Robotic system to control ingress to a robotic loader

A method of controlling a robotic system comprising a robotically controlled mobile chassis, a robotically controlled conveyor oriented substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the robotically controlled mobile chassis, one or more robotic arms disposed adjacent to the robotically controlled conveyor, and one or more cameras positioned to view at least a portion of a top surface of the robotically controlled conveyor, the method comprising:

• using the robotically controlled mobile chassis, the robotically controlled conveyor, and the one or more robotic arms to load a plurality of items into a truck or other container, including by using the one or more robotic arms to pick successive items comprising the plurality of items from the robotically controlled conveyor and place each picked item in the truck or other container;
• and
• using image data generated by the one or more cameras to assess a state of at least a subset of the plurality of items on the top surface of the robotically controlled conveyor;
• determine based at least in part on the image data that an additional item is to be added to the top surface of the robotically controlled conveyor;
• and operate a robotically controlled induction mechanism distinct from the one or more robotic arms to cause the additional item to be added to the top surface of the robotically controlled conveyor.

A computer program product, embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium, to control a robotic system comprising a robotically controlled mobile chassis, a robotically controlled conveyor oriented substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the robotically controlled mobile chassis, one or more robotic arms disposed adjacent to the robotically controlled conveyor, and one or more cameras positioned to view at least a portion of a top surface of the robotically controlled conveyor, comprising computer instructions for:

• using the robotically controlled mobile chassis, the robotically controlled conveyor, and the one or more robotic arms to load a plurality of items into a truck or other container, including by using the one or more robotic arms to pick successive items comprising the plurality of items from the robotically controlled conveyor and place each picked item in the truck or other container;
• and
• using image data generated by the one or more cameras to assess a state of at least a subset of the plurality of items on the top surface of the conveyor;
• determine based at least in part on the image data that an additional item is to be added to the top surface of the robotically controlled conveyor;
• and operate a robotically controlled induction mechanism distinct from the one or more robotic arms to cause the additional item to be added to the top surface of the robotically controlled conveyor.