Abstract:
A system for identifying and tracking performance of operators in a warehouse. The system comprises at least one robot configured to interact with the operators in the warehouse. The at least one robot includes a first transceiver, a proximity detector, and a memory. The first transceiver defines a zone surrounding the robot and the proximity detector is coupled to the first transceiver. The proximity detector is configured to detect entry, into the zone, of an operator and to detect exit of the operator from the zone. The memory contains information identifying said operators who have entered and exited the zone.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, titled “Robotic Navigation Utilizing Semantic Mapping”, filed concurrently with this application, incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
       [0002]    This invention relates to operator identification and performance tracking in connection with robot-assisted warehouse storage and retrieval systems, in particular, to robot-assisted product order-fulfillment systems. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Ordering products over the Internet for home delivery is an extremely popular way of shopping. Fulfilling such orders in a timely, accurate and efficient manner is logistically challenging to say the least. Clicking the “check out” button in a virtual shopping cart creates an “order.” The order includes a listing of items that are to be shipped to a particular address. The process of “fulfillment” involves physically taking or “picking” these items from a large warehouse, packing them, and shipping them to the designated address. An important goal of the order-fulfillment process is thus to ship as many items in as short a time as possible. 
         [0004]    The order-fulfillment process typically takes place in a large warehouse that contains many products, including those listed in the order. Among the tasks of order fulfillment is therefore that of traversing the warehouse to find and collect the various items listed in an order. In addition, the products that will ultimately be shipped first need to be received in the warehouse and stored or “placed” in storage bins in an orderly fashion throughout the warehouse so they can be readily retrieved for shipping. 
         [0005]    In a large warehouse, the goods that are being delivered and ordered can be stored in the warehouse very far apart from each other and dispersed among a great number of other goods. With an order-fulfillment process using only human operators to place and pick the goods requires the operators to do a great deal of walking and can be inefficient and time consuming. Since the efficiency of the fulfillment process is a function of the number of items shipped per unit time, increasing time reduces efficiency. 
         [0006]    Robot assisted order-fulfillment systems have been used to increase efficiency and productivity. However, there is still a need to further increase efficiency in such systems. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    In one aspect, the invention features a system for identifying and tracking performance of operators in a warehouse. The system includes at least one robot configured to interact with the operators in the warehouse, and the robot includes a first transceiver a proximity detector and a memory. The first transceiver defines a zone surrounding the robot and the proximity detector is coupled to said first transceiver. The proximity detector is configured to detect entry, into the zone, of an operator and to detect exit of the operator from the zone. The memory contains information identifying the operators who have entered and exited said zone. 
         [0008]    In other aspects of the invention, one or more of the following features may be included. The system may further include a second transceiver associated with each operator that carries information identifying the operators and the second transceivers may be with the operators. The second transceiver may comprise an RFID transceiver. The at least one robot may further comprise a contactless identification system, wherein the contactless identification system identifies the local operator without physically contacting said local operator. The identification system may comprise a camera, and a facial-recognition system coupled to the camera, wherein the facial-recognition system identifies the local operator. The identification system may comprise a retinal scanner and a retinal-identification system coupled to the retinal scanner, wherein the retinal-identification system may identify the local operator. The at least one robot may further include a tablet, wherein the tablet may comprise a tablet processor and a network interface. Using the network interface, the tablet may provide information to a management server; the information may comprise information indicative of local operator activity. The information indicative of local operator activity may include information regarding one or more of the amount of time for an operator to enter the zone after the robot arrives at a destination proximate the user, the amount of time the operator takes to exit the zone after the operator enters the zone, or the amount of time the operator takes to perform a defined function. 
         [0009]    In further aspects of the invention, one or more of the following features may be included. The management server may be configured to track local-operator efficiency based at least in part on the information indicative of local operator activity. The management server may be configured to provide to the local operator an incentive that is based at least in part on the information indicative of local operator activity. The management server may be configured to maintain warehouse statistics based at least in part on the information. The tablet may provide operator identification information to the management server. The operator identification information may be used by the management server to determine if the operator is an authorized operator. The operator identification information may be used by said management server to set operator preferences for interaction with said tablet; wherein said operator preferences include language. 
         [0010]    In another aspect of the invention, there is method for identifying and tracking performance of operators in a warehouse. The method includes causing a robot to proceed to a location and at the location, defining a zone around the robot. The method includes detecting entry of a local operator into the zone and without physical contact with said local operator, identifying the local operator. 
         [0011]    In yet other aspects of the invention, the following features may be included. The method may include detecting exit of the local operator from the zone. The method may include receiving, from a transceiver carried by the local operator, information identifying the local operator. The step of identifying the local operator may comprise receiving, from an RFID tag carried by the local operator, information identifying the local operator. The step of identifying the local operator may comprise performing identification based on data indicative of a face of the local operator. Identifying the local operator may comprise performing identification based on data indicative of a retina of said local operator. The method may further comprise providing information indicative of local operator activity to a management server. The information indicative of local operator activity may include information regarding one or more of the amount of time for an operator to enter the zone after the robot arrives at the location, the amount of time the operator takes to exit the zone after the operator enters the zone, or the amount of time the operator takes to perform a defined function. The method further comprises tracking local-operator efficiency based at least in part on the information indicative of local operator activity and providing, to a local operator, an incentive based at least in part on the information indicative of local operator activity. The method may further comprise maintaining warehouse statistics based at least in part on said information indicative of local operator activity. The method may also comprise providing operator identification information to the management server. The operator identification information may be used to determine if the operator is an authorized operator or it may be used to set operator preferences for interaction with the operator. The operator preferences may include language. 
         [0012]    These and other features of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying figures, in which: 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a plan view of a fulfillment warehouse; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  shows a base of one of the robots used in the warehouse shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing the robot in  FIG. 2  outfitted with an armature and parked in front of a shelf shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  shows the architecture of the tablet shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  is a flow-chart of a procedure executed by the tablet shown in  FIG. 5 ; and 
           [0018]      FIGS. 6 and 7  show alternative embodiments having on-board identification systems. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0019]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , a typical order-fulfillment warehouse  10  includes shelves  12  filled with the various items that could be included in an order  16 . In operation, the order  16  from warehouse management server  15  arrives at an order-server  14 . The order-server  14  communicates the order  16  to a robot  18  selected from a plurality of robots that roam the warehouse  10 . 
         [0020]    A typical robot  18 , shown in  FIG. 2 , includes an autonomous wheeled base  20  having a laser-radar  22 . The base  20  also features a transceiver  24  that enables the robot  18  to receive instructions from the order-server  14 , and a camera  26 . The base  20  also features a processor  32  that receives data from the laser-radar  22  and the camera  26  to capture information representative of the robot&#39;s environment and a memory  34  that cooperate to carry out various tasks associated with navigation within the warehouse  10 , as well as to navigate to fiducial marker  30  placed on shelves  12 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . Fiducial marker  30  (e.g. a two-dimensional bar code) corresponds to bin/location of an item ordered. 
         [0021]    While the description provided herein is focused on picking items from bin locations in the warehouse to fulfill an order for shipment to a customer, the system is equally applicable to the storage or placing of items received into the warehouse in bin locations throughout the warehouse for later retrieval and shipment to a customer. The invention could also be utilized with other standard tasks associated with such a warehouse system, such as, consolidation of items, counting of items, verification, and inspection. 
         [0022]    An upper surface  36  of the base  20  features a coupling  38  that engages any one of a plurality of interchangeable armatures  40 , one of which is shown in  FIG. 3 . The particular armature  40  in  FIG. 3  features a tote-holder  42  for carrying a tote  44  that receives items, and a tablet holder  46  for supporting a tablet  48 . In some embodiments, the armature  40  supports one or more totes for carrying items. In other embodiments, the base  20  supports one or more totes for carrying received items. As used herein, the term “tote” includes, without limitation, cargo holders, bins, cages, shelves, rods from which items can be hung, caddies, crates, racks, stands, trestle, containers, boxes, canisters, vessels, and repositories. 
         [0023]    Although a robot  18  excels at moving around the warehouse  10 , with current robot technology, it is not very good at quickly and efficiently picking items from a shelf and placing them on the tote  44  due to the technical difficulties associated with robotic manipulation of objects. A more efficient way of picking items is to use a local operator  50 , which is typically human, to carry out the task of physically removing an ordered item from a shelf  12  and placing it on robot  18 , for example, in tote  44 . The robot  18  communicates the order to the local operator  50  via the tablet  48 , which the local operator  50  can read, or by transmitting the order to a handheld device used by the local operator  50 . 
         [0024]    Upon receiving an order  16  from the order server  14 , the robot  18  proceeds to a first warehouse location, e.g. shown in  FIG. 3 . It does so based on navigation software stored in the memory  34  and carried out by the processor  32 . The navigation software relies on data concerning the environment, as collected by the laser-radar  22 , an internal table in memory  34  that identifies the fiducial identification (“ID”) of fiducial marker  30  that corresponds to a location in the warehouse  10  where a particular item can be found, and the camera  26  to navigate. 
         [0025]    Upon reaching the correct location, the robot  18  parks itself in front of a shelf  12  on which the item is stored and waits for a local operator  50  to retrieve the item from the shelf  12  and place it in tote  44 . If robot  18  has other items to retrieve it proceeds to those locations. The item(s) retrieved by robot  18  are then delivered to a packing station  100 ,  FIG. 1 , where they are packed and shipped. 
         [0026]    It will be understood by those skilled in the art that each robot may be fulfilling one or more orders and each order may consist of one or more items. Typically, some form of route optimization software would be included to increase efficiency, but this is beyond the scope of this invention and is therefore not described herein. 
         [0027]    In order to simplify the description of the invention, a single robot  18  and operator  50  are described. However, as is evident from  FIG. 1 , a typical fulfillment operation includes many robots and operators working among each other in the warehouse to fill a continuous stream of orders. In addition, certain robots and operators may be performing a placing or storage task to stock the warehouse with items or other tasks such as consolidation of items, counting of items, verification, and inspection. 
         [0028]    Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , a tablet-processor  52  then interrogates a tablet-clock  54  to determine the time at which robot  18  parked proximate fiducial  30  (step  68 ), and creates a record  56  in a tablet-memory  58  recording the its arrival at the shelf  12  (step  70 ). Alternatively, instead of interrogating a tablet-clock  54 , the tablet-processor  52  may instead cause a tablet-timer  60  to start counting time. In either case, the goal is to determine how long the robot  18  is kept waiting. 
         [0029]    The local operator  50  sees the robot  18  and walks towards it. The local operator  50  then inspects the tablet  48  to determine what item should be retrieved, retrieves the item from the shelf  12 , and places it on robot  18 , for example, into the tote  44 . 
         [0030]    In one embodiment, the tablet  18  has a proximity sensor  62  and the local operator  50  wears a tag  64  that can be sensed by the proximity sensor  62 . As the local operator  50  walks into a zone  66 ,  FIG. 3 , surrounding the robot  18 , the proximity sensor  62  reads the tag  64  worn by the local operator  50  (step  72 ). The proximity sensor  62  then communicates information concerning the tag  64  to the tablet-processor  52  (step  74 ). The size of zone  66  can vary depending on the particular application, but typically would be approximately one to two meters in diameter centered on the location of robot  18 . The tablet-processor  52  then updates the record  56  to record the time at which the local operator  50  entered the zone (step  76 ). The local operator  50  then inspects the tablet  48  to learn what item should be picked, retrieves the item from the shelf  12 , places it into the tote  44 , and leaves the zone  66 . Alternatively, the table  48  transmits information concerning an item to be picked to a handheld device used by the local operator  50 . Ideally, the robot  18  has parked itself at a location such that the local operator  50  does not have to leave the zone  66  to retrieve the item. 
         [0031]    The proximity sensor  62  detects the departure from the zone  66  (step  78 ) and updates the record  56  to reflect the time of departure (step  80 ). After the local operator  50  leaves the zone  66 , the robot  18  then moves on to its next destination (step  82 ), which could be another shelf  12  or a packing station  82  for check-out. 
         [0032]    The data collected by the tablet  48  is eventually transmitted to warehouse management server  15 ,  FIG. 1 , either in real time as it is acquired or periodically. The data thus collected provides a basis for evaluating performance of the local operator  50  as well as any other local operators that have interacted with the robot  18 . 
         [0033]    In addition to evaluating performance, data collected by tablet  48 , in particular, operator identification data, can be used by warehouse management system  15  for security purposes to determine if operator  50  is an authorized operator, is authorized to operate in a particular region of the warehouse or for a particular customer. Moreover, the identification data can be used to set preferences for operator  50 , such as language used by tablet  48 . 
         [0034]    All of the other robots  18 , as depicted in  FIG. 1 , also collect data from operators  50  with which they interact and transmit the data to management server  84 . This data is thus available to management to discourage an otherwise unsupervised local operator  50  from performing poorly or, conversely, to provide a basis for rewarding a local operator  50  for performing well. 
         [0035]    The data collected by robot  18  and transmitted to warehouse management server  15  indicative of local operator activity includes information regarding one or more of the following: the amount of time for an operator to enter the zone  66  after the robot  18  arrives at a destination proximate the local operator  50 , the amount of time operator  50  takes to exit zone  66  after the operator enters the zone, and the amount of time the operator  50  takes to perform a defined function, such as picking an item from shelf  12  and placing on the robot  18  or picking an item from robot  18  and placing it on shelf  12 . 
         [0036]    Warehouse management server  15  may be configured to track local operator efficiency based at least in part on the information collected indicative of local operator activity. The management  15  server may be configured to maintain warehouse statistics based at least in part on this information. Operator efficiency and other statistics collected/computed may be may be used as an incentive to increase operator performance or in other ways by management. 
         [0037]    In other embodiments, shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the local operator  50  does not carry identifying information. Instead, the tablet  48  is coupled to an on-board identification system  86 . In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 6 , the on-board identification system  86  includes a facial-recognition system  88  that receives an image from a camera  90  and consults a facial-recognition database  92  to identify the local operator  50 . In another embodiment, shown in  FIG. 7 , the on-board identification system  86  includes a retinal-identification system  94  that receives data from a retina scanner  96  and consults a retinal-database  98  to identify the local operator  50 . 
         [0038]    Once the robot  18  has made its rounds through the warehouse  10  and collected all items needed to fulfill an order  16 , it proceeds to a packing station  100  carrying the various items. At the packing station  100 , the various items are prepared for shipment. 
         [0039]    Having described the invention, and a preferred embodiment thereof, what is claimed as new and secured by letters patent is: