Robot Sorting Control for Replenished Container Layouts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies face challenges in automating the sorting of multiple types of items accommodated in a box, such as corrugated cardboard, by determining suitable robot operation plans for tasks like picking up items, moving them into sorting containers based on type or lot number.
Innovation Solution
A control device and method that includes an operation planning mechanism to determine and update robot operation plans based on the arrangement of sorting containers, ensuring items are sorted into appropriate containers even when they are replenished.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If a robot performs sorting work with a predetermined operation plan, then the sorting work can be automated, but the robot cannot adapt when sorting containers are replenished or rearranged
Solution Approach 1:
The robot is equipped with an image recognition unit that continuously monitors the arrangement of sorting containers. When containers are replenished or rearranged, the system detects these changes and feeds back information to the operation planning unit, which then updates the operation plan accordingly. This feedback mechanism enables the robot to adapt to dynamic environmental changes while maintaining automated sorting operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The operation plan is designed to be dynamic rather than static. The robot can modify its sorting operations in real-time based on detected changes in container arrangement. The system transitions from a fixed predetermined plan to a flexible adaptive plan that responds to environmental changes, allowing the robot to handle replenished containers without manual intervention.
2Device complexity
If the robot follows a fixed operation plan, then control is simple, but the sorting process becomes inefficient when container arrangements change
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a feedback loop where the image recognition unit detects container arrangements and notifies the operation planning unit. This allows the control system to maintain relative simplicity while automatically adapting to changes, preventing productivity loss without requiring complex manual reprogramming or intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The robot performs self-adjustment by automatically detecting container arrangements and updating its own operation plan. The system serves itself by autonomously adapting to environmental changes without external intervention, maintaining both control simplicity and sorting efficiency simultaneously.
Data Source
AI summary
A control device 1X mainly includes an operation planning means 15X and a determination means 16X. The operation planning means 15X determines an operation plan of a robot regarding a work of sorting plural items into plural sorting containers. The determination means 16X determines whether or not the sorting containers are replenished. Then, the operation planning means 15X updates the operation plan based on the arrangement of the sorting containers after the replenishment if the sorting containers is replenished.