Some embodiments include apparatuses to fulfill customer orders comprising a motorized transport unit; a product pick unit (PPU) that cooperate with the motorized transport unit; a wireless communication network; and a central computer system configured to communicate with the multiple motorized transport units and the plurality of product pick units, and comprises a control circuit and memory storing instructions executed to cause the control circuit to: communicate an instruction to the motorized transport unit and direct the motorized transport unit to transport the product pick unit to a determined first location within the shopping facility proximate to where a first product having been ordered is located; and communicate an instruction to the product pick unit cooperated with the motorized transport unit and direct the product pick unit to retrieve the first product.

Some embodiments include apparatuses providing control over movement of motorized transport units at a shopping facility, comprising: multiple self-propelled motorized transport units; a wireless communication network; and a central computer system, wherein the central computer system comprises: a transceiver; a control circuit; and a memory storing computer instructions that when executed cause the control circuit to: receive an override command, from a worker associated with the shopping facility, to cause a first motorized transport unit of the multiple motorized transport units to implement one or more actions; confirm a valid authorization of the worker to override one or more operating limits of the first motorized transport unit; and override the one or more operating limits and communicate one or more instructions to the first motorized transport unit configured to cause the first motorized transport unit to implement the one or more actions in accordance with the override command.

A housing contains a plurality of motorized transport units in a stacked relationship to one another, with a bottom-most one of the plurality of motorized transport units serving as a locomotion mechanism that selectively causes movement of the housing with the plurality of motorized transport units contained therein. By one approach the aforementioned housing has a cylindrical form factor and includes a cylindrically-shaped chamber configured to receive the motorized transport units. By one approach, for example, this housing includes no lifting mechanism to lift any of the motorized transport units into itself and further has no integral locomotion mechanism by which the housing can move itself. The interior of the housing can include at least one track formed therein to receive a corresponding part of each of the plurality of motorized transport units which the motorized transport units can engage to thereby lift themselves into the interior of the housing.

A machine to receive and store only specific used food containers is provided. The machine includes a housing with an interior volume and an outer shell, the housing comprises an inlet opening. A rotatable plate is positioned within the housing and aligned with the inlet opening such that items passed through the inlet opening are received upon the plate, the plate further comprises a shroud along a majority of a circumference of the plate and a void that exists where the shroud does not extend, wherein an item can be positioned upon the plate when the void of the shroud is aligned with the inlet opening and items are prevented from being positioned upon the plate when the void of the shroud is aligned with the inlet opening. A sensor is disposed upon the housing to monitor the inlet opening and identify when an object is placed upon the plate.

Some embodiments include a motorized transport unit providing customer assistance at a shopping facility, comprises: a transceiver; a control circuit; a motorized wheel system; a lift system; and a memory coupled to the control circuit and storing computer instructions that when executed by the control circuit cause the control circuit to: activate a motorized wheel system, while continuing to monitor location information, to position the motorized transport unit under the item container and aligned, based on the location information, relative to a frame of the item container; and activate the lift system to lift on the frame of the item container lifting a first portion of the item container such one or more wheels of the item container are lifted off of a floor while two or more other wheels of the item container remain in contact with the floor.

Some embodiments include apparatuses to fulfill customer orders comprising a motorized transport unit; a product pick unit (PPU) that cooperate with the motorized transport unit; a wireless communication network; and a central computer system configured to communicate with the multiple motorized transport units and the plurality of product pick units, and comprises a control circuit and memory storing instructions executed to cause the control circuit to: communicate an instruction to the motorized transport unit and direct the motorized transport unit to transport the product pick unit to a determined first location within the shopping facility proximate to where a first product having been ordered is located; and communicate an instruction to the product pick unit cooperated with the motorized transport unit and direct the product pick unit to retrieve the first product.

Some embodiments provide apparatuses and methods useful to providing control over movement of motorized transport units. In some embodiments, an apparatus providing control over movement of motorized transport units at a shopping facility comprises: a central computer system comprising: a transceiver; a control circuit; a memory coupled to the control circuit and storing computer instructions that when executed by the control circuit cause the control circuit to perform the steps of: obtain, from one or more of the communications received from the motorized transport unit, route condition information comprising information corresponding to an intended route of travel; obtain additional route condition information detected by one or more detectors external to the motorized transport unit; detect an object affecting the intended route of travel; identify an action to be taken by the motorized transport unit with respect to the detected object; and communicate one or more instructions.

A central computer system is configured to simultaneously task various ones of a plurality of motorized transport units to temporarily attach to a corresponding mobile item container and to move the temporarily-attached mobile item container in a retail shopping facility in correspondence to the movement of an authorized consumer while also receiving and analyzing video input provided by video cameras that are included with at least some of the motorized transport units to identify security and safety anomalies in the retail shopping facility. By one approach, the central computer system identifies security and safety anomalies in the retail shopping center by characterizing contents of images as being either expected or unexpected and as being either potentially harmful or not potentially harmful. So configured the central computer system is able to not only identify anomalies but assess a degree of threat posed by a given anomaly.

A housing contains a plurality of motorized transport units in a stacked relationship to one another, with a bottom-most one of the plurality of motorized transport units serving as a locomotion mechanism that selectively causes movement of the housing with the plurality of motorized transport units contained therein. By one approach the aforementioned housing has a cylindrical form factor and includes a cylindrically-shaped chamber configured to receive the motorized transport units, By one approach, for example, this housing includes no lifting mechanism to lift any of the motorized transport units into itself and further has no integral locomotion mechanism by which the housing can move itself. The interior of the housing can include at least one track formed therein to receive a corresponding part of each of the plurality of motorized transport units which the motorized transport units can engage to thereby lift themselves into the interior of the housing.

Methods and apparatuses are provided for use in monitoring product placement within a shopping facility. Some embodiments provide an apparatus configured to determine product placement conditions within a shopping facility, comprising: a transceiver configured to wirelessly receive communications; a product monitoring control circuit coupled with the transceiver; a memory coupled with the control circuit and storing computer instructions that when executed by the control circuit cause the control circuit to: obtain a composite three-dimensional (3D) scan mapping corresponding to at least a select area of the shopping facility and based on a series of 3D scan data; evaluate the 3D scan mapping to identify multiple product depth distances; and identify, from the evaluation of the 3D scan mapping, when one or more of the multiple product depth distances is greater than a predefined depth distance threshold from the reference offset distance of the product support structure.