Sorting system that transfers payloads from a conveyor system onto mobile drive units without the conveyor system knowing destinations of the mobile drive units

A sortation system configured to sort payloads at a facility, the sortation system comprising:

• a mobile drive unit system comprising a plurality of mobile drive units configured to carry the payloads to different local destinations at the facility;
• and
• a conveyor system comprising a conveyor surface configured to transfer the payloads to the mobile drive units,
• wherein the conveyor system is configured to communicate a payload identifier for each payload to the mobile drive unit system,
• the payload identifiers are masked such that information about the local destinations are unknown to the conveyor system, and
• the mobile drive unit system is configured to determine the local destinations from the payload identifiers by unmasking the payload identifiers.

A method of sorting payloads at a facility having a conveyor system and a mobile drive unit system, the method comprising:

• scanning a payload at the conveyor system to determine a payload identifier for the payload, wherein the payload identifier is masked such that information about the local destinations are unknown to the conveyor system;
• transferring the payload and the payload identifier to a mobile drive unit of the mobile drive unit system;
• unmasking the payload identifier at the mobile drive unit system to identify a local destination from a plurality of local destinations at the facility;
• and
• causing the mobile drive unit to move the payload to the identified local destination at the facility so as to deliver the payload to the local destination.