Control device, control method, and recording medium

Abstract

This control device comprises an acquisition unit, a first determination unit, a second determination unit, and a control unit. The acquisition unit acquires shelf information, which relates to the size and the number of inventory items placed on a shelf or to the size of an empty region on the shelf, in a warehouse in which articles are placed on shelves. The first determination unit determines, on the basis of the shelf information, the size and the number of empty regions to be created. The second determination unit determines the position of a movement target article that is to be moved, and the position of a movement destination to which the movement target article is to be moved, in accordance with the size and the number of empty regions to be created. The control unit controls a robot to move the movement target article to the determined position.

Description

Control device, control method, and recording medium

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a control device, a control method, and a recording medium.

[0002] In warehouses where goods are stored, there are techniques for managing goods, such as managing the placement status of goods in the warehouse and managing the receipt and shipment of goods. In such techniques, there are cases where the shelf on which an item is placed in the warehouse, i.e., the location of the item in the warehouse, is managed.

[0003] Furthermore, in warehouses, items placed on shelves can become disorganized due to incoming and outgoing shipments, resulting in wasted space on the shelves. Therefore, there is a need to eliminate such wasted space in warehouse management.

[0004] Patent Document 1 describes a method for managing incoming and outgoing goods, in which a transfer device is controlled so that when goods are released from the warehouse, empty space is reduced by rearranging the goods forward.

[0005] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-138955

[0006] However, organizing goods by packing them forward at one opening in a shelf to reduce empty space, as in the method described in Patent Document 1, may not be efficient for the entire warehouse.

[0007] An example of an object of the present disclosure is to provide a technique for efficiently organizing shelves.

[0008] A control device in one aspect of the present disclosure includes an acquisition means for acquiring shelf information, which is information regarding the size and number of inventory items placed on shelves in a warehouse where items are stored on shelves, or information regarding the size of free space on the shelves; a first determination means for determining the size and number of free space to be created based on the shelf information; a second determination means for determining the items to be moved, which are the objects to be moved, and the positions to which the items to be moved will be moved, depending on the size and number of free space to be created; and a control means for controlling a robot to move the items to the determined positions.

[0009] A control method in one aspect of the present disclosure acquires shelf information, which is information regarding the size and number of inventory items placed on shelves in a warehouse where items are stored on shelves, or information regarding the size of free space on the shelves, determines the size and number of free space to be created based on the shelf information, determines the items to be moved and the locations to which the items to be moved are to be moved based on the size and number of free space to be created, and controls a robot to move the items to the determined locations.

[0010] A program in one aspect of the present disclosure causes a computer to execute processing to acquire shelf information, which is information regarding the size and number of inventory items placed on shelves in a warehouse where items are stored on shelves, or information regarding the size of free space on the shelves, determine the size and number of free space to be created based on the shelf information, determine items to be moved and locations to which the items to be moved based on the size and number of free space to be created, and control a robot to move the items to the determined locations.

[0011] Each program may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium.

[0012] One example of the effect of the present disclosure is that it is possible to provide a technology for efficiently organizing shelves.

[0013] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a system including a control device. Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an empty space on a shelf. Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a control device. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control device. Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing another example of the functional configuration of a control device. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration for realizing the control device in the present disclosure by a computer and its peripheral devices.

[0014] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0015] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a system including a control device 100. The control system includes the control device 100 and a robot. The control system causes the robot to move items placed on shelves in a warehouse. The control system thereby organizes the shelves.

[0016] 1, a control device 100 is a device that controls a robot to organize shelves in a warehouse where items are stored on shelves. The control device 100 is realized by, for example, a server, but is not limited to this example.

[0017] The control device 100 is communicably connected to the robot. The control device 100 also acquires shelf information in order to determine how to control the robot. The shelf information will be described later.

[0018] 1, the robot is a robot that moves items placed on a shelf under the control of the control device 100. The robot is, for example, a robot arm, but the robot is not limited to this as long as it is a robot that can move items. Also, for example, the robot may be equipped with a camera for controlling its operation.

[0019] Next, the shelves in the warehouse and the free space on the shelves will be described with reference to FIG.

[0020] A shelf is a piece of equipment on which items are placed. A plurality of shelves are installed in a warehouse. Referring to FIG. 2, shelf 1 has shelf levels 1-1, 1-2, and 1-3. Shelf 2 has similar levels. Each shelf level is a space for placing items. Note that the specific number and height of the shelves are not limited to the example in FIG. 2.

[0021] The items are items stored in a warehouse. For example, the items are merchandise stored in a logistics warehouse. The items may be, for example, a package containing multiple items, or individual items unpacked from a package.

[0022] In this disclosure, it is assumed that items can be placed at any position on a shelf. Placing items at any position on a shelf in this manner is sometimes referred to as free location. On a shelf, multiple items of the same type are placed together, aligned in at least one direction among the width direction of the shelf, the depth direction of the shelf, and the height direction of the shelf. Also, different types of items may be placed on a shelf with gaps between them to facilitate easy removal and identification of different items. Also, different types of items may be separated on a shelf by L-shaped or other partitions (not shown).

[0023] A shelf has spaces where items are placed and spaces where no items are placed. Here, the space where no items are placed is called empty space. On a shelf where items are placed at any position, the shape and size of the empty space change as items are placed on the shelf for receiving goods, or as some or all of multiple items of the same type that were placed together are removed from the shelf for shipping. On a shelf, empty space that is not large enough to receive items becomes wasted space.

[0024] In the present disclosure, the control device 100 performs a process for organizing the items placed on the shelf levels to create free space in order to use the shelf space efficiently, i.e., a process for organizing the shelf.

[0025] Next, the functional configuration of the control device 100 in the embodiment will be described.

[0026] Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device 100. Referring to Fig. 3, the control device 100 includes an acquisition unit 101, a first determination unit 102, a second determination unit 103, and a control unit 104.

[0027] The acquiring unit 101 is an example of an acquiring means for acquiring shelf information, which is information about the size and number of inventory items placed on shelves in a warehouse where items are stored on shelves, or information about the size of free space on the shelves. Here, inventory items are items placed on the shelves before the shelf arrangement is performed.

[0028] The shelf information acquired by the acquisition unit 101 may be shelf information for the entire warehouse or may be shelf information for a portion of the warehouse. The acquisition unit 101 only needs to acquire shelf information for shelves included in the range that is the target of shelf reorganization.

[0029] The range subject to shelf rearrangement may be, for example, a predetermined area of ​​a warehouse, a single shelf, or a single shelf level, but is not limited to these examples. The predetermined area of ​​a warehouse may be a storage area predetermined for each category of item, an area divided by temperature ranges such as room temperature, refrigerated, or frozen, an area divided by whether or not humans are working there, an area classified by shelf height, or an area classified by shelf type. If it is specified that items are to be managed in a predetermined area, it is assumed that the items to be moved will be moved within the predetermined area when moving items as described below.

[0030] Shelf information is information that indicates the availability of a shelf at a certain point in time. The shelf information may be information itself about the size of the available space on the shelf, or information about the size and number of items placed on the shelf. Since the available space on a shelf is the area excluding the area where items are placed, information about the size and number of items placed on the shelf is information that indicates the availability of a shelf at a certain point in time. When the shelf information is information about the size and number of inventory items placed on the shelf, the shelf information may also include location information that indicates the location where the inventory items are placed on the shelf.

[0031] The size of each inventory item or free space may be expressed, for example, by volume, or by the respective width, height, and depth lengths. Furthermore, depending on the operation of the warehouse, it is possible that two or more different types of items are not stacked vertically or lined up in the depth direction on a shelf. In this case, only the width may be used as the size of the inventory item or free space. However, in this embodiment, the width and height may be used as the size, or the width and depth may be used, or the width, height, and depth may be used. The information used as the size may be determined appropriately depending on the placement status of items on the shelf. In the following description, a block of free space not obstructed by inventory items or the like is counted as one free space. In other words, the number of free spaces is the number of blocks of free space.

[0032] The information regarding the size and number of inventory items may be, for example, information indicating the size and number of inventory items. In this case, the acquisition unit 101 may acquire the information indicating the size and number of inventory items from, for example, a database that manages information regarding inventory items. The database that manages information regarding inventory items includes information indicating the size of each inventory item, the number of inventory items, and the shelf on which the inventory items are located. Note that the information regarding inventory items may be managed by lot number of the inventory item. In other words, in this case, the inventory items may be managed by lot number. Furthermore, the database that manages information regarding inventory items may include other information such as identification information of the inventory items. Furthermore, the database that manages information regarding inventory items may be divided into multiple databases. Furthermore, the size and number of inventory items may be determined from images of warehouse shelves using known image recognition technology. The images may be, for example, images used for inventory counting. In the following description, images of shelves are referred to as shelf images. In this case, the acquisition unit 101 may acquire the size and number of inventory items by performing image recognition on the shelf images.

[0033] The information about the size of the free space on the shelf may be, for example, information indicating the size of each free space recorded in advance, or information indicating the total size of the free space on each shelf level. In this case, the acquiring unit 101 may acquire the size of the free space on the shelf from a database that manages information about the free space on the shelf.

[0034] Furthermore, the information about the size of the free space on the shelf may include the location of the free space. The location of the free space may be represented, for example, by a specific position on the shelf where the free space is located, or by the shelf where the free space is located.

[0035] The size of the empty space on the shelf may also be obtained from the shelf image using known image recognition technology. In this case, the acquisition unit 101 may acquire the size of the empty space by performing image recognition on the shelf image. In this case, the position of the empty space may also be acquired using the shelf image.

[0036] The size of the area where the inventory items are placed or the size of the free space may be classified into any number of levels. In this case, the shelf information may include information indicating the classification of the size of the area where the inventory items are placed or the classification of the free space. The classification levels and the size of each level may be determined as appropriate, and for example, they may be classified into three levels: small, medium, and large. However, examples of classifications are not limited to these. When the size of the area where the inventory items are placed or the free space is expressed in these categories, the size of the area where the inventory items are placed is classified so that it belongs to a classification level that can accommodate the inventory items, i.e., a level larger than the size of the inventory items.

[0037] The first determination unit 102 is an example of a first determination means that determines the size and number of free spaces to be created based on shelf information. The free spaces to be created are free spaces created by controlling the robot to move inventory items, i.e., by having the robot organize the shelves.

[0038] The second determination unit 103 is an example of a second determination means that determines the items to be moved and the destination positions of the items to be moved, depending on the size and number of free areas to be created.

[0039] The processing by the first determination unit 102 and the second determination unit 103 is processing for determining how the robot should organize the shelves. Before describing the details of the first determination unit 102 and the second determination unit 103, a specific example of the shelf organization in this disclosure, i.e., creating free space, will be described with reference again to FIG. 2 .

[0040] In the following description, for simplicity, the width of the shelf that can be placed will be used as the size of each of the inventory items and the free space.

[0041] On shelf 1-2, from left to right, there is an area where an item is placed, an empty area, an area where an item is placed, and another empty area. For example, suppose the empty area on the right side of shelf 1-2 is too small to place a new item. In this case, the empty area on the right side of shelf 1-2 may end up being wasted space. In contrast, the empty area on the left side of shelf 1-2 is an empty area where a new item can be placed.

[0042] In this case, for example, by moving at least one of the two inventory items on shelf 1-2, it is possible to create an empty area the size of which is the combined size of the empty area on the left and the empty area on the right. This eliminates the small empty area that is necessary to place a new item. Furthermore, in this case, the amount of work required by the robot to move the inventory item can be reduced by shifting the inventory item on the right side of shelf 1-2 to the left rather than shifting the two inventory items on shelf 1-2 to the right. Also, in this case, the amount of work required by the robot to move the inventory item can be reduced by shifting the inventory item on the right side of shelf 1-2 to the right rather than shifting the inventory item on the right side of shelf 1-2 to the left.

[0043] In this case, the amount of new items that can be placed in the combined free space of the left and right sides may not change compared to the original free space on the left side. In such cases, it may be possible not to create a free space that does not change the amount of new items that can be placed even if inventory items are moved, i.e., not to organize the shelves.

[0044] Alternatively, on shelf level 1-2, inventory items placed on the right side may be shifted to the left side so that the two empty areas are the same size. If the size of the two empty areas created by such inventory item movement is large enough to accommodate the new items to be placed on the shelf, it will be possible to move fewer items than if an empty area the size of the two empty areas on shelf level 1-2 were to be created combined.

[0045] Although the arrangement of shelves on shelf level 1-2 has been described, the method of arranging shelves is not limited to these examples. Items may be moved between shelves or between shelves.

[0046] For example, of two inventory items placed on shelf 1-1, the inventory item placed on the right side may be moved to the left side of shelf 2-1, which has no inventory items placed there. In this example, the distance the inventory item must be moved can be shorter than if, for example, the inventory item placed on the right side of shelf 1-1 were moved to the right side of shelf 2-1, which has no inventory items placed there, or to shelf 2-3, which also has no inventory items placed there. Furthermore, in this example, rather than increasing the free space on shelf 1-1 by moving the inventory item placed on the right side of shelf 1-1 toward the inventory item on the left side, a certain amount of free space can be secured on both shelves 1-1 and 2-1. Note that when moving inventory items within shelf 1-1, the robot may be able to move the items by pushing them, but because there is a wall between shelves 1-1 and 2-1, the robot must lift the items. In such cases, the difficulty of the robot's work and the time required for the work will vary, so the free space to be created should be appropriately selected based on, for example, the robot's performance and the time limit within which the robot can perform the work.

[0047] As shown on shelf 2-2 in FIG. 2, inventory items may be placed with gaps between them. These gaps may be provided to facilitate distinguishing between adjacent inventory items of different types or to facilitate retrieval of inventory items. The first determination unit 102 may perform processing while taking these gaps into account. For example, the first determination unit 102 may perform processing such that gaps between items with a width of 1 cm or less are not treated as empty space. Furthermore, for example, the size of the area where inventory items are placed may be managed by adding a predetermined gap size to the size of the inventory items. Furthermore, for example, even when the size of the area where inventory items are placed is classified by size, the inventory items may be classified by adding a predetermined gap size to the size of the inventory items. Examples of processing that take gaps into account are not limited to this example.

[0048] In this way, the first determination unit 102 and the second determination unit 103 perform their respective processes to efficiently organize shelves from multiple perspectives, such as eliminating wasted free space, creating free space of a more desirable size, and reducing the amount of inventory items moved by the robot.

[0049] Referring again to FIG. 3, the components of the control device 100 will be described.

[0050] The first determination unit 102 determines the size and number of free areas to be created based on the shelf information. For example, the first determination unit 102 determines the size and number of free areas to be created based on the size of the current free areas based on the shelf information. The first determination unit 102 may, for example, determine the size and number of free areas to be created based on the current size of the free areas so as to create as large free areas as possible. Furthermore, for example, the first determination unit 102 may, for example, determine the size and number of free areas to be created based on the current size of the free areas so as to reduce free areas below a predetermined size as much as possible. The predetermined size may be determined appropriately depending on the operation of the warehouse. The predetermined size may, for example, be the size of an area capable of storing incoming items, but is not limited to this example. Furthermore, for example, the first determination unit 102 may, for example, determine the size and number of free areas to be created based on the current size of the free areas so that the size of the free areas is either an area where inventory items are placed or one of the sizes used to classify the size of the free areas.

[0051] Here, the number of free spaces in the processing of the first determination unit 102 refers to the number of free spaces of a predetermined size. For example, with reference to FIG. 2, assume that the width of each shelf is 100 cm. Shelf 2-1 has no inventory items placed on it, so it can be expressed as one free space of 100 cm width. However, if the predetermined size is 50 cm, it will be two free spaces, and if the predetermined size is 30 cm, it will be three free spaces.

[0052] The number of free areas may also be the number of free areas for each of the above-mentioned size categories.

[0053] Furthermore, for example, the first determination unit 102 may determine the size and number of free spaces to be created in accordance with the demand for free spaces. The demand for free spaces is the size and number of free spaces required in the warehouse. For example, the demand for free spaces may be the size and number of free spaces required to store incoming items scheduled to arrive at the warehouse. For example, the demand for free spaces may be the size and number of free spaces set in advance as necessary by a warehouse manager or the like. By determining the size and number of free spaces to be created in accordance with the demand, the first determination unit 102 can improve the efficiency of the workload and work time required for creating free spaces by the robot.

[0054] An example of processing by the first determination unit 102 will be described. For example, the first determination unit 102 determines the size and number of free areas to be created so as to ensure free areas necessary for storing incoming items, which are items that are newly received and stored in the warehouse. For example, the first determination unit 102 may determine the size and number of free areas to be created based on shelf information and a list of incoming items.

[0055] Here, the list of incoming items includes identification information for identifying the incoming items, the size of the incoming items, and the number of the incoming items. The list of incoming items may also include other information such as the names of the incoming items. Here, incoming items may arrive in a state where multiple items are packed together. Therefore, the size and number of the incoming items included in the list of incoming items may be the size and number of the packed packages. This information is acquired, for example, by the acquisition unit 101. For example, the acquisition unit 101 acquires the list of incoming items. If the size of the incoming items is not included in the list of incoming items, the acquisition unit 101 acquires the size of the item corresponding to the identification information of the incoming items from a database that manages item information.

[0056] The first determination unit 102 determines the size and number of free areas to be created so that the incoming items can be stored based on the size and number of the incoming items included in the list of incoming items. For example, the first determination unit 102 determines the size and number of free areas to be created so that the free areas are larger and more than the size and number of free areas required to store each of the incoming items. Note that if the size and number of the incoming items correspond to the size and number of packages, the first determination unit 102 determines the size and number of free areas to be created so that the packages can be stored.

[0057] In addition, when classification by size of items or size of free space is used, the first determination unit 102 may determine the size and number of free spaces to be created using the size used for the classification as a unit. In other words, the size of the area for storing incoming items and the size of the free space to be created may be expressed by the size of each predetermined classification.

[0058] A description will be given of another example of determination of the size and number of free areas by the first determination unit 102. For example, the first determination unit 102 determines the size and number of free areas to be created so that the space on the shelves of the warehouse can be used efficiently in the operation of the warehouse.

[0059] For example, the first determination unit 102 may determine the number of free spaces of each size to be created so that at least one of the size and number of free spaces meets a predetermined demand. It is assumed that there is a pattern to the arrival or shipment of goods in a warehouse. For example, it is assumed that there is a pattern to the arrival of goods depending on the day of the week or date. In such cases, it is considered desirable to reserve free spaces based on the pattern even at a stage when the incoming goods cannot be specifically identified. Furthermore, in the operation of a warehouse, it may be desirable to operate while reserving a certain amount of free space. Therefore, the first determination unit 102 may determine the size and number of free spaces to be created so as to meet a standard established based on the operation of the warehouse.

[0060] The predetermined demand is, for example, a demand for the size of free space. The demand for the size of free space may be expressed as a lower limit or an upper limit of the size of free space. The lower limit of the size of free space may be, for example, the minimum size of free space that can accommodate newly received items, and by using the lower limit as a standard, it is possible to reduce wasted free space.

[0061] Furthermore, the predetermined demand may be, for example, the demand for the number of free spaces. The demand for the number of free spaces may be expressed, for example, as a lower limit value for the number of free spaces of a size included in a predetermined size range. Furthermore, for example, when classification by free space size is used, the demand for the number of free spaces may be expressed as a lower limit value for the number of free spaces of each size, or as a lower limit value and an upper limit value. Furthermore, the demand for the number of free spaces may be expressed as an allowable range of the ratio of the number of free spaces of each size.

[0062] The determination of the size and number of free spaces to be created by the first determination unit 102 may be formulated using an optimization problem. In this case, the constraints include, for example, at least one of the aforementioned criteria, that the total size of the current free spaces is smaller than the total size of the free spaces to be created, and that the size and number of free spaces to be created are feasible based on the size of the shelves and the size and number of inventory items. The objective function is, for example, minimizing excess space. The first determination unit 102 determines the size and number of free spaces to be created by solving the optimization problem formulated in this manner.

[0063] Further, in the example of processing by the first determination unit 102, further conditions may be set. For example, the first determination unit 102 determines the size and number of free areas to be created for a predetermined target range. The target range may be, for example, the entire warehouse, a specific area in the warehouse, an aisle consisting of multiple shelves, multiple shelves of the same type, one shelf, one shelf level, shelves of the same height, etc. The specific area in the warehouse may be an area set for each item category, an area divided by temperature ranges such as room temperature, refrigerated, and frozen, or an area divided by whether or not humans are working there. The target range may be set in advance or may be specified by, for example, a warehouse manager. The target range is not limited to these examples. In this case, the first determination unit 102 determines the size and number of free areas to be created in the target range based on shelf information in the target range.

[0064] The second determination unit 103 determines the items to be moved and the destination positions of the items to be moved, depending on the size and number of free areas to be created. That is, the second determination unit 103 determines the items to be moved and the destination positions of the items to be moved, so that free areas of the size and number determined by the first determination unit 102 are created.

[0065] The items to be moved are moved, for example, by a robot. To improve the efficiency of the moving operation, it is desirable to minimize the amount of movement of the items to be moved to create free space. Therefore, the second determination unit 103 determines the items to be moved and their destination locations so as to minimize the amount of movement of the items to be moved. The amount of movement of the inventory items may be expressed as the straight-line distance between the original location of the inventory items and the destination location, or as the distance of a possible movement path when the robot actually moves the inventory items. Therefore, in this case, the second determination unit 103 may determine the items to be moved and their destination locations so as to minimize the sum of the movement amounts of all the items to be moved, or may determine the items to be moved and their destination locations so as to minimize the movement amount of the item to be moved the longest distance. In this case, the movement amount considered by the second determination unit 103 is not limited to the above example and may be determined as appropriate.

[0066] Furthermore, when a robot moves an object to be moved, the amount of work performed by the robot varies depending on the relationship between the original position of the object and its destination position. Furthermore, the amount of work performed by the robot also varies depending on the number of objects to be moved and the performance of the robot. For example, when a robot moves an object to be moved, it may shift the object to the side on a shelf without lifting it, or it may lift the object to a different location from its original location. The different location from its original location may be on the same shelf, a different shelf, or a different shelf. In this case, the amount of work performed by the robot may differ between shifting the object to the side and lifting it to a different location. Furthermore, when the original location of the object to be moved is far from the new location where it will be placed, it may be necessary to move the robot. Furthermore, when the object to be moved consists of multiple unpackaged objects or multiple packaged objects, the action of moving the object to be moved may need to be performed multiple times depending on the mechanism and number of hands used by the robot to lift the objects. Even in this case, if there is a partition on at least one side of the item to be moved, the action of shifting the item to the side on the shelf may make it possible to move multiple items to be moved or multiple packaging packages in one action by pressing the partition.

[0067] Therefore, the second determination unit 103 may determine the items to be moved and the destinations of the items to be moved so as to minimize the workload of the robot based on the relationship between the original positions of the inventory items and the destination positions of the inventory items. In this case, the second determination unit 103 may further determine the items to be moved and the destinations of the items to be moved so as to minimize the workload of the robot based on the number of inventory items and the performance of the robot performing the work.

[0068] The amount of work performed by the robot may be expressed, for example, by the amount of movement of each mechanism of the robot, such as the movement mechanism, arm, and hand, or power consumption.

[0069] Furthermore, the amount of work performed by a robot is correlated with the robot's work time. However, the robot's work time may vary depending on the robot's performance even when the amount of work is the same. The robot's work time also varies depending on the number of robots performing the work. Therefore, when the objective function is the robot's work time, the second determination unit 103 determines the object to be moved and the destination of the object to be moved so as to minimize the robot's work time according to the robot's work amount and robot performance. In this case, the robot's performance is expressed by its operating speed, hand mechanism, and number.

[0070] In this way, when determining the items to be moved and their destinations so as to minimize the workload or the working time of the robots, the second determination unit 103 may use information indicating the number of robots performing the tasks and information indicating the performance of each robot. In this case, the information indicating the number of robots performing the tasks and the information indicating the performance of each robot is acquired, for example, by the acquisition unit 101 from a database that manages information related to robots.

[0071] Furthermore, in a warehouse, restrictions may be imposed on the placement of items for the sake of inventory management. For example, a restriction may be imposed in a warehouse that prevents specified items from being placed next to each other. In this case, the second determination unit 103 determines the items to be moved and their destinations so that the specified items are not placed next to each other. Here, the specified items are, for example, items that are easily mistakenly picked for the items to be moved during picking work. For example, an item that is easily mistakenly picked for the items to be moved is an item of the same type as the items to be moved but with a different manufacturing lot number than the items to be moved. In this case, the second determination unit 103 determines the items to be moved and their destinations so that the items to be moved are not placed next to items of the same type but with a different manufacturing lot number. Examples of the specified items are not limited to these.

[0072] Furthermore, in a warehouse, areas where items are placed may be specified depending on the attributes of the items. For example, areas where items are placed may be specified in advance for each item category. As another example, if temperature control of items is required, areas where items are placed may be specified for each temperature range. As another example, restrictions may be placed on shelves or heights where items can be placed depending on the weight of the items. In this case, the second determination unit 103 determines the items to be moved and their destinations so that the destinations of the items to be moved are placed in areas where the items should be placed.

[0073] Furthermore, it is expected that the work of moving the items to be moved by the robot will be performed during a time period different from the time period during which items are normally brought in and taken out of the warehouse. In this case, the time limit for the robot to work may be limited to, for example, a time period during which no humans are working in the warehouse. Therefore, the second determination unit 103 determines the items to be moved and their destinations so that the size and number of free spaces to be created can be determined so that the robot can complete the movement of the items to be moved within the time limit.

[0074] The second determination unit 103 may determine the items to be moved and the destination positions of the items to be moved by, for example, solving an optimization problem. In this case, the objective function may be, for example, minimizing the amount of inventory items moved or minimizing the amount of work or the robot's working time. The constraint condition is creating free space of the size and number determined by the first determination unit 102. The constraint condition may also include, for example, avoiding placing the items to be moved next to other specified items at the destination, ensuring that the destination of the items to be moved is within the area where the items to be moved are to be placed, and completing the work within the time limit available to the robot. Note that the constraint conditions are not limited to these examples.

[0075] Note that if the free space determined by the first determination unit 102 cannot be created because the robot control content does not satisfy the constraints even though there is no shortage of free space, the processing of the first determination unit 102 may be performed again. A case in which free space cannot be created means that the free space determined by the first determination unit 102 cannot be created when the second determination unit 103 takes into account the movement of items. The free space determined by the first determination unit 102 cannot be created, for example, when the work cannot be completed within the time limit. In this case, the first determination unit 102 determines the size and number of free spaces to be created to be smaller than those determined in the previous determination processing. When the processing of the first determination unit 102 is performed again, the second determination unit 103 determines the items to be moved and their destinations based on the newly determined size and number of free spaces to be created. The processing of the first determination unit 102 and the second determination unit 103 may be repeated until the second determination unit 103 determines the items to be moved and their destinations based on the size and number of free spaces to be created determined by the first determination unit 102.

[0076] Furthermore, the processing of the first determination unit 102 and the processing of the second determination unit 103 may be executed as an integrated process. That is, the size and number of free spaces to be created and the positions of items when the free spaces are created may be determined together. The positions of items when the free spaces are created indicate the items to be moved and the positions to which the items will be moved. In this case, for example, the processing of the first determination unit 102 and the second determination unit 103 can be performed together by optimizing the arrangement of shelves.

[0077] The control unit 104 is an example of a control means that controls the robot to move the object to be moved to a determined position. The control unit 104 controls the robot based on the determination result of the second determination unit 103. The control unit 104 may control the robot by instructing the robot to perform each of its actions. The control unit 104 may control the robot by instructing a robot capable of autonomously determining its actions as to the object to be moved and its destination. The specific control method may be any known method and is not limited to these examples.

[0078] So far, the basic configuration of the control device 100 has been described, but the control device 100 may further include at least one of the following configurations.

[0079] 4 is a diagram showing another example of the configuration of the control device 100 A. In FIG. 4, the control device 100 A includes an output unit 105 and an identification unit 106 in addition to the configuration of the control device 100 .

[0080] The output unit 105 is an example of an output means that outputs the size, location, and number of free areas that have been created. The output unit 105 may output the size, location, and number of free areas that have been created based on the determination result of the first determination unit 102 or the determination result of the second determination unit 103. Alternatively, the output unit 105 may output the size, location, and number of free areas that have actually been created, identified by the identification unit 106, which will be described later.

[0081] In this case, the output destination of the output unit 105 may be, for example, a database that manages information about free space in the warehouse. Alternatively, the output destination of the output unit 105 may be, for example, a terminal device such as a personal computer or tablet used by a warehouse manager or warehouse worker.

[0082] The output unit 105 may output the newly created free space in a recognizable manner. For example, the output unit 105 may highlight the newly created free space. Furthermore, for example, the output unit 105 may output the newly created free space in association with the creation date and time.

[0083] Furthermore, the output unit 105 may output the locations of inventory items that have been moved due to the creation of free space, i.e., shelf reorganization. The locations of the moved inventory items may be information indicating the placement of the inventory items after shelf reorganization. In this case, too, the output unit 105 may output based on the determination result of the second determination unit 103, or may output based on the result of the identification unit 106, which will be described later.

[0084] In this case, the output destination of the output unit 105 may be, for example, a database that manages information about inventory items in the warehouse. Alternatively, the output destination of the output unit 105 may be, for example, a terminal device such as a personal computer or tablet used by a warehouse manager or warehouse worker.

[0085] The output unit 105 may output the moved inventory items in a recognizable manner. For example, the output unit 105 may highlight the moved inventory items. Furthermore, for example, the output unit 105 may output the moved inventory items in association with the date and time of the move.

[0086] Next, the identification unit 106 is an example of an identification means that identifies the size, location, and number of empty spaces that have actually been created based on a shelf image in which the created empty spaces have been photographed. The shelf image in which the created empty spaces have been photographed may be an image taken by a camera provided on the robot that performed the work, or may be an image taken by another camera. The identification unit 106 may identify the size, location, and number of empty spaces from the shelf image using a known method.

[0087] The identifying unit 106 may also identify the position of the inventory item after the creation of the free space based on the shelf image after the robot has performed the work. The shelf image after the robot has performed the work may be an image taken by the robot using a camera provided on the robot that performed the work, or may be an image taken by another camera. The identifying unit 106 may identify the position of the inventory item from the shelf image using a known method.

[0088] The shelf image used in the processing of the identification unit 106 may be acquired by the acquisition unit 101, for example.

[0089] The output unit 105 may also perform output according to the identification result by the identification unit 106. First, as described above, the output unit 105 may output the size, location, and number of free spaces actually created, and the location of inventory items after they have actually been moved. The output unit 105 may also output a difference between the size and number of free spaces to be created determined by the first determination unit 102, or the movement of inventory items determined by the second determination unit 103, and the identification result by the identification unit 106. The difference between the determination results of the first determination unit 102 and the second determination unit 103 and the identification result by the identification unit 106 indicates a task that the robot could not complete. The output unit 105 may output an instruction to have a human or a robot perform the task that the robot could not complete, or may output the instruction for analyzing the cause of the robot's failure to complete the task.

[0090] The operation of the control device 100 configured as above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0091] First, the acquisition unit 101 acquires shelf information, which is information about the size and number of inventory items placed on shelves in a warehouse where items are stored on shelves, or information about the size of free space on the shelves (step S101).

[0092] Next, the first determination unit 102 determines the size and number of free areas to be created based on the shelf information acquired in step S101 (step S102).

[0093] Next, the second determination unit 103 determines the items to be moved and the positions to which the items to be moved, based on the size and number of free areas to be created determined in step S102 (step S103).

[0094] Next, the control unit 104 controls the robot to move the object to be moved to the determined position (step S104).

[0095] This completes the series of operations of the control device 100.

[0096] The control device in the above-described embodiment includes an acquisition unit, a first determination unit, a second determination unit, and a control unit. The acquisition unit acquires shelf information, which is information regarding the size and number of inventory items placed on shelves in a warehouse where items are stored on shelves, or information regarding the size of free space on the shelves. The first determination unit determines the size and number of free space areas to be created based on the shelf information. The second determination unit determines the items to be moved, which are the items to be moved, and the destination positions to which the items to be moved, based on the size and number of free space areas to be created. The control unit controls the robot to move the items to the determined positions.

[0097] As a result, the control device in this embodiment can provide a technology for efficiently arranging shelves. For example, the control device in this embodiment can improve the efficiency of the workload or working time of a robot that organizes shelves while reducing the amount of wasted empty space on the shelves.

[0098] [Hardware Configuration] Some or all of the components of each device or system in each embodiment of the present disclosure described above are realized by any combination of an information processing device 1000 and a program, for example, as shown in Fig. 6. The information processing device 1000 includes, as an example, the following configuration.

[0099] - CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1001 - ROM (Read Only Memory) 1002 - RAM (Random Access Memory) 1003 - Program 1004 loaded into RAM 1003 - Storage device 1005 for storing program 1004 - Drive device 1007 for reading and writing from and to recording medium 1006 - Communication I / F 1008 for connecting to communication network 1009 - Input / output I / F 1010 for inputting and outputting data - Bus 1011 for connecting each component. Note that I / F is an abbreviation for Interface.

[0100] Each component of each device or system in each embodiment is realized by the CPU 1001 acquiring and executing a program that realizes the function of that component. The program that realizes the function of each component of each device is stored in the storage device 1005 or RAM 1003 in advance, for example, and is read by the CPU 1001 as needed. The program 1004 may be supplied to the CPU 1001 via a communication network, or may be stored in the recording medium 1006 in advance, and the drive device 1007 may read the program and supply it to the CPU 1001.

[0101] There are various variations in the method of realizing each device. For example, each device or system may be realized by any combination of a separate information processing device 1000 and a program for each component. Furthermore, multiple components included in each device may be realized by any combination of a single information processing device 1000 and a program.

[0102] Furthermore, some or all of the components of each device or system may be realized by general-purpose or dedicated circuits (circuitry) including a processor or the like, or a combination of these. Examples of circuits include a CPU, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), and an AI (Artificial Intelligence) processing LSI (Large Scale Integration). These may be configured by a single chip or by multiple chips connected via a bus. Some or all of the components of each device may be realized by a combination of the above-mentioned circuits and a program.

[0103] When some or all of the components of each device or system are realized by multiple information processing devices, circuits, etc., the multiple information processing devices, circuits, etc. may be centrally or decentralized. For example, the information processing devices, circuits, etc. may be realized as a client-server system, a cloud computing system, or the like, in which they are connected via a communication network.

[0104] Although the present disclosure has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments. Various modifications that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present disclosure within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0105] Furthermore, although the operations are described in a sequential order in the form of a flowchart, the order of description does not limit the order in which the operations are performed. Therefore, when implementing each embodiment, the order of the operations may be changed as long as it does not affect the content.

[0106] Some or all of the above-described embodiments can be described as, but are not limited to, the following supplementary notes.

[0107] [Supplementary Note 1] A control device comprising: an acquisition means for acquiring shelf information, which is information about the size and number of inventory items placed on shelves in a warehouse where items are stored on the shelves, or information about the size of free space on the shelves; a first determination means for determining the size and number of free space areas to be created based on the shelf information; a second determination means for determining items to be moved, which are objects to be moved, and positions to which the items to be moved are to be moved, according to the size and number of free space areas to be created; and a control means for controlling a robot to move the items to the determined positions.

[0108] [Supplementary Note 2] The control device according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein the first determination means determines the size and number of free areas to be created so as to meet demand for free areas based on the shelf information.

[0109] [Supplementary Note 3] The control device according to Supplementary Note 2, wherein the demand is a demand for free space for storing new incoming goods to be stored in the warehouse.

[0110] [Supplementary Note 4] The control device described in Supplementary Note 3, wherein the first determination means determines the size and number of free areas to be created so that the incoming items can be stored based on the shelf information and the size and number of the incoming items included in the list of incoming items to be newly stored in the warehouse.

[0111] [Supplementary Note 5] The control device described in Supplementary Note 3 or 4, wherein the first determination means determines the size and number of free areas to be created based on the number of each size of current free areas classified by size and the number of each size of incoming items at the time of storage classified based on the size of the incoming items at the time of storage.

[0112] [Supplementary Note 6] The control device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 2 to 5, wherein the demand is a size and number of free areas that are determined in advance in consideration of the operation of the warehouse.

[0113] [Supplementary Note 7] The control device according to Supplementary Note 6, wherein the first determination means determines the number of each size of free space to be created based on the number of each size of current free space classified by size, so that the number of each size of free space meets a standard.

[0114] [Supplementary Note 8] The control device according to Supplementary Note 6 or 7, wherein the criteria include at least one of a lower limit and an upper limit of the number of free spaces classified into each size.

[0115] [Supplementary Note 9] The control device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 6 to 8, wherein the criterion is an allowable range of a ratio of the number of free areas classified into each size.

[0116] [Supplementary Note 10] The control device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 9, wherein the second determination means further uses the working time of the robot to determine the object to be moved and the destination so that the robot can complete the movement of the object to be moved within the working time according to the size and number of free spaces to be created.

[0117] [Supplementary Note 11] The control device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 10, wherein the second determination means determines the item to be moved and the destination so as to minimize the amount of movement between the original position and the destination position of the item to be moved depending on the size of the free space to be created.

[0118] [Supplementary Note 12] The control device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 11, wherein the second determination means determines the object to be moved and the destination so as to minimize the workload or working time of the robot that moves the object to be moved depending on the size and number of free spaces to be created.

[0119] [Supplementary Note 13] The control device according to Supplementary Note 12, wherein the workload of the robot is calculated based on at least one of a relationship between an original position and a destination position of the object to be moved, the number of the objects to be moved, and performance of the robot.

[0120] [Supplementary Note 14] The control device described in any of Supplementary Notes 1 to 13, wherein the shelf information includes information regarding the size and number of inventory items placed on the shelf, and the first determination means determines the size and number of free space areas to be created based on the size and number of current free space areas estimated based on the size and number of inventory items placed on the shelf.

[0121] [Supplementary Note 15] The control device described in any of Supplementary Notes 1 to 14, wherein the shelf information is a shelf image of the shelf, and the first determination means determines the size and number of free areas to be created based on the size and number of current free areas estimated based on the shelf image.

[0122] [Supplementary Note 16] The control device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 15, further comprising an output unit that outputs the size, position, and number of free areas that have been created.

[0123] [Supplementary Note 17] The control device according to Supplementary Note 16, wherein the acquisition means further acquires shelf images of the created free spaces, and the control device further comprises an identification means for identifying the actual size, position, and number of the created free spaces based on the image of the created free spaces.

[0124] [Supplementary Note 18] The control device according to any one of Supplementary Note 17, wherein the output means further outputs information indicating a task that the robot was unable to complete, based on the determination result of the first determination means and the identification result of the identification means.

[0125] [Supplementary Note 19] A control method comprising: acquiring shelf information, which is information about the size and number of inventory items placed on shelves in a warehouse where items are stored on the shelves, or information about the size of free space on the shelves; determining the size and number of free space areas to be created based on the shelf information; determining items to be moved and positions to which the items to be moved according to the size and number of free space areas to be created; and controlling a robot to move the items to the determined positions.

[0126] [Supplementary Note 20] A recording medium for recording a program that causes a computer to execute the following processes: acquiring shelf information, which is information about the size and number of inventory items placed on shelves in a warehouse where items are stored on the shelves, or information about the size of free space on the shelves; determining the size and number of free space areas to be created based on the shelf information; determining items to be moved and positions to which the items to be moved according to the size and number of free space areas to be created; and controlling a robot to move the items to the determined positions.

[0127] Furthermore, some or all of the configurations described in Supplementary Notes 2 to 18 that are subordinate to Supplementary Note 1 (control device) may also be subordinate to Supplementary Note 19 (control method) and Supplementary Note 20 (program) in the same subordinate relationship as Supplementary Note 2 to 19. Furthermore, not limited to Supplementary Note 1, Supplementary Note 19, and Supplementary Note 20, some or all of the configurations described as Supplements may be subordinate to various hardware, software, various recording means for recording software, or systems, within the scope of each of the above-mentioned embodiments.

[0128] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Control device 101 Acquisition unit 102 First determination unit 103 Second determination unit 104 Control unit 100A Control device 105 Output unit 106 Identification unit 1000 Information processing device 1001 CPU 1002 ROM 1003 RAM 1004 Program 1005 Storage device 1006 Recording medium 1007 Drive device 1008 Communication I / F 1009 Communication network 1010 Input / output I / F 1011 Bus

Claims

1. An acquisition means for acquiring shelf information, which is information regarding the size and number of stocked items placed on the shelf or information regarding the size of the empty area of the shelf in a warehouse for storing items on the shelf; a first determination means for determining the size and number of empty areas to be created based on the shelf information; a second determination means for determining a moving target item, which is an item to be moved, and the position of a destination to which the moving target item is to be moved according to the size and number of the empty areas to be created; and a control means for controlling the robot to move the moving target item to the determined position. A control device comprising the above components.

2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the first determination means determines the size and number of empty areas to be created such that the size of the empty area to be created is any one of the sizes used for classifying the size of the empty area or the size of the area where the stocked items are placed.

3. The control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first determination means determines the size and number of empty areas to be created so as to satisfy the demand for the empty area required in the warehouse based on the shelf information.

4. The control device according to claim 3, wherein the demand is the demand for the empty area for storing incoming items newly stored in the warehouse.

5. The control device according to claim 4, wherein the first determination means determines the size and number of empty areas to be created that can store the incoming items based on the shelf information and the size and number of the incoming items included in the list of incoming items newly stored in the warehouse.

6. The control device according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the demand is the size and number of empty areas determined in advance based on the operation of the warehouse.

7. The control device according to claim 6, wherein the demand is the number for each size used for classifying the size of the empty area or the size of the area where the stocked items are placed.

8. The control device according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the demand is represented by at least one of a lower limit value and an upper limit value of the number for each size used for classifying the size of the empty area or the size of the area where the stocked items are placed.

9. The control device according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the demand is represented by an allowable range of the ratio of the number for each size used for classifying the size of the empty area or the size of the area where the stocked items are placed.

10. The second determining means further uses the working time of the robot to determine the object to be moved and the destination so that the robot can complete the movement of the object to be moved within the working time according to the size and number of the created free spaces. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. The second determining means determines the object to be moved and the destination so as to minimize the amount of movement between the original position and the destination position of the object to be moved according to the size of the created free space. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. The second determining means determines the object to be moved and the destination so as to minimize the workload or the working time of the robot for moving the object to be moved according to the size and number of the created free spaces. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

13. The workload of the robot is calculated based on at least one of the relationship between the original position and the destination position of the object to be moved, the number of the objects to be moved, and the performance of the robot. The control device according to claim 12.

14. The shelf information includes information on the size and number of the stocked items placed on the shelf. The first determining means determines the size and number of the free spaces to be created based on the size and number of the stocked items placed on the shelf and the size and number of the current free spaces estimated based thereon. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. The shelf information is a shelf image of the shelf being photographed. The first determining means determines the size and number of the free spaces to be created based on the size and number of the current free spaces estimated based on the shelf image. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

16. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 15 further includes output means for outputting the size, position, and number of the created free spaces.

17. The acquisition means further acquires a shelf image of the created free space being photographed, and further includes specifying means for specifying the size, position, and number of the actually created free space based on the image of the created free space being photographed. The control device according to claim 16.

18. The output means further outputs information indicating work that the robot could not complete, based on the determination result of the first determination means and the identification result of the identification means, for the control device according to any one of claims 17.

19. A control method for obtaining shelf information, which is information regarding the size and quantity of stocked items placed on the shelves or information regarding the size of the empty areas of the shelves in a warehouse for storing items on the shelves, determining the size and quantity of the empty areas to be created based on the shelf information, determining the item to be moved, which is the target of movement, and the position of the destination to which the item to be moved is to be moved according to the size and quantity of the empty areas to be created, and performing control to cause the robot to move the item to be moved to the determined position.

20. A recording medium for recording a program that causes a computer to execute a process of obtaining shelf information, which is information regarding the size and quantity of stocked items placed on the shelves or information regarding the size of the empty areas of the shelves in a warehouse for storing items on the shelves, determining the size and quantity of the empty areas to be created based on the shelf information, determining the item to be moved, which is the target of movement, and the position of the destination to which the item to be moved is to be moved according to the size and quantity of the empty areas to be created, and performing control to cause the robot to move the item to be moved to the determined position.

Images