Virtual put wall

A virtual put wall system for visual guided order fulfillment, the system comprising:

• a display device;
• a database that stores a mapping between each customer order of a plurality of customer orders and a different container of a plurality of containers distributed across one or more shelves of a storage apparatus, and that stores for each container, one or more of an image, pattern, or color corresponding to a different visual identifier on a front side of that container;
• and
• a coordinating device comprising:
• one or more processors configured to:
• detect retrieval of an object from a storage location to a position before the storage apparatus;
• determine that the object belongs to a particular customer order of the plurality of customer orders;
• select, based on the mapping, a particular container from the plurality of containers that is used to store objects of the particular customer order;
• obtain, from the database, a particular visual identifier of the particular container, wherein the particular visual identifier differentiates the particular container from other containers of the plurality of containers distributed across the shelves of the storage apparatus;
• and
• provide a visual guide on the display device that directs transfer of the object to the particular container, wherein providing the visual guide comprises modifying the display device to present one or more of an image, pattern, or color that exactly matches the particular visual identifier on the front side of the particular container and that visually differentiates the particular container from the other containers distributed across the shelving of the storage apparatus.

A method comprising:

• tracking different visual identifiers on a front side of a plurality of containers that are distributed across one or more shelves of a storage apparatus, wherein each container of the plurality of containers is visually differentiated from other containers of the plurality of containers by a different visual identifier on the front side of that container and is used to aggregate one or more objects ordered as part of a different customer order;
• receiving a wireless message from an object retrieval robot or a wireless device of a worker, the wireless message comprising an object identifier that identifies a particular object that is transferred before the storage apparatus or that is retrieved from a storage location by the object retrieval robot or the worker;
• identifying the particular object based on the object identifier provided with the wireless message;
• determining, based on one or more of the object identifier or said identifying of the particular object, that the particular object is part of a particular customer order;
• determining an allocation of the particular customer order to a particular container of the plurality of containers distributed across the shelves of the storage apparatus;
• obtaining a particular visual identifier of the particular container based on said tracking of the different visual identifiers, wherein the particular visual identifier differentiates the particular container from the other containers distributed across the shelves of the storage apparatus;
• and
• modifying a display to present one or more of an image, pattern, or color that exactly matches the particular visual identifier on the front side of the particular container and that visually isolates the particular container from the other containers distributed across the shelves of the storage apparatus.