Automated Item Routing With Robots and Carts in Crowded Facilities
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Solution Overview
Problem
The transportation of items in crowded areas, such as airports, often results in mishandling and increased risk of disease transmission due to human contact, leading to damage and health concerns.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing robots and automated carts to transport items, with a central processor managing routes and minimizing human interaction, thereby reducing contact and the risk of disease spread.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual handling by porters is used, then flexibility and adaptability are maintained, but mishandling and damage risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service through automated robots that independently navigate, collect items, and transfer them to carts without human intervention. The robots autonomously follow designated routes and complete transfer operations, eliminating the need for manual porter handling while ensuring consistent, damage-free operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of manual porter handling with an automated robotic system. Robots equipped with sensors and navigation capabilities substitute human porters, performing item collection and transfer operations through automated mechanical means, thereby improving reliability while increasing automation level.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If crowded baggage claim areas are used, then item collection is accessible, but disease transmission risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts the item collection process from crowded human environments and relocates it to an automated robotic system. Robots collect items from check-in areas and transport them directly to designated carts, removing the need for travelers to congregate in crowded baggage claim areas, thereby eliminating disease transmission risk while maintaining accessibility through automated cart delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated robot acts as an intermediary between the check-in area and the traveler. Instead of direct human-to-human contact in crowded areas, the robot mediates the item collection process by receiving items from check-in and delivering them to travelers via automated carts, thereby reducing harmful factors while preserving ease of operation.
3Productivity
If multiple robots share common tracks, then system complexity is reduced, but movement efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The routing system is segmented into dedicated robot routes and dedicated cart routes that are spatially separated. Robots operate on designated tracks from check-in to cart locations, while carts operate on separate designated tracks from robot transfer points to traveler pickup areas. This segmentation eliminates interference between robots and carts, maximizing movement efficiency while managing complexity through structured route separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system resolves routing conflicts by transitioning to another dimension - spatial separation of robot and cart operations. Instead of robots and carts sharing the same one-dimensional track space, the system creates separate spatial pathways, allowing simultaneous independent operations without interference, thereby improving productivity while organizing complexity through dimensional separation.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is a system for transporting items having two or more robots configured to transport items throughout a facility, each robot transfers the items along a designated robot route, one or more automated carts configured to transport the item received from one or more robots, the automated carriage configured to transport the items along a designated cart route, a communication unit configured to provide the designate robot route to the robots and the designated cart route to the automated cart, and at least one processor configured to assign the robots to collect the items, assign the automated cart to receive the items; generate the robot route, designate a destination of the automated cart and, generate the cart route for the automated cart.