Carrier control device and carrier control system

A carrier control system, comprising:

• a carrier control device, comprising,
• a picking time estimation unit that is configured to calculate an amount of time to complete a picking operation, the time to complete a picking operation being an estimated amount of time it takes to pick one or more items from one or more racks which have arrived in a prescribed area, and estimate an amount of time to wait until picking operation completion by a first rack, the first rack being one of the one or more racks, using the time to complete a picking operation at the one or more racks,
• a task determination unit that is configured to compare the time to wait until picking operation completion by the first rack, with a previously set threshold, and determine which task the carrier having carried the first rack is to perform, either a task of putting down the first rack and performing another task, or a task of waiting for completion of an ongoing picking operation with the first rack held thereon, depending on whether the time to wait until picking operation completion by the first rack is larger or smaller than the threshold, and
• a task instruction information transmission unit that is configured to transmit the task instruction information to a carrier which has carried the rack of interest;
• and
• the carrier that is configured to receive the task instruction information and perform a task based on the received task instruction information.