Patent ID: 8649899

Claim:
A method of rotating an inventory holder, comprising: moving an inventory holder towards a rotation area along a straight segment of a path with a first face of the inventory holder facing a first direction, wherein the rotation area comprises a portion of a workspace designated for rotation of inventory holders; moving, by a mobile drive unit, the inventory holder into the rotation area along a first arced segment of a curved path with an orientation of the first face facing the direction of movement of the inventory holder: executing a rotation maneuver within the rotation area, wherein executing the rotation maneuver comprises selectively rotating, by the mobile drive unit, the inventory holder while the mobile drive unit is on the curved path; and moving, by the mobile drive unit, the inventory holder out of the rotation area along a second arced segment of the curved path with a second face facing the direction of movement of the inventory holder as a result of executing the rotation maneuver.