Robotic Palletizing With Database-Guided Picking and Weight Balance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing palletizing and depalletizing systems often require human assistance or advanced sensors, are complex and expensive, and fail to work robustly due to changing object shapes, dimensions, and colors, leading to inefficiencies and potential damage to items or equipment.
Innovation Solution
An intelligent robotic system that manages item dimensions and weights by storing information in a database, using a vision system to capture positions and orientations, and adjusting picking positions to ensure balance and safety, with the ability to suggest corrections for unbalanced items and share data between palletizing and depalletizing operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a vision system is used to measure the dimensions of items during palletizing operations, then accurate dimensions are obtained, but the cycle time is extended
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by storing item dimension information in a database before the actual palletizing operation. When an item is scanned via barcode or RFID, the robot controller retrieves pre-stored dimension data from the database, eliminating the need for real-time vision measurement during the palletizing cycle and thus reducing cycle time while maintaining accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a digital copy of item dimension information by scanning the barcode or RFID tag of each item and retrieving corresponding data from the database. This digital copy replaces the need for physical vision-based measurement during operation, significantly reducing measurement time while preserving dimensional accuracy
2Reliability
If advanced sensors and complex algorithms are used to handle challenging depalletizing cases, then item recognition accuracy is improved, but system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-processing and storing information about each item (dimensions, weight, picking positions, orientation) in a database before depalletizing. This preliminary data preparation eliminates the need for complex real-time analysis during depalletizing operations, reducing system complexity while maintaining high recognition accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces complex mechanical sensor systems and sophisticated algorithms with a simpler information retrieval mechanism. By substituting physical sensing and complex computation with database lookups based on barcode/RFID scanning, the system achieves high reliability with reduced complexity and lower cost
3Productivity
If items are palletized without weight consideration, then palletizing speed is maintained, but weight balance issues cause problems during forklift movement
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by weighing each item during the palletizing process and using this weight information to determine optimal placement positions. The robot controller adjusts item placement based on real-time weight feedback to achieve balanced weight distribution across the pallet, ensuring stability during forklift movement while maintaining efficient automated operation
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-calculating and storing optimal placement positions for items of different weights in the database. During palletizing, the robot retrieves weight-based placement instructions from the database, enabling fast automated operation while ensuring proper weight balance without requiring complex real-time decision-making
4Ease of operation
If the robot picks items from the center point, then picking position is simplified, but unbalanced items may be damaged or dropped
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-determining and storing the optimal picking position for each item type in the database based on its center of gravity characteristics. Before picking, the robot retrieves the pre-calculated picking position information from the database, simplifying the picking operation while ensuring safe handling of unbalanced items by avoiding their center point
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a digital copy of the optimal picking position information for each item in the database. Instead of calculating picking positions in real-time based on item geometry and balance, the robot simply retrieves the pre-stored picking position data, maintaining operational simplicity while ensuring reliability through accurate, pre-validated picking positions
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems and methods, which can include, for receipt of a pallet involving a plurality of objects, controlling a robotic arm to depalletize each of the plurality of objects from the pallet according to a position, orientation, and weight of the each of the plurality of objects retrieved from a database.