Singulation of arbitrary mixed items

A method, comprising:

• receiving sensor data including image data associated with a workspace;
• using the sensor data to generate a three dimensional view of at least a portion of the workspace, the three dimensional view including boundaries of a plurality of items present in the workspace;
• using the three dimensional view as generated at successive points in time to model a flow of at least a subset of said plurality of items through at least a portion of the workspace;
• and
• using the model to determine and implement a plan to autonomously operate a robotic structure to pick one or more items from the workspace and place each item singly in a corresponding location in a singulation conveyance structure.

A computer program product embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium, comprising computer instructions for:

• receiving sensor data including image data associated with a workspace;
• using the sensor data to generate a three dimensional view of at least a portion of the workspace, the three dimensional view including boundaries of a plurality of items present in the workspace;
• using the three dimensional view as generated at successive points in time to model a flow of at least a subset of said plurality of items through at least a portion of the workspace;
• and
• using the model to determine and implement a plan to autonomously operate a robotic structure to pick one or more items from the workspace and place each item singly in a corresponding location in a singulation conveyance structure.