Autonomous Order Fulfillment and Inventory Control Robots

摘要

Some embodiments provide a system for fully autonomous order fulfillment and inventory management within a distribution site or warehouse. The system operates by autonomous robots directly pulling customer order items from distribution site shelves or pulling individual bins from distribution site shelves and dispensing appropriate quantities of items from the bins until all items of a customer order are retrieved without human involvement. The system further involves the robots autonomously monitoring item quantities within the distribution site, identifying and autonomously responding to shortages, and organizing the items within the distribution site for most efficient order fulfillment.

主权项

1. A robot comprising:
a base comprising wheels, at least a first motor driving the wheels, and batteries powering said first motor; an extendible lift coupled to the base, the extendible lift rising to any of a plurality of heights above said base; and a robotic arm atop said extendible lift, the robotic arm comprising a retriever at a distal end of said robotic arm, wherein said extendible lift aligns a height of the robotic arm approximate to a height of an item about a first location, and wherein the robotic arm retrieves said item from the first location by positioning the retriever on said item, engaging the item with the retriever, and repositioning the retriever away from said shelf.