US 2026/0307919 A1Published application

Systems and methods for determining occupancy in conveyance systems

AssigneePlus One Robotics, Inc.

InventorsAbhijit Majumdar, David Moreno

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Abstract

A machine vision apparatus for real-time spatial occupancy detection on a moving conveyor surface comprises an image capture device positioned to acquire sequential frames of the conveyor at a rate of approximately 20-25 frames per second, and a dedicated image processing unit configured to perform pixel-level differential analysis between each acquired frame and a stored reference image representing the unoccupied conveyor surface. The processing unit partitions the conveyor image into a predetermined grid of discrete spatial zones and generates a binary bitmask data structure encoding the occupancy state of each zone based on computed differential thresholds. The bitmask is transmitted via a hardware communication interface to a robotic placement controller, enabling collision-free package placement onto unoccupied zones. The system further implements temporal tracking of detected objects across successive frames to identify conveyor anomalies including package stalling conditions. The apparatus provides a specific, hardware-implemented improvement to automated conveyor loading operations.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A system for determining occupancy of a conveyance surface for use in controlling at least one component associated with automated picking operations, the system comprising:

a data acquisition device positioned to capture images of at least a portion of the conveyance surface, the conveyance surface associated with a conveyance system configured to transport objects along a direction of conveyance;
one or more processors communicatively coupled to the data acquisition device;
and
a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
obtain at least one reference image of the conveyance surface when the conveyance surface is unoccupied;
define, within an image coordinate space corresponding to the conveyance surface, a region of interest comprising a plurality of zones, each zone corresponding to a respective physical sub‑region of the conveyance surface;
during operation of the conveyance system, for each of a plurality of acquisition cycles:
obtain a current image of the conveyance surface from the data acquisition device;
and
for each zone of the plurality of zones, determine an occupancy status of the zone by:
computing a difference metric between pixel values of the current image and pixel values of the reference image and/or a background model of the conveyance surface;
and
comparing the difference metric to at least one threshold to classify the zone as occupied or unoccupied;
generate, for each acquisition cycle, an occupancy bitmask having a plurality of bits respectively corresponding to the plurality of zones, each bit indicating the occupancy status of the corresponding zone;
and
provide the occupancy bitmask to a controller configured to control at least one component associated with automated picking operations based on the occupancy bitmask.

13 more elements

A computer implemented method for determining occupancy of a conveyance surface for use in controlling at least one component associated with automated picking operations, the computer implemented method comprising:

capturing, by a camera positioned with respect to the conveyance surface, at least one reference image of the conveyance surface when the conveyance surface is unoccupied;
defining, by one or more processors, a region of interest within an image plane corresponding to at least a portion of the conveyance surface, the region of interest comprising a plurality of zones each mapped to a respective physical sub‑region of the conveyance surface;
during operation of the conveyance system, repeatedly capturing, by the camera, current images of the conveyance surface at a plurality of acquisition times;
for each acquisition time and each zone of the plurality of zones, determining, by the one or more processors, an occupancy status of the zone by:
comparing pixel data of a current image to the reference image and/or a background model of the conveyance surface to compute a difference metric;
and
classifying the zone as occupied or unoccupied based on the difference metric relative to a threshold;
and
generating, by the one or more processors, an occupancy bitmask having a plurality of bits respectively corresponding to the plurality of zones, each bit indicating the occupancy status of the corresponding zone;
transmitting, via a controller interface, the occupancy bitmask to a controller to control at least one component associated with automated picking operations;
and
controlling, by the controller, the at least one component based at least in part on the occupancy bitmask.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.