A method and apparatus are provided for sorting or retrieving items to/from a plurality of destinations areas. The items are loaded onto one of a plurality of independently controlled delivery vehicles. The delivery vehicles follow a path to/from the destination areas that are positioned along the path. Along the path, the vehicles are scanned to determine if any item on the vehicles extends beyond a dimensional constraint. If it is determined that an item on a vehicle extends above the pre-determined threshold, the vehicle is controlled, such as by stopping or re-directing the vehicle. Once at the appropriate destination area, an item is transferred between the delivery vehicle and the destination area.

In one embodiment, a pneumatic distribution system configured to distribute a granular product to an agricultural implement includes a first pressure sensor, a second pressure sensor, and a controller. The first pressure sensor is configured to be fluidly coupled to a storage tank configured to store the granular product and positioned upstream of the meter roller. The first pressure sensor is configured to output a first signal indicative of a first static pressure in the storage tank. The second pressure sensor is configured to be fluidly coupled to a component of the pneumatic distribution system, downstream of the meter roller. The second pressure sensor is configured to output a second signal indicative of a second static pressure downstream of the meter roller. The controller is communicatively coupled to the first pressure sensor and to the second pressure sensor. The controller is configured to determine a pressure differential, wherein the pressure differential is the difference between the first static pressure and the second static pressure. The controller may also be configured to generate a first warning when the first static pressure is below a threshold value and output the first warning to an operator interface, generate a second warning when the pressure differential is below a desired range and output the second warning to the operator interface, and generate a third warning when the pressure differential is above the desired range and output the third warning to the operator interface.

An article transport facility comprises a travel rail installed along a travel path, and a travel vehicle which is guided along the travel path with a travel wheel rolling on a travel surface of the travel rail. The travel vehicle has a distance measuring device for measuring a distance to the travel surface. And the distance measuring device includes a pair of distance sensors spaced apart from each other along a travel direction of the travel vehicle.

A sorting device operates to shorten or lengthen a length of an upper portion of a travel path for a conveyor belt by reciprocating movement of sliding support surfaces at least partially supporting the conveyor belt. The reciprocating movement of the sliding support surfaces caused by rotational movement of a connected pivoting mechanism, which may be operated by an actuator located outside of an area defined by the travel path for the conveyor belt.

A method of monitoring an operation in a material handling environment is described. The method can include obtaining a data stream representative of a 3D-scan of a target area based on an output from a LiDAR based sensor. Further, the method can include obtaining operational specification data. The operational specification data can include, data related to a standard operating procedure (SOP) and a pre-defined heuristic. The pre-defined heuristics can be associated with an operation to be performed by at least one of: a machine and an operator, in the material handling environment. Furthermore, the method can include generating a machine learning model. The data stream and the operational specification data can be provided as inputs to train the machine learning model. Furthermore, the method can include determining, by using the machine learning model, a performance status associated an efficiency of the execution of the operation.