A system and method for picking items from storage containers located in stacks within a grid-based storage system are described. The system can include a movable structural member, movable from a first position to a second position such that when in the second position it is possible for an operative to access at least one row of storage containers such that items can be manually picked therefrom.

An article supply device includes a holding unit that holds an article supply tray having a storage section, an opening that is provided in the holding unit, a shutter that is provided in the opening, the shutter being configured to be opened and closed, a drive unit that drives the shutter, and an article reception portion that is provided below the opening. The holding unit holds the article supply tray such that an article stored in the storage section of the article supply tray is discharged to the article reception portion through the opening when the shutter is opened, and the drive unit controls opening and closing of the shutter based on a size of the storage section storing therein the article in the article supply tray.

A storage positioning device that disposes a storage having a plurality of storage sections, the storage positioning device including: a holding portion configured to hold the storage and adjust a position of the storage; and a control unit configured to control the position of the storage held by the holding portion. The control unit controls the position of the storage such that a predetermined storage section, among the plurality of storage sections of the storage, is brought to a position where an article is discharged.

A hybrid modular storage fetching system is described. In an example implementation, an automated guided vehicle of the hybrid modular storage fetching system includes a drive unit that provides motive force to propel the automated guided vehicle within an operating environment. The automated guided vehicle may also include a container handling mechanism including an extender and a carrying surface, the container handling mechanism having three or more degrees of freedom to move the carrying surface along three or more axes. The container handling mechanism may retrieve an item from a first target shelving unit using the carrying surface and the three or more degrees of freedom and place the item on a second target shelving unit. The automated guided vehicle may also include a power source coupled to provide power to the drive unit and the container handling mechanism.

A sensor-based item transport system, and a method therefore are described. The system includes, for example, a cart station, within a restricted area including a plurality of automated drive. A light curtain is adjacent to the cart station. A first sensor and a second sensor are spaced apart from the first sensor within the cart station. A first mode associated with the light curtain is maintained causing an alarm system associated with the light curtain to remain armed. The first mode is caused to change to a second mode associated with the light curtain, the second mode causing the alarm system to be muted, based at least in part on the identity of the cart. The identity is determined based at least in part on one or more signals received from the first sensor and the second sensor.

An automatic storage and retrieval system includes: a delivery vehicle; a storage container carried by the delivery vehicle; and an unloading station for unloading an item from the storage container while it is being carried by the delivery vehicle. The unloading station includes: an unloading device; and a destination conveyor configured to convey the item to a target destination, wherein the unloading device is configured to move the item through a side opening of the storage container to the destination conveyor.

A warehousing apparatus including a temporary storage layer board used for providing a temporary storage station, and a plurality of shelves with each shelf including at least one storage layer board and a plurality of stand columns arranged at intervals in a horizontal direction. The storage layer board is spaced apart from the temporary storage layer board in a vertical direction by means of a stand column, and the storage layer board is used for providing a storage position, a first robot passage in which a first robot travels and a second robot passage in which a second robot travels.

In general, the subject matter described in this disclosure can be embodied in a pallet-conveying system. The pallet-conveying system includes a vehicle-traversing loop, multiple vehicles configured to travel around the vehicle-traversing loop and move pallets around the vehicle-traversing loop, an inbound conveying lane arranged to move inbound pallets from a docking area to the vehicle-traversing loop, multiple outbound conveying lanes arranged to transfer pallets from the vehicle-traversing loop to the docking area, an into-storage conveying lane arranged to move pallets from the vehicle-traversing loop to a storage area, a from-storage conveying lane arranged to move pallets from the storage area to the vehicle-traversing loop, and multiple pallet stands located within an interior of the vehicle-traversing loop to receive pallets from the multiple vehicles.

Autonomous vehicles including ladders and related methods are disclosed. An example system includes an autonomous vehicle including an integrated ladder and a processor to detect a state of the ladder as being in one of a stowed state, a deployed state, or a use state; in response to detecting that the ladder is in the stowed state, cause the autonomous vehicle to operate in a first drive mode and a second drive mode; in response to detecting that the ladder is in the deployed state, cause the autonomous vehicle to operate in the second drive mode and to restrict from operating in the first drive mode; and in response to detecting that the ladder is in the use state, cause the autonomous vehicle to refrain from operating in the first drive mode and the second drive mode.

A transfer robot comprises a movable chassis, a door frame vertically arranged on the movable chassis, and a temporary storage mechanism and a cargo box conveying mechanism which are arranged on the door frame, wherein the temporary storage mechanism is provided with a plurality of temporary storage spaces used for temporarily storing cargo boxes, and the cargo box conveying mechanism can stretch horizontally and lift vertically relative to the door frame so as to convey the cargo boxes between the temporary storage space and a temporary inventory container.