System and method for processing waste material

摘要

A method for processing waste in a material handling system includes detecting an occurrence of a trigger event associated with a waste holder located at a first location and, in response to detecting the trigger event, moving a mobile drive unit to the first location. The method also includes loading waste material onto the mobile drive unit at the first location and transporting the waste material to a waste station using the mobile drive unit.

主权项

1. A material handling system, comprising:
a plurality of waste holders operable to store waste material; a plurality of mobile drive units operable to transport waste material stored by the waste holders; and a management module operable to:
determine a rate at which waste accumulates in a waste holder, wherein the waste holder is located at a first location adjacent to a workstation;determine, based upon the rate, a first time associated with the waste holder, the first time representing an estimated time at which a waste accumulation in the waste holder is expected to reach a threshold;instruct, at the first time, a selected one of the plurality of mobile drive units to move to the waste holder at the first location;receive a collection request from a user associated with the waste holder;determine historical information associated with the user; andadjust the first time based at least upon the historical information.