Automated warehousing using robotic forklifts or other material handling vehicles

A material handling vehicle, comprising:

• an interface facilitating access to one or more stored maps including driving rules and load attachment and load delivery locations;
• on-board global positioning satellite (GPS) geolocation and inertial sensing operative to determine the vehicle's own location relative to the load attachment and load delivery locations;
• video capture and processing apparatus operative to gather load pick-up and load placement information and facilitate unimpeded movement enabling the vehicle to navigate to and from the load attachment and load delivery locations in accordance with the driving rules, wherein the video capture and processing apparatus is further operative to identify a doorway by identifying a range discontinuity between a first wall surface adjacent to the doorway and a second wall surface past an opening of the doorway;
• wherein, when the vehicle determines that its location is proximate to one of the load attachment locations, the vehicle is operative to robotically acquire a load using the load pick-up information;
• and
• when the vehicle determines that its location is proximate to one of the load delivery locations, the vehicle is operative to robotically deliver the load to the load delivery location using the load placement information.