Dual-Robot Warehouse Retrieval for Multi-Level Shelf Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manual management of inventory in warehouses is time-consuming and inefficient, necessitating an automated solution for loading and unloading inventory using robots.
Innovation Solution
A method involving two types of robots, where a first robot accesses and manages boxes on lower shelves and a second robot, taller and more complex, manages boxes on higher shelves, with adaptors that support boxes and facilitate efficient loading and unloading, allowing for automated retrieval and rearrangement of inventory.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single type of robot is used to access all shelves, then device complexity is reduced, but access time increases due to the need to reach higher shelves
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the warehouse shelving into two distinct zones: lower shelves accessible by compact first robots and higher shelves accessible by taller second robots. This segmentation allows each robot type to be optimized for its specific operational zone, reducing overall access time while maintaining manageable device complexity through specialized design.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution introduces height as a differentiating dimension between robot types. First robots operate at lower heights for lower shelves, while second robots extend to higher heights for upper shelves. This dimensional differentiation resolves the time-complexity contradiction by matching robot capability to shelf height requirements.
2Loss of time
If a first robot moves beneath lower shelves to access boxes, then access time is reduced by over 50%, but device complexity increases due to the need for adaptors
Solution Approach 1:
Adaptors serve as intermediary components installed on lower shelves to facilitate robot access. These adaptors provide standardized interfaces that enable first robots to efficiently retrieve boxes from beneath the shelves. The added complexity of adaptors is justified by the significant 50%+ reduction in access time they enable.
3Device complexity
If manual management of inventory is used, then device complexity is minimized, but productivity is low due to time-consuming operations
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service automation where robots autonomously navigate the warehouse, locate boxes using identifiers, retrieve inventory, and return it to interfacing units. This eliminates manual labor while maintaining reasonable device complexity through standardized robot and adaptor designs, dramatically improving productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for retrieving content stored in a warehouse, the method may include: maintaining first content in boxes of a lowest shelf of a storage unit of the warehouse, while maintaining in boxes of higher shelves of the storage unit second content that is of less interest than the first content; accessing the boxes of the lowest shelf and providing the boxes to interfacing units, by a first robot; accessing the boxes of the higher shelves and providing the boxes to the interfacing units, by a second robot; wherein the first robot, when positioned at a lower position, is lower than a height of the lowest shelf; and wherein the second robot is higher than the height of the lowest shelf.