Locating, separating, and picking boxes with a sensor-guided robot
AssigneeKinema Systems Inc.
InventorsSachin Chitta, David Hershberger, Karl Pauwels
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Techniques are described that enable robotic picking systems to locate and pick boxes from an unstructured pallet using computer vision and/or one or more “exploratory picks” to determine the sizes and locations of boxes on the pallet.
Claims25
A computer-implemented method, comprising:
- capturing a first image of a loaded pallet, the loaded pallet having a plurality of boxes stacked thereon;
- generating a first representation of a surface of the loaded pallet using the first image;
- moving a first box at a corner of the surface of the loaded pallet a programmable amount using a robotic arm;
- capturing a second image of the loaded pallet including the first box as moved by the robotic arm;
- generating a second representation of the surface of the loaded pallet using the second image;
- replacing the first box with the robotic arm;
- processing the first and second representations of the surface of the loaded pallet to generate a representation of a surface of the first box;
- positioning the robotic arm relative to the first box using the representation of the surface of the first box;
- and
- removing the first box from the loaded pallet using the robotic arm.
A system, comprising a computing device, a robotic arm, a robotic control system, and an image capture device, the computing device being configured to:
- capture a first image of a loaded pallet using the image capture device, the loaded pallet having a plurality of boxes stacked thereon;
- generate a first representation of a surface of the loaded pallet using the first image;
- move a first box at a corner of the surface of the loaded pallet a programmable amount using the robotic arm via the robotic control system;
- capture a second image of the loaded pallet using the image capture device, the second image including the first box as moved by the robotic arm;
- generate a second representation of the surface of the loaded pallet using the second image;
- replace the first box using the robotic arm via the robotic control system;
- process the first and second representations of the surface of the loaded pallet to generate a representation of a top surface of the first box;
- position the robotic arm relative to the first box via the robotic control system using the representation of the surface of the first box;
- and
- remove the first box from the loaded pallet using the robotic arm via the robotic control system.
A computer program product, comprising one or more computer-readable media having computer program instructions stored therein, the computer program instructions being configured such that, when executed by one or more computing devices, the computer program instructions cause the one or more computing devices to:
- capture a first image of a loaded pallet, the loaded pallet having a plurality of boxes stacked thereon;
- generate a first representation of a surface of the loaded pallet using the first image;
- move a first box at a corner of the surface of the loaded pallet a programmable amount using a robotic arm;
- capture a second image of the loaded pallet including the first box as moved by the robotic arm;
- generate a second representation of the surface of the loaded pallet using the second image;
- replace the first box using the robotic arm;
- process the first and second representations of the surface of the loaded pallet to generate a representation of a surface of the first box;
- position the robotic arm relative to the first box using the representation of the surface of the first box;
- and
- remove the first box from the loaded pallet using the robotic arm.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.