Robot informed dynamic parcel inflow gating

A method, comprising:

• obtaining, by one or more sensors, a sensor output associated with a pick area of an infeed gating system, wherein:
• the infeed gating system comprises a gating structure configured to use a plurality of gating elements to mediate a flow of items from an input source to the pick area;
• and
• the sensor output comprises one or more of a flow rate, a number, and an orientation of objects in an area associated with picking of objects by one or more robots;
• and
• providing, by one or more processors, a control input to the gating structure to adjust a configuration of one or more of the plurality of gating elements based at least in part on one or more of the flow rate, the number, and the orientation of objects in the area associated with picking of objects by one or more robots, wherein at least a subset of the plurality of gating elements are individually controlled, and wherein a timing of raising/lowering a gating element is determined to infeed a predetermined number of items to the pick area in a manner without negatively impacting a rate at which a robot picks items from the pick area.

A computer program product to control an infeed gating system, the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium and comprising computer instructions for:

• obtaining, by one or more sensors, a sensor output associated with a pick area of an infeed gating system, wherein:
• the infeed gating system comprises a gating structure configured to use a plurality of gating elements to mediate a flow of items from an input source to the pick area;
• and
• the sensor output comprises one or more of a flow rate, a number, and an orientation of objects in an area associated with picking of objects by one or more robots;
• and
• providing, by one or more processors, a control input to the gating structure to adjust a configuration of one or more of the plurality of gating elements based at least in part on one or more of the flow rate, the number, and the orientation of objects in the area associated with picking of objects by one or more robots, wherein at least a subset of the plurality of gating elements are individually controlled, and wherein a timing of raising/lowering a gating element is determined to infeed a predetermined number of items to the pick area in a manner without negatively impacting a rate at which a robot picks items from the pick area.

An infeed gating system, comprising:

• a gating structure configured to use a plurality of gating elements to mediate a flow of items from an input source to a pick area, wherein at least a subset of the plurality of gating elements are individually controlled, and wherein the plurality of gating elements comprises a plurality of bollards;
• a sensor configured to provide a sensor output associated with the pick area, wherein the sensor output comprises one or more of a flow rate, a number, and an orientation of objects in an area associated with picking of objects by one or more robots;
• and
• a processor configured to provide a control input to the gating structure to adjust a configuration of one or more of the plurality of gating elements based at least in part on one or more of the flow rate, the number, and the orientation of objects in the area associated with picking of objects by one or more robots.

A method, comprising:

• obtaining, by one or more sensors, a sensor output associated with a pick area of an infeed gating system, wherein:
• the infeed gating system comprises a gating structure configured to use a plurality of gating elements to mediate a flow of items from an input source to the pick area, and wherein the plurality of gating elements comprises a plurality of bollards;
• and
• the sensor output comprises one or more of a flow rate, a number, and an orientation of objects in an area associated with picking of objects by one or more robots;
• and
• providing, by one or more processors, a control input to the gating structure to adjust a configuration of one or more of the plurality of gating elements based at least in part on one or more of the flow rate, the number, and the orientation of objects in the area associated with picking of objects by one or more robots, wherein at least a subset of the plurality of gating elements are individually controlled.

An infeed gating system, comprising:

• a gating structure configured to use a plurality of gating elements to mediate a flow of items from an input source to a pick area, wherein at least a subset of the plurality of gating elements are individually controlled;
• a sensor configured to provide a sensor output associated with the pick area, wherein the sensor output comprises one or more of a flow rate, a number, and an orientation of objects in an area associated with picking of objects by one or more robots;
• and
• a processor configured to provide a control input to the gating structure to adjust a configuration of one or more of the plurality of gating elements based at least in part on one or more of the flow rate, the number, and the orientation of objects in the area associated with picking of objects by one or more robots;
• wherein:
• at least two robots are positioned in, or within proximity of, the pick area on opposing sides;
• the at least two robots includes (i) a first robot positioned on a first side of the pick area and controlled to pick items from the first side of the pick area, and (ii) a second robot positioned on a second side of the pick area and controlled to pick items from the second side of the pick area;
• the plurality of gating elements comprises:
• a first subset of gating elements associated with a first side of the pick area;
• and
• a second subset of gating elements associated with a second side of the pick area;
• and
• the processor controls the first subset of gating elements based at least in part on operation of the first robot, and separately controls the second subset of gating elements based at least in part on the operation of the second robot.

A method, comprising:

• obtaining, by one or more sensors, a sensor output associated with a pick area of an infeed gating system, wherein:
• the infeed gating system comprises a gating structure configured to use a plurality of gating elements to mediate a flow of items from an input source to the pick area;
• and
• the sensor output comprises one or more of a flow rate, a number, and an orientation of objects in an area associated with picking of objects by one or more robots;
• and
• providing, by one or more processors, a control input to the gating structure to adjust a configuration of one or more of the plurality of gating elements based at least in part on one or more of the flow rate, the number, and the orientation of objects in the area associated with picking of objects by one or more robots, wherein at least a subset of the plurality of gating elements are individually controlled;
• wherein:
• at least two robots are positioned in, or within proximity of, the pick area on opposing sides;
• the at least two robots includes (i) a first robot positioned on a first side of the pick area and controlled to pick items from the first side of the pick area, and (ii) a second robot positioned on a second side of the pick area and controlled to pick items from the second side of the pick area;
• the plurality of gating elements comprises:
• a first subset of gating elements associated with a first side of the pick area;
• and
• a second subset of gating elements associated with a second side of the pick area;
• and
• a first subset of gating elements based at least in part on operation of the first robot, and the second subset of gating elements is separately controlled based at least in part on the operation of the second robot.

An infeed gating system, comprising:

• a gating structure configured to use a plurality of gating elements to mediate a flow of items from an input source to a pick area, wherein at least a subset of the plurality of gating elements are individually controlled;
• a sensor configured to provide a sensor output associated with the pick area, wherein the sensor output comprises one or more of a flow rate, a number, and an orientation of objects in an area associated with picking of objects by one or more robots;
• and
• a processor configured to provide a control input to the gating structure to adjust a configuration of one or more of the plurality of gating elements based at least in part on one or more of the flow rate, the number, and the orientation of objects in the area associated with picking of objects by one or more robots;
• wherein:
• at least two robots are positioned in, or within proximity of, the pick area on opposing sides;
• the at least two robots includes (i) a first robot positioned on a first side of the pick area and controlled to pick items from the first side of the pick area, and (ii) a second robot positioned on a second side of the pick area and controlled to pick items from the second side of the pick area;
• and
• the gating structure is actuated to individually control the flow of items to respective workspaces of the first robot and second robot in a manner that causes the flow of items to satisfy one or more predefined flow criteria.

A method, comprising:

• obtaining, by one or more sensors, a sensor output associated with a pick area of an infeed gating system, wherein:
• the infeed gating system comprises a gating structure configured to use a plurality of gating elements to mediate a flow of items from an input source to the pick area;
• and
• the sensor output comprises one or more of a flow rate, a number, and an orientation of objects in an area associated with picking of objects by one or more robots;
• and
• providing, by one or more processors, a control input to the gating structure to adjust a configuration of one or more of the plurality of gating elements based at least in part on one or more of the flow rate, the number, and the orientation of objects in the area associated with picking of objects by one or more robots, wherein at least a subset of the plurality of gating elements are individually controlled;
• wherein:
• at least two robots are positioned in, or within proximity of, the pick area on opposing sides;
• the at least two robots includes (i) a first robot positioned on a first side of the pick area and controlled to pick items from the first side of the pick area, and (ii) a second robot positioned on a second side of the pick area and controlled to pick items from the second side of the pick area;
• and
• the gating structure is actuated to individually control the flow of items to respective workspaces of the first robot and second robot in a manner that causes the flow of items to satisfy one or more predefined flow criteria.