Autonomous Warehouse Inventory Robot With Extendable Mast Scanning
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for accurately assessing stock inventory in warehouses are time-consuming, costly, and prone to errors due to the height and vastness of storage shelves, leading to diminished inventory accuracy over time.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle chassis with an extendable mast and scanners configured for an autonomous indoor vehicle, allowing for autonomous and accurate counting and checking of stock across multiple levels and locations within a warehouse, using a combination of scanners and navigation systems to update inventory databases.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual inventory assessment methods are used in warehouses with high shelves and large areas, then labor can physically access and count stock, but the process becomes time-consuming, costly, and prone to errors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical counting methods with an automated scanning system. The vehicle equipped with scanners automatically reads barcodes and captures images of stock items, eliminating the need for manual physical counting and data entry, thereby significantly reducing time and human error
Solution Approach 2:
The inventory system performs self-assessment through autonomous vehicles that navigate warehouse corridors, automatically scan stock, and update database records without human intervention. The system independently completes the entire inventory process from data collection to database updating
2Reliability
If manual inventory methods are used, then inventory can be assessed, but accuracy diminishes over time due to human errors and inability to perform frequent assessments
Solution Approach 1:
The automated vehicle system enables continuous or near-continuous inventory assessment operations. Multiple vehicles can operate simultaneously in different warehouse sections, and the system can perform frequent reassessments without the diminishing returns that plague manual methods, maintaining consistent accuracy over time
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously compares scanned stock data with database records, automatically identifying and flagging discrepancies. This feedback mechanism ensures high reliability by immediately detecting errors or mismatches between physical inventory and recorded inventory, allowing for prompt correction
3Device complexity
If the vehicle chassis is designed as a single integrated unit with the autonomous vehicle, then the structure is simpler, but the system lacks flexibility for different operational scenarios
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle system is divided into separable components: the autonomous vehicle platform and the vehicle chassis with scanning equipment. This segmentation allows the scanning chassis to be attached to different autonomous vehicle platforms or operated independently, providing operational flexibility while maintaining manageable structural complexity through modular design
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a vehicle chassis (6) for checking and/or counting stock (4) in a warehouse (3) and configured for attaching to an autonomous indoor vehicle (9), with an extendable mast (11) comprising a first end (12) mounted onto the chassis (6) and an opposite second end (13) arrangeable at different distances above the chassis (6), and at least one scanner (2) arranged at the second end (13) and configured for checking and/or counting stock (4) in a shelve (5) of the warehouse (3) lateral to the vehicle (1). The invention further relates to an autonomous robot vehicle (1) comprising the vehicle chassis (6) and the autonomous indoor vehicle (9), whereby the chassis (6) is mounted onto the autonomous indoor vehicle (9) such that the autonomous indoor vehicle (9) and the chassis (6) are configured for autonomously moving the vehicle (1) in the warehouse (3).