A conveyor system includes: a pick conveyor defining a picking area for a bulk flow of parcels; a place conveyor positioned downstream of the picking area; a first robot singulator and a second robot singulator, which work in parallel to transfer parcels within a picking area of the pick conveyor to the place conveyor; and a vision and control subsystem that communicates instructions to control operation of some or all of the foregoing components. The vision and control subsystem includes a target camera for acquiring one or more images of the picking area, which are processed within the system to determine the location of parcels positioned within the picking area. The vision and control subsystem can execute one or more routines or subroutines to reduce system downtime associated with image acquisition and processing, parcel transfer to the place conveyor, and/or parcel delivery to the picking area.

A method for controlling movement sequences of a robot, the method including predicting values of at least one parameter related to the execution of alternative movement sequences by the robot, where each movement sequence includes at least one movement segment associated with a handling location; selecting a movement sequence based on the predicted values of the at least one parameter; and executing the selected movement sequence by the robot. A control system for controlling movement sequences of a robot is also provided.

A work robot sequentially holds multiple workpieces supplied to a supply area and moves the held workpieces to a work area. The work robot includes an image-capturing device configured to capture images of the multiple workpieces supplied to the supply area in random orientations and positions, an image processing device configured to recognize multiple workpiece regions from the images captured by the image-capturing device, obtain an area and a position of each of the recognized multiple workpiece regions, and obtain a distance between each workpiece region and the work area or the work robot, and a control device configured to determine a holding order of the workpiece based on the areas of the multiple workpiece regions and the distance between each workpiece region and the work area or the work robot as obtained by the image processing device.

A temporary-storage system that includes a temporary-storage belt, a control unit and signalling means. The temporary-storage belt comprises a plurality of regularly distributed sensors. During a loading phase, the control unit receives information coming from at least one of the sensors when an object is deposited on the temporary-storage belt and records a trace of the deposition of the object in association with a reference to each of the sensors activated by the deposition. During an unloading phase, the control unit determines a sequence of removal of the objects and, for each object to be removed, identifies the sensors referenced, transmits to the signalling means signalling information identifying the position of the object, and receives information coming from at least one of the sensors when the object is removed.

A controller of a material handling system performs a method of creating a multidrop pattern of articles for robotic placement in layers on a pallet. A pattern is presented on a user interface of any currently positioned representations of articles on a pallet. A control affordance for inputting drag'n'drop and numeric inputs is presented on the user interface for robotic control operations to perform a multidrop of the more than one article in an end effector of a robotic arm for placement of the more than one article. User inputs are received that indicate placement position of a first subset of the more than one article. User inputs are received that indicate placement position of a second subset, which is mutually exclusive of the first subset, of the more than one article. The user inputs are converted into a place sequence of robotic control operations to perform a multidrop of the articles by the robotic arm.

An information processing apparatus obtains a plurality of combinations of a position of a work target candidate and a transport machine optimum control parameter which is a control parameter of the transport machine that maximizes performance of the work on a work target when the work target candidate is set as the work target, based on a captured image obtained by capturing an area including a plurality of the work target candidates transported by the transport machine, determines the work target from among the work target candidates based on the combinations, controls the transport machine based on the transport machine optimum control parameter of the determined work target, generates a control plan of the robot based on a position of the determined work target and the transport machine optimum control parameter of the work target and controls the robot according to the generated control plan.

An article accumulating apparatus that uses a robot to transfer to a predetermined location and accumulate an article conveyed thereto is disclosed. The article accumulating apparatus includes a conveyance unit, an accumulation unit, and a discharge unit. The conveyance unit is configured to convey the article. The accumulation unit is disposed in series with the conveyance unit and is configured to accumulate the article. The discharge unit is configured to discharge the article in the conveyance unit to an area outside the accumulation unit. The discharge unit is disposed in a robot movable range that is a range in which the robot holds and transfers the article to the accumulation unit.

A robot task system includes: a robot; a transfer device configured to be driven to transfer a plurality of workpieces thereon by a specific distance at a time, the plurality of workpieces being placed within the specific distance; a driving management unit configured to manage a driving distance and a driving start timing of the transfer device for driving the transfer device each time; a task position generation unit configured to generate a plurality of task positions at the driving start timing managed by the driving management unit, the plurality of task positions being positions for the robot to execute a predetermined task on the plurality of workpieces; a task unit configured to update, according to the driving of the transfer device, the plurality of task positions generated by the task position generation unit and generate a task command to cause the robot to execute the predetermined task on the plurality of workpieces while following the plurality of workpieces; and a control unit configured to control the transfer device based on the driving distance and the driving start timing of the transfer device, and control the robot based on the task command generated by the task unit.

A computer implemented method and a system including at least one industrial robot arranged with a tool, and a conveyance path transferring a plurality of objects within a working area of the at least one robot. The computer implemented method includes obtaining position data indicating a position for each of the plurality of objects and applying a first strategy to the at least one robot. The first strategy includes: determining a value for each object within a certain area of the at least one robot, wherein the determination is based on the position data, and the value indicates a uniformity measure of the flow distribution in the direction of the conveyance path for the remaining objects within the certain area if the object, for which the value is determined for, was excluded from the conveyance path; determining a selected object within the working area of the at least one robot based on the determined values; and controlling the at least one robot to handle the selected object.

An article transport, system capable of averaging an amount of movement of each movable part when transporting articles. The article transport system includes a sensor for detecting a three-dimensional position of each of a plurality of workpieces, a plurality of robots each having a movable part for conveying the workpieces to predetermined plurality of conveying destinations, a control section for controlling the robots, a movement amount calculation section for calculating a movement amount of each of the movable parts when each workpiece is conveyed by one of the robots based on a three-dimensional position of each workpiece, and a distribution determination section for determining a distribution pattern regarding which robot arm is used for conveyance of each workpiece so that a difference between the movement amounts of the movable parts is minimal or less than a predetermined value.