workstation, the P2 dwell point may be a designated dwell point.

[0136] 7 is a schematic diagram of another picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 7, after 302, the method further includes the following steps S702 to S704.

[0137] In S702, a priority transport command is sent to the first robot to instruct the first robot to transport the target carrier with the highest picking priority to a designated stay point.

[0138] In some examples, after obtaining each transport task, the picking priority of each target carrier is determined based on the priority of each piece of luggage information in each transport task, and a priority transport command is sent to the first robot, so that the robot transports the target carrier with the highest picking priority to the specified stay point based on the priority transport command.

[0139] In S704, after determining that the target carrier has arrived at the specified dwell point, a third picking instruction is sent to the picking equipment to instruct the picking equipment to transport the target cargo on the target carrier at the specified dwell point to the target workstation.

[0140] In some examples, when the electronic device detects via the detection device that the picking equipment has transported the target carrier with the highest picking priority to the designated dwell point, the electronic device can transmit a third picking instruction to the picking equipment. The detection device may include a camera or the like. The third picking instruction includes, for example, position information of the target baggage on the target carrier.

[0141] In the picking method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, after the picking equipment receives the third picking command, it can prioritize the response to the third picking command and transport the target luggage on the target carrier at the specified stay point to the target workstation. The picking equipment can perform picking based on the picking priority to better meet customer needs.

[0142] 8 is a schematic diagram of another picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 8, before step S702, the picking method further includes the following step S802:

[0143] If, at S802, it is determined that the picking equipment is performing a picking operation, a pause command is sent to the picking equipment to instruct the picking equipment to pause the current picking operation.

[0144] In some examples, if the electronic device determines that the picking equipment is responding to the first picking command or the second picking command, it sends a pause command to the picking equipment, causing the picking equipment to pause the current picking operation.

[0145] In some other examples, after the picking equipment determines that the current picking operation has been paused, it sends a container return instruction to the picking equipment and places the target luggage at the target workstation on the corresponding target carrier, after which it performs the operation of step S702.

[0146] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of another picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 9, after S304, the picking method further includes the following steps S902 to S906.

[0147] In S902, if the target carriers include a third carrier whose picking time is longer than a preset time threshold, a transmission release command is sent to the first robot corresponding to the third carrier to instruct the first robot corresponding to the third carrier to return to the luggage storage area and perform a new transport task.

[0148] In some examples, after determining the picking time of each target carrier, a carrier among the target carriers whose picking time is longer than a preset time threshold can be determined as the third carrier. After the first robot transports the third carrier to a stay point of the target workstation, a release command can be sent to the first robot corresponding to the third carrier (i.e., the first robot transporting the third carrier) to release the first robot waiting at the stay point.

[0149] In a picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, if the picking time of a target carrier is long, for example, longer than a preset time threshold, the first robot corresponding to the target carrier is released, allowing the first robot to return to the luggage storage area and perform a new transport task, thereby shortening the working time that the robot spends at the stay point and improving the operating rate of the robot.

[0150] In S904, after picking of the target cargo of the third carrier is completed, a first carrier transport command is sent to the second robot to instruct the second robot at the target workstation to transport the third carrier from the target workstation to a temporary storage area.

[0151] 10 is a schematic diagram of a temporary storage area scenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 10, the temporary storage area may be located between a luggage storage area and a workstation. Here, the second robot is a robot that has been previously placed at the target workstation.

[0152] Illustratively, the electronic device sends a first carrier transport command to the second robot at the target workstation after the target workstation receives a picking completion command, i.e., after picking of the target luggage of the third carrier is completed.

[0153] In one example, before sending the first carrier transfer command to the second robot at the target workstation, the working status of the first robot can be obtained, and when all of the first robots are processing the task, the step of sending the first carrier transfer command to the second robot at the target workstation can be further performed.

[0154] In S906, if it is determined that the third carrier has arrived at the temporary storage area, a second carrier transport command is sent to the idle robot in the luggage storage area to instruct the idle robot to transport the third carrier in the temporary storage area to the luggage storage area.

[0155] In some examples, after the second robot transports the third carrier to the temporary storage area, it may subsequently determine an idle robot in the luggage storage area to return the third carrier from the temporary storage area to the luggage storage area, where the idle robot may be any one of the idle robots in the luggage storage area or the idle robot closest to the third carrier, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto.

[0156] In the picking method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, after picking of a package is completed, the second robot reserved for the workstation transports the corresponding third carrier to a temporary storage area, and then the idle first robot returns the third carrier from the temporary storage area to its initial position in the package storage area. As a result, cooperation between the robots can be strengthened and the work efficiency of the robots can be improved.

[0157] In the above embodiment, the picking method is described with the control device (for example, an electronic device) as the execution entity, but the following description will be given with the picking equipment as the execution entity.

[0158] In some embodiments, the picking method includes receiving a target picking command; and, when each first robot among the plurality of first robots transports a target carrier corresponding to the transport task to a stay point of the target workstation based on the corresponding transport task, transporting target cargo in each target carrier to the target workstation according to a picking order of the plurality of target carriers in response to the target picking command, wherein the target workstation includes a plurality of stay points, and the picking order of the plurality of target carriers is determined based on picking information of each target carrier among the plurality of target carriers, and the picking information includes a picking time and / or a picking priority.

[0159] 11 is a schematic diagram of another picking method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The picking method shown in FIG. 11 can be implemented by a picking equipment. As shown in FIG. 11, the picking method includes S111 and S112.

[0160] In S111, a first picking command is received, and the first picking command instructs the picking equipment to transport the target luggage in each first carrier to the target workstation according to the picking order of the multiple first carriers, where the picking order of the multiple first carriers is determined based on the picking time of the multiple first carriers, and the shorter the picking time of the first carrier, the earlier the picking order of the first carrier.

[0161] In S112, in response to the first picking command, the target packages in the first carriers are transported to the target workstations according to the picking order of the multiple first carriers.

[0162] In some embodiments, the picking method further includes receiving a second picking instruction, the second picking instruction being an instruction generated after determining a picking order for each target carrier based on picking priorities of the multiple target carriers, the multiple target carriers including multiple first carriers and at least one second carrier, the multiple first carriers having the same picking priorities, the second carrier having a higher picking priority than the first carrier, and the second carrier having an earlier picking order than the first carrier. In response to the second picking instruction, transporting the target packages on the second carrier to the target workstation according to the picking order of each target carrier.

[0163] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving a priority picking command, wherein when the first robot transports the target carrier with the highest picking priority to the designated dwell point, the target load in the target carrier with the highest picking priority that is dwelling at the designated dwell point is transported to the target workstation, the plurality of dwell points of the target workstation including the designated dwell point, and the designated dwell point is used to place the carrier with the highest picking priority.

[0164] In some embodiments, the picking method further includes receiving a pause command, the pause command being an instruction generated by the controller when the controller determines that the picking equipment is performing a picking operation, and pausing the current picking operation in response to the pause command.

[0165] For the specific limitations of the picking method in which the picking equipment is the execution body and the beneficial effects that can be achieved, please refer to the limitations of the picking method in which the control device is the execution body described above, and detailed explanation will be omitted here.

[0166] Based on the same inventive idea, the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a picking device for implementing the above picking method. Since the solution to the problem of the device is similar to that described in the above method, specific limitations of one or more of the following embodiments of the picking device should be referred to the limitations of the above picking method, and detailed descriptions will be omitted here.

[0167] 12 is a schematic diagram of a picking device 1200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 12, the picking device 1200 includes a task generation module 121, a task sending module 122, a picking order determination module 123, and an instruction sending module 124.

[0168] The task generation module 121 is configured to generate a transport task corresponding to each piece of package information based on a plurality of pieces of package information in the shipping order.

[0169] The task sending module 122 is configured to send each transport task to a plurality of first robots respectively, so that each first robot transports the target carrier corresponding to the transport task to a stay point of the target workstation based on the corresponding transport task, and the target workstation includes a plurality of stay points.

[0170] The picking order determination module 123 is configured to determine a picking order for each target carrier based on picking information of each target carrier in the plurality of target carriers, where the picking information includes a picking time and / or a picking priority.

[0171] The instruction sending module 124 is configured to send target picking instructions to the picking equipment based on the picking order of the multiple target carriers, and the target picking instructions are used to instruct the picking equipment to transport the target loads on the target carriers to the target workstations.

[0172] In some embodiments, the picking order determination module 123 is configured to determine the picking order of the multiple target carriers based on the picking priority of each target carrier, where the higher the picking priority of the target carrier, the earlier the picking order of the target carrier; or to determine the picking order of the multiple target carriers based on the picking time of each target carrier, where the shorter the picking time of the target carrier, the earlier the picking order of the target carrier; or to determine the picking order of the multiple target carriers based on the picking priority and picking time of each target carrier.

[0173] In some embodiments, the picking order determination module 123 determines a picking order for the multiple first carriers and at least one second carrier based on the picking priority of the first carrier and the picking priority of the second carrier when the multiple target carriers include multiple first carriers and at least one second carrier and the picking priorities of the first carriers and the second carriers are different; and determines a picking time for each first carrier in the multiple first carriers and determines the picking order for the multiple first carriers based on the picking time of each first carrier when the picking priorities of the multiple first carriers are the same.

[0174] In some embodiments, the picking device further includes a time determination module, which is configured to determine position information of target luggage corresponding to each of the transport tasks on each target carrier, and to determine a picking time for each target carrier based on the position information of each target luggage.

[0175] In some embodiments, the time determination module is configured to determine a picking time for each target shipment at each target carrier and to determine the picking time for each target carrier based on the picking time for each target shipment and the location information for each target shipment.

[0176] In some embodiments, the task generation module 121 includes a determination unit and a generation unit, where the determination unit is configured to determine a target carrier corresponding to each piece of package information based on a plurality of package information in the shipping order and determine whether an idle dwell point exists among the plurality of dwell points of the target workstation, and the generation unit is configured to generate a transport task corresponding to each piece of package information based on the target carrier and the idle dwell point if an idle dwell point exists among the plurality of dwell points of the target workstation, where the transport task is used to instruct the first robot to transport the target carrier to the idle dwell point.

[0177] In some embodiments, the determining unit is further configured to, when there is no idle dwell point among the plurality of dwell points of the target workstation, determine a target dwell point among the plurality of dwell points of the target workstation based on an estimated picking time of the target carrier and a picking time of at least one carrier staying at each dwell point. The generating unit is further configured to generate a transport task corresponding to each package information based on the target carrier and the target dwell point, and the transport task is used to instruct the first robot to transport the target carrier to the target dwell point.

[0178] In some embodiments, the determination unit is further configured to determine a total picking time for each dwell point based on the picking time of each carrier of at least one carrier staying at each dwell point, and if the estimated picking time of the target carrier is less than a predetermined time, determine the dwell point with the shortest total picking time among the plurality of dwell points as the target dwell point.

[0179] In some embodiments, each dwell point of the target workstation includes a designated dwell point, the designated dwell point being for placing the carrier with the highest picking priority, and the command sending module 124 is further configured to send a priority transport command to the first robot to instruct the first robot to transport the target carrier with the highest picking priority to the designated dwell point, and when it determines that the target carrier with the highest picking priority has arrived at the designated dwell point, send a priority picking command to the picking equipment, and the priority picking command is used to instruct the picking equipment to transport the target baggage in the target carrier with the highest picking priority that is dwelling at the designated dwell point to the target workstation.

[0180] In some embodiments, the command sending module 124 is configured to send a pause command to the picking equipment to instruct the picking equipment to pause the current picking operation if it is determined that the picking equipment is performing a picking operation.

[0181] In some embodiments, the time determination module is configured to determine a picking time for each target carrier among the plurality of target carriers, and the instruction sending module 124 is further configured to, when the plurality of target carriers includes a third carrier whose picking time is longer than a predetermined time threshold, generate a release instruction to instruct the first robot corresponding to the third carrier to return to the luggage storage area and perform a new transport task, and send the release instruction to the first robot corresponding to the third carrier.

[0182] In some embodiments, the command sending module 124 is further configured to send a first carrier transport command to a second robot at the target workstation to instruct the second robot to transport the third carrier from the target workstation to the temporary storage area after the picking equipment completes picking the target luggage for the third carrier, and when it is determined that the third carrier has arrived at the temporary storage area, to send a second carrier transport command to an idle robot at the luggage storage area to instruct the idle robot to transport the third carrier from the temporary storage area to the luggage storage area.

[0183] In some embodiments, the picking device further includes a control module, and the control module is configured to control the first robot corresponding to the target carrier to return the target carrier to the luggage storage area when the control module receives a picking completion signal transmitted from the target workstation.

[0184] Regarding the specific limitations of the picking device and the beneficial effects that can be achieved, please refer to the limitations of the picking method described above, and detailed description will be omitted here.

[0185] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a picking device for implementing the above picking method. Since the solution to the problem of the picking device is similar to that described in the above method, the specific limitations of one or more of the following embodiments of the picking device should be referred to the limitations of the above picking method, and detailed descriptions will be omitted here.

[0186] 13 provides another picking device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 13, the picking device 1300 includes: a receiving module 131 configured to receive a target picking instruction; and a response module 132 configured to, in response to a target picking command, transport the target load in the target carrier to the target workstation in accordance with a picking order of the multiple target carriers when each first robot in the multiple first robots transports the target carrier corresponding to the transport task to a stay point of the target workstation based on the corresponding transport task. The target workstation includes multiple stay points, and the picking order of the multiple target carriers is determined based on picking information of each target carrier in the multiple target carriers, and the picking information includes a picking time and / or a picking priority.

[0187] In some embodiments, the receiving module 131 is further configured to receive a priority picking command, and the response module 132 is further configured to transport the target load in the target carrier with the highest picking priority that is staying at the designated dwell point to the target workstation when the first robot transports the target carrier with the highest picking priority to the designated dwell point, and the multiple dwell points of the target workstation include the designated dwell point for placing the carrier with the highest picking priority.

[0188] In some embodiments, the receiving module 131 is configured to receive a pause command, the pause command being a command generated by the controller when the controller determines that the picking equipment is performing a picking operation, and the response module 132 is configured to pause the current picking operation in response to the pause command.

[0189] FIG. 14 is a structural schematic diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device may be a server. The electronic device includes a processor, a memory, and a network interface connected via a system bus. The processor of the electronic device is used to provide computing and control capabilities. The memory of the electronic device includes a non-volatile storage medium and memory. An operating system, a computer program, and a database are stored in the non-volatile storage medium. The memory provides an environment for the execution of the operating system and the computer program in the non-volatile storage medium. The database of the electronic device is used to store height parameters and 3D map data. The network interface of the electronic device is used to connect and communicate with an external terminal via a network. When the computer program is executed by the processor, a picking method is realized.

[0190] As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the configuration shown in FIG. 14 is merely a block diagram of some structures related to the solution of the present disclosure, and does not limit the robots and electronic devices to which the technical solution of the present disclosure is applied; specific robots and electronic devices may include more or fewer elements than those shown in the figure, may combine some elements, or may have different arrangements of elements.

[0191] In some embodiments, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an electronic device including a processor and a memory, wherein a computer program is stored in the memory, and when the computer program is executed by the processor, the steps of the picking method in any one of the above embodiments are realized.

[0192] In some embodiments, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a picking equipment including a processor and a memory, wherein a computer program is stored in the memory, and when the computer program is executed by the processor, the steps of the picking method in any one of the above embodiments are realized.

[0193] In some embodiments, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program, when executed by a processor, implementing the steps of the picking method in any one of the above embodiments.

[0194] In some embodiments, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer program product including a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the picking method in any one of the above embodiments.

[0195] It should be noted that user information (including, but not limited to, user equipment information, user personal information, etc.) and data (including, but not limited to, data for analysis, recorded data, displayed data, etc.) related to the present disclosure are all information and data approved by the user or fully approved by each party. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, realization of all or part of the processes of the methods in the above embodiments can be completed by a computer program instructing related hardware. The computer program may be stored in a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer program is executed, it can include the processes of the above method embodiments. Any reference to a memory, database, or other medium used in the embodiments provided by the present disclosure may include at least one of non-volatile and volatile memory. Non-volatile memory may include read-only memory (ROM), magnetic tape, floppy disk, flash memory, optical memory, high-density embedded non-volatile memory, resistive random access memory (ReRAM), magnetic random access memory (MRAM), ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM®), phase change memory (PCM), graphene memory, etc. Volatile memory may include random access memory (RAM) or external cache memory, etc. By way of example and not limitation, RAM may be in various forms, such as static random access memory (SRAM) or dynamic random access memory (DRAM). In each embodiment provided by the present disclosure, a database referred to may include at least one of a relational database and a non-relational database.The non-relational database may include, but is not limited to, a distributed database based on a blockchain, etc. In each embodiment provided by the present disclosure, the processor referred to may include, but is not limited to, a general-purpose processor, a central processing unit, a graphics processor, a digital signal processor, a programmable logic unit, a data processing logic unit based on quantum computing, etc.

[0196] The technical features of the above embodiments may be combined in any manner, and for the sake of convenience, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described, and as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be included within the scope described in this specification.

[0197] The above examples only show some embodiments of the present disclosure, and the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, but should not be understood as limiting the patent scope of the present disclosure. It should be noted that a person skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure, and all of these fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A picking method applied to a control device, comprising: generating a transport task corresponding to each of the plurality of pieces of package information in the shipping order based on the plurality of pieces of package information; a step of transmitting each of the transfer tasks to a plurality of first robots, respectively, so that each of the first robots transfers a target carrier corresponding to the transfer task to a stay point of a target workstation including a plurality of stay points based on the corresponding transfer task; determining a picking order of the plurality of target carriers based on picking information of each target carrier among the plurality of target carriers, wherein the picking information includes a picking time and / or a picking priority; A picking method comprising: a step of sending a target picking instruction to a picking equipment based on the picking order of the plurality of target carriers, the target picking instruction being used to instruct the picking equipment to transport the target loads on each of the target carriers to the target workstation in accordance with the picking order of the plurality of target carriers.

2. The step of determining a picking order of the plurality of target carriers based on picking information of each of the plurality of target carriers includes: determining a picking order for the plurality of target carriers based on a picking priority of each of the target carriers, wherein the higher the picking priority of the target carrier, the earlier the target carrier is picked; or determining a picking order of the plurality of target carriers based on a picking time of each of the target carriers, wherein the shorter the picking time of the target carrier, the earlier the picking order of the target carrier; or The picking method according to claim 1 , further comprising determining a picking order for the plurality of target carriers based on a picking priority and a picking time of each of the target carriers.

3. determining a picking order of the plurality of target carriers based on the picking priority and the picking time of each of the target carriers, When the plurality of target carriers include a plurality of first carriers and at least one second carrier, and the picking priorities of the first carriers and the second carriers are different, determining a picking order of the plurality of first carriers and the at least one second carrier based on the picking priorities of the first carriers and the picking priorities of the second carriers; 3. The picking method according to claim 2, further comprising the steps of: if the plurality of first carriers have the same picking priority, determining a picking time for each of the plurality of first carriers; and determining a picking order for the plurality of first carriers based on the picking time for each of the first carriers.

4. Before the step of determining a picking order of the plurality of target carriers based on picking information of each target carrier among the plurality of target carriers, determining location information of target loads corresponding to each of the transport tasks on each of the target carriers; The picking method according to claim 1, further comprising: determining a picking time for each of the target carriers based on the location information of each of the target packages.

5. The step of determining a picking time for each of the target carriers based on the location information of each of the target packages includes: determining a picking time for each of the target loads at each of the target carriers; and determining a picking time for each of the target carriers based on the picking time of each of the target packages and the location information of each of the target packages.

6. The step of generating a transport task corresponding to each of the plurality of pieces of package information in the shipping order based on the plurality of pieces of package information includes: determining a target carrier corresponding to each piece of parcel information based on the plurality of pieces of parcel information in the shipping order; determining whether there is an idle dwell point among the plurality of dwell points of the target workstation; and if an idle dwell point exists among the plurality of dwell points of the target workstation, generating a transport task corresponding to each of the luggage information based on the target carrier and the idle dwell point; The picking method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the transport task is used to instruct the first robot to transport the target carrier to the idle stay point.

7. If there is no idle dwell point among the plurality of dwell points of the target workstation, determining a target dwell point from the plurality of dwell points of the target workstation based on an estimated picking time of the target carrier and a picking time of at least one carrier visiting each dwell point of the target workstation; and generating a transport task corresponding to each of the package information based on the target carrier and the target stay point; The picking method according to claim 6 , wherein the transport task is used to instruct the first robot to transport the target carrier to the target dwell point.

8. determining a target dwell point from a plurality of dwell points of the target workstation based on an estimated picking time of the target carrier and a picking time of at least one carrier dwelling at each dwell point of the target workstation, determining a total picking time for each of the dwell points based on a picking time for each carrier for at least one carrier visiting each of the dwell points; The picking method according to claim 7, further comprising a step of determining, if the estimated picking time of the target carrier is less than a predetermined time, the stay point among a plurality of stay points that has the shortest total picking time as the target stay point.

9. the plurality of dwell points at the target workstation include a designated dwell point for placing a carrier having the highest picking priority; transmitting a priority transport command to the first robot to instruct the first robot to transport a target carrier having the highest picking priority among the plurality of target carriers to the designated stay point; The picking method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising the step of: when it is determined that the target carrier with the highest picking priority has arrived at the specified dwell point, sending a priority picking command to the picking equipment to instruct the picking equipment to transport the target luggage in the target carrier with the highest picking priority that is staying at the specified dwell point to the target workstation.

10. Prior to the step of transmitting a priority picking instruction to the picking equipment, 10. The picking method of claim 9, further comprising the step of, if the picking equipment determines that it is performing a picking operation, sending a pause command to the picking equipment to instruct the picking equipment to pause the current picking operation.

11. After each of the first robots transports the target carrier corresponding to the transport task to a stay point of the target workstation based on the corresponding transport task, determining a picking time for each of the target carriers in the plurality of target carriers; and if the plurality of target carriers includes a third carrier whose picking time is longer than a preset time threshold, generating a release command and transmitting the release command to the first robot corresponding to the third carrier; The picking method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the release command is used to instruct the first robot corresponding to the third carrier to return to the luggage storage area and perform a new transport task.

12. After the picking equipment has completed picking of the target parcels in the third carrier, sending a first carrier transport command to a second robot in the target workstation, the first carrier transport command being used to instruct the second robot to transport the third carrier from the target workstation to a temporary storage area; 12. The picking method of claim 11, further comprising: when determining that the third carrier has arrived at the temporary storage area, sending a second carrier transport command to an idle robot in the luggage storage area, the second carrier transport command being used to instruct the idle robot to transport the third carrier in the temporary storage area to the luggage storage area.

13. The picking method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a step of controlling the first robot corresponding to the target carrier to return the target carrier to a luggage storage area when a picking completion signal transmitted from the target workstation is received.

14. A picking method applied to a picking facility, comprising: receiving a target picking command; and when a target carrier corresponding to the transport task is transported to a stay point of a target workstation by each of the first robots among the plurality of first robots based on the corresponding transport task, transporting the target load in each of the target carriers to the target workstation in accordance with the picking order of the plurality of target carriers in response to the target picking command; A picking method characterized in that the target workstation includes a plurality of stay points, and the picking order of the plurality of target carriers is determined based on picking information of each target carrier in the plurality of target carriers, and the picking information includes a picking time and / or a picking priority.

15. receiving a priority picking instruction; When the first robot has transported the target carrier with the highest picking priority to the designated stay point, transporting the target parcel in the target carrier with the highest picking priority staying at the designated stay point to the target workstation, 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the plurality of dwell points at the target workstation includes a designated dwell point for placing a carrier with the highest picking priority.

16. receiving a pause command, the pause command being a command generated by a controller when the controller determines that the picking equipment is performing a picking operation; 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of: pausing a current picking operation in response to the pause command.

17. A picking device, a task generation module configured to generate a transport task corresponding to each of a plurality of pieces of package information in a shipping order based on the plurality of pieces of package information; a task sending module configured to send each of the transport tasks to a plurality of first robots, respectively, so that each of the first robots transports a target carrier corresponding to the transport task to a stay point of a target workstation including a plurality of stay points based on the corresponding transport task; a picking order determination module configured to determine a picking order of the plurality of target carriers based on picking information of each target carrier among the plurality of target carriers, wherein the picking information includes a picking time and / or a picking priority; a command sending module configured to send target picking instructions to the picking equipment according to the picking order of the target carriers, the target picking instructions being used to instruct the picking equipment to transport target loads on a plurality of the target carriers to the target workstations.

18. 1. An electronic device comprising: An electronic device comprising: a memory and a processor; a computer program stored in the memory; and a processor that, when executing the computer program, realizes the steps of the picking method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

19. A computer-readable storage medium on which a computer program is stored, wherein when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the picking method according to any one of claims 1 to 16 are realized. A computer-readable storage medium.

20. A computer program product comprising a computer program, A computer program product, characterized in that, when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the picking method according to any one of claims 1 to 16 are realized.

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