Warehouse Image Recognition for Storage Accuracy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing warehouse management systems fail to effectively manage articles when workers incorrectly carry them to the wrong location or ignore alarms, leading to difficulties in tracking and storing items accurately.
Innovation Solution
An information processing system equipped with a movable body, continuous photographing device, and information processing apparatus that specifies articles and storage units through image analysis, associates the correct storage information, and notifies discrepancies to ensure accurate storage and retrieval.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If alarm notification is used to guide workers to correct storage locations, then storage accuracy is improved, but workers may ignore alarms and carry articles to wrong places
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously captures images of articles and storage units, automatically identifies their locations, and compares actual placement with target locations. This closed-loop feedback mechanism eliminates reliance on worker compliance with alarms by autonomously verifying storage accuracy through image recognition and database comparison.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical alarm notification system with an automated optical recognition system. Instead of relying on auditory alarms that workers may ignore, the system uses cameras and image processing to automatically detect article locations and verify correct storage, substituting human-compliance-based mechanics with automated optical-mechanical verification.
2Measurement precision
If continuous monitoring of article locations is implemented, then storage accuracy is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system achieves continuous monitoring without complex centralized control by enabling each component to perform its function autonomously. The image capturing device automatically captures images, the recognition unit independently identifies articles and storage units, and the database self-updates with location information. This distributed self-service approach reduces overall system complexity while maintaining continuous monitoring capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses image copies (photographs) of articles and storage units as data representations instead of requiring direct physical sensing or complex measurement systems. By capturing visual copies and processing them through recognition algorithms, the system achieves accurate location tracking with simpler hardware compared to sophisticated sensor arrays or RFID infrastructure.
3Measurement precision
If manual verification of article locations is performed, then storage accuracy can be improved, but time consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs continuous automatic verification by continuously capturing images of articles and storage units as they are moved and placed. Unlike periodic manual checks, the automated system operates continuously without interruption, capturing location data in real-time throughout the storage process. This eliminates verification time loss by making the useful action of location checking continuous and uninterrupted.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual visual verification with automated optical recognition. Instead of workers visually inspecting article locations to verify correctness, camera systems automatically capture images and recognition algorithms instantly identify articles and their storage units. This substitution eliminates the time-consuming manual verification process while maintaining high accuracy through automated image processing.
Data Source
AI summary
An information processing system according to an aspect of the disclosure includes a movable moving body; a photographing device provided on the moving body; and an information processing device. The photographing device includes: a photographer for continuous photographing; and a transmitter for transmitting photographed images. The information processing device includes: a receiver to receive the photographed images; a specifier to specify articles and storage units in which the article is able to be stored from the photographed images; a selector to select a combination of the storage unit and the article stored in the storage unit based on the articles and the storage units which are specified by the specifier; and a memory to store, in a memory device, information indicating the storage unit and information indicating the article, the storage unit and the article which are contained in the combination selected by the selector, in association with each other.