METHOD, APPARATUS AND SYSTEM FOR DETECTION OF PARTICULAR CONTENT

Abstract

Disclosed is a method in which trigger information is obtained. The trigger information is associated with at least part of attribute information associated with at least one first consignment unit. It is determined whether or not attribute information associated with at least one second consignment unit is stored in a database that is similar to the attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit. If the attribute information associated with at least one second consignment unit is determined to be stored in the database that is determined to be similar to the attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit, then alert information is generated.

Claims

1. A method performed by at least one apparatus, the method comprising: obtaining or causing obtaining trigger information associated with at least part of attribute information associated with at least one first consignment unit; determining or causing determining whether or not attribute information associated with at least one second consignment unit is stored in a database that is similar to the attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit; if attribute information associated with at least one second consignment unit is determined to be stored in the database that is similar to the attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit: generating alert information or causing alert information to be generated.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing or causing of providing the alert information to cause at least one apparatus to perform an action for causing a logistics processing of the at least one second consignment unit to be interrupted.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing or causing of providing the alert information to cause at least one apparatus to perform an action comprising at least one of: causing an alert and/or identification information of the at least one second consignment unit to be displayed based on the generated alert information; causing a logistics process in relation to the at least one second consignment unit to be interrupted based on the generated alert information; causing the at least one second consignment unit to be mechanically discharged from a conveyor belt transporting the second consignment unit based on the generated alert information; causing a recipient of the at least one second consignment unit to be informed based on the generated alert information.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one apparatus caused to perform an action corresponds to or is comprised by at least one of a stand-alone computer; a mobile device; an apparatus installed at a node of a logistics system; a consignment unit sorting machine and/or a consignment unit examination apparatus; a transport vehicle for transporting consignment units; an unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV; an unmanned ground vehicle, UGV; a robot, e.g. a robot with at least one embedded camera, a sorting robot, a collaborative robot, a shuttle robot, and/or a picking robot; a control apparatus of a conveyor belt.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the trigger information is obtained after and/or in response to the at least one first consignment unit being determined as being or having been used to carry at least one of: explosive and/or flammable material; illegal drugs; illegal weapons; at least one substance harmful to human health; different illegal content.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining or causing determining whether or not attribute information stored in the database and associated with at least one second consignment unit is similar to the attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit, wherein the attribute information stored in the database and associated with at least one second consignment unit is determined to be similar to the attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit if at least one of the criteria are met: a value representative of a similarity between the attribute information stored in the database and associated with at least one second consignment unit and attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit is equal to or above a predefined threshold; a difference between at least one first parameter representative of attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit and at least one second parameter representative of attribute information associated with the at least one second consignment unit is equal to or below a corresponding at least one predetermined threshold.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein attribute information of a consignment unit comprises at least: information representative of a weight of the consignment unit; information representative of a size of the consignment unit; information representative of a geometrical shape of the consignment unit; information representative of a material of the consignment unit; information representative of a material and/or a dimension of a sealing element used for closing and/or sealing the consignment unit; information of a class of the consignment unit; physical information derived from a label of the consignment unit.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the attribute information of a consignment unit comprises at least: image information obtained via an image recognition algorithm based on at least one image taken of at least one corresponding face of the consignment unit; object information obtained via an object recognition algorithm based on at least two images taken of at least two corresponding faces of the consignment unit at least one image feature vector representative of at least one image taken from at least one corresponding surface of the consignment unit.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein attribute information of a consignment unit comprises at least: information unique to a printer used for printing of a label of the consignment unit and derived from the consignment unit; label information related to the consignment unit.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining or causing determining whether or not attribute information stored in the database and associated with at least one second consignment unit is similar to the attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit using an artificial intelligence based and/or deep learning and/or machine learning based algorithm configured to compare at least part of attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit to attribute information associated with the at least one second consignment unit.

11. A system comprising at least one first apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, said at least one memory and said computer program code configured to, with said at least one processor, cause said apparatus to perform: obtaining or causing obtaining trigger information associated with at least part of attribute information associated with at least one first consignment unit; determining or causing determining whether or not attribute information associated with at least one second consignment unit is stored in a database that is similar to the attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit; if attribute information associated with at least one second consignment unit is determined to be stored in the database that is similar to the attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit: generating alert information or causing alert information to be generated, the system further comprising at least one second apparatus configured to perform: obtaining or causing of obtaining the alert information from the at least one first apparatus; and at least one of: displaying or causing of displaying an alert based on the alert information; interrupting or causing interrupting a logistics processing of the at least one second consignment unit based on the alert information.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one second apparatus corresponds to or is comprised by at least one of: a stand-alone computer; a mobile device; an apparatus installed at a node of a logistics system; a consignment unit sorting machine and/or a consignment unit examination apparatus; a transport vehicle for transporting consignment units; an unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV; an unmanned ground vehicle, UGV; a robot, e.g. a robot with at least one embedded camera, a sorting robot, a collaborative robot, a shuttle robot, and/or a picking robot; a control apparatus of a conveyor belt.

13. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, said at least one memory and said computer program code configured to, with said at least one processor, cause said apparatus to perform: obtaining or causing obtaining trigger information associated with at least part of attribute information associated with at least one first consignment unit; determining or causing determining whether or not attribute information associated with at least one second consignment unit is stored in a database that is similar to the attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit; if attribute information associated with at least one second consignment unit is determined to be stored in the database that is similar to the attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit: generating alert information or causing alert information to be generated.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, said at least one memory and said computer program code configured to, with said at least one processor, cause said apparatus to further perform: providing or causing of providing the alert information to cause at least one apparatus to perform an action for causing a logistics processing of the at least one second consignment unit to be interrupted.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, said at least one memory and said computer program code configured to, with said at least one processor, cause said apparatus to further perform: providing or causing of providing the alert information to cause at least one apparatus to perform an action comprising at least one of: causing an alert and/or identification information of the at least one second consignment unit to be displayed based on the generated alert information; causing a logistics process in relation to the at least one second consignment unit to be interrupted based on the generated alert information; causing the at least one second consignment unit to be mechanically discharged from a conveyor belt transporting the second consignment unit based on the generated alert information; causing a recipient of the at least one second consignment unit to be informed based on the generated alert information.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the at least one apparatus caused to perform an action corresponds to or is comprised by at least one of a stand-alone computer; a mobile device; an apparatus installed at a node of a logistics system; a consignment unit sorting machine and/or a consignment unit examination apparatus; a transport vehicle for transporting consignment units; an unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV; an unmanned ground vehicle, UGV; a robot, e.g. a robot with at least one embedded camera, a sorting robot, a collaborative robot, a shuttle robot, and/or a picking robot; a control apparatus of a conveyor belt.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the trigger information is obtained after and/or in response to the at least one first consignment unit being determined as being or having been used to carry at least one of: explosive and/or flammable material; illegal drugs; illegal weapons; at least one substance harmful to human health; different illegal content.

18. The apparatus of claim 13, said at least one memory and said computer program code configured to, with said at least one processor, cause said apparatus to further perform: determining or causing determining whether or not attribute information stored in the database and associated with at least one second consignment unit is similar to the attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit, wherein attribute information stored in the database and associated with at least one second consignment unit is determined to be similar to the attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit if at least one of the criteria are met: a value representative of a similarity between the attribute information stored in the database and associated with at least one second consignment unit and attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit is equal to or above a predefined threshold; a difference between at least one first parameter representative of attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit and at least one second parameter representative of attribute information associated with the at least one second consignment unit is equal to or below a corresponding at least one predetermined threshold.

19. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein attribute information of a consignment unit comprises at least: information representative of a weight of the consignment unit; information representative of a size of the consignment unit; information representative of a geometrical shape of the consignment unit; information representative of a material of the consignment unit; information representative of a material and/or a dimension of a sealing element used for closing and/or sealing the consignment unit; information of a class of the consignment unit; physical information derived from a label of the consignment unit.

20. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein attribute information of a consignment unit comprises at least: image information obtained via an image recognition algorithm based on at least one image taken of at least one corresponding face of the consignment unit; object information obtained via an object recognition algorithm based on at least two images taken of at least two corresponding faces of the consignment unit at least one image feature vector representative of at least one image taken from at least one corresponding surface of the consignment unit.

21. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein attribute information of a consignment unit comprises at least: information unique to a printer used for printing of a label of the consignment unit and derived from the consignment unit; label information related to the consignment unit.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0141] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary consignment unit examination apparatus;

[0142] FIG. 2 shows a schematic high-level block diagram of an exemplary logistics system;

[0143] FIG. 3 shows a flow chart illustrating a method that may be performed by a control apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0144] FIG. 4 shows an exemplary processing performed by a logistics system in reaction to a determination that a consignment unit has been determined to contain particular content;

[0145] FIG. 5 shows an exemplary method in accordance with the first aspect of the present disclosure;

[0146] FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a first apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure; and

[0147] FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a second apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0148] The following description serves to deepen the understanding of the present disclosure and shall be understood to complement and be read together with the description of example embodiments of the present disclosure as provided in the above SUMMARY section of this specification.

[0149] FIG. 1 schematically shows an exemplary consignment unit examination apparatus 210 (an exemplary second and/or third apparatus of an exemplary logistics system 1000 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure). As shown, apparatus 210 is arranged at conveyor belt 320 used for transporting parcel 310 (an exemplary consignment unit) e.g. within a node of the logistics system 1000 e.g. during an initial stage of a process of providing parcel 310 from a sender to a recipient (an exemplary logistics process).

[0150] Apparatus 210 may be used for an initial inspection of parcel 310 and may acquire (obtain) images—in the shown exemplary case from three faces 310a, 310b, 310c—using respective cameras 400. It is noted that the shown example is not to be understood as limiting and that apparatus 210 may be configured to obtain images also from further faces of parcel 310 using cameras not visible in the figure and/or e.g. having an operator rotate the shown parcel 310 by 90 degrees rotating e.g. the face facing in the direction of movement into a direction facing the side such that in the shown configuration, images of five faces of parcel 310 may be obtained. A rotation by 90 or 180 degrees around an axis parallel to the direction of movement may enable taking an image also of the side that in the shown configuration faces the conveyor belt 320 such that it is possible that images of all six faces of the consignment unit may be obtained. Apparatus 210 may further be connected to one or more suitable sensors (e.g. provided at the conveyor belt 320) for obtaining a weight of parcel 320.

[0151] Apparatus 210 may further be configured for processing the obtained images to obtain further image information such as geometrical shape information of parcel 310 and/or label information from one or more labels provided at one or more surfaces of parcel 310. Apparatus 210 may still further be configured for employing an image recognition algorithm to one or more images or an object recognition algorithm as described further herein to obtain further image information. Similarly, apparatus 210 may be configured for obtaining feature vectors based on obtained images as further image information derived from the obtained images. Apparatus 210 is configured to directly or indirectly communicate with a database of system 1000 (not shown in the figure) via a suitable wireless or wired network connection for storing the obtained weight, the label information, the obtained images and/or said further image information derived from the obtained images in the database.

[0152] FIG. 2 is a schematic high-level block diagram of an exemplary logistics system 1000 according to the second aspect of the present disclosure. The logistics system comprises control apparatus 100 (an example of the at least one first apparatus) which may correspond to or comprise at least one stationary or portable personal computer, at least one server, at least one server system, at least one mobile device and/or one or more processors of the stationary or portable personal computer, the at least one server, the at least one server system and/or the at least one mobile device.

[0153] As explained further herein, logistics system 1000 may comprise nodes such as one or more mail distribution centers, one or more shipping centers, one or more transshipment centers, one or more parcel centers, one or more warehouses, one or more fulfillment centers, and/or one or more sorting centers (not shown in the figures) where the at least one first, the at least one second and/or the at least one third apparatuses may be provided. It is to be understood that logistics system 1000 is not limited in this respect and may comprise further nodes not explicitly mentioned. Control apparatus 100 may be connected (e.g. via a wired and/or wireless network connection) to apparatuses and devices provided in nodes of system 1000 that may be involved e.g. in logistics processing of parcel 310 shown in FIG. 1.

[0154] As exemplarily shown in FIG. 2, control apparatus 100 is connected to consignment unit examination apparatuses 210, 220, 230, 240, whereby a respective one or more of consignment unit examination apparatuses 210, 220, 230, 240 may be provided in a corresponding node of the logistics system 1000. FIG. 2 schematically illustrates arrows 501, 502, 504, 505 representing wireless and/or wired network connections by means of which control apparatus 100 and consignment unit examination apparatuses 210, 220, 230, 240 may communicate. As further shown in FIG. 2, the logistics system 1000 further comprises database 110 which is connected with control apparatus 100 via wireless and/or wired network connection 503. As indicated by the direction of arrows 501, 502, 503, 504, 505, control apparatus 100 may obtain e.g. attribute information relating to consignment units respectively inspected by consignment unit examination apparatuses 210, 220, 230, 240 and control storing of the attribute information in database 110. It is noted that storing of attribute information may be controlled similarly by each or some of consignment unit examination apparatuses 210, 220, 230, 240 that to this end may be directly connected with database 110 via a suitable network connection (not shown). Further, the direction of arrows as provided in FIG. 2 (and in FIG. 4 described below) is not understood to be limiting as network connections provided between entities shown in the figures are in an exemplary embodiment bi-directional network connections.

[0155] It is noted that in accordance with an exemplary embodiment, a wireless network connection corresponds to a communication path or link in a wireless communication network, in particular a terrestrial wireless communication network, in particular a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and/or a cellular communication network. WLAN is for example specified by the standards of the IEEE 802.11 family (http://www.ieee.org/). A cellular communication network may for example be a mobile phone network like a 2G/3G/4G/5G cellular communication network. The 2G/3G/4G/5G cellular radio communication standards are developed by the 3GPP and presently available under http://www.3gpp.org/. A wireless connection may further include a Device-to-Device (D2D) communication path (e.g. involving vehicles, mobile devices, Road Side Units (RSU) or IOT devices).

[0156] Further, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment, a wired connection corresponds to a communication path or link in a wired communication network employing wire-based communication technology and may in an exemplary embodiment correspond to a telephone network connection, a cable television connection, an wired internet connection, a fiber-optic connection or an electromagnetic waveguide connection.

[0157] FIG. 3 is a flow chart 300 illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a method that may be performed by control apparatus 100 according to an exemplary embodiment for obtaining attribute information of a consignment unit (e.g. of the first and/or of the at least one second consignment unit).

[0158] In a step 301, attribute information to at least one consignment unit is

[0159] obtained.

[0160] For example, as explained in relation to FIG. 1, upon initial inspection of a consignment unit (e.g. by the at least one third apparatus), e.g. after a parcel has been handed over to a postal service by a sender, apparatus 210 (an example of the at least one third apparatus) may acquire (obtain) one or more (photographic) images using one or more corresponding cameras comprised by and/or connected to apparatus 210. Alternatively or in addition, apparatus 210 may obtain information representative of a weight of the consignment unit. Attribute information such as the information representative of the images and/or of the weight may be provided by apparatus 210 e.g. to control apparatus 100 to be stored in database 110. Alternatively or in addition, attribute information such as the information representative of the images and/or of the weight may be provided by apparatus 210 directly to database 110 to be obtained by control apparatus 100 from database 110.

[0161] Further, information derived from the images such as label information and/or the further image information described in relation to FIG. 1 may be obtained by apparatus 210 and may be provided e.g. to control apparatus 100 to be stored in database 110 or may be directly provided to database 110 by apparatus 210 to be obtained by control apparatus 100 from the database 110. Alternatively or in addition, image information may be provided from apparatus 210 directly to control apparatus 100 or may be obtained from control apparatus 100 from the database 110 to be processed by control apparatus 100 for deriving said label information and/or said further image information described in relation to FIG. 1 by control apparatus 100 based on the image information obtained from apparatus 210. Thus, in an exemplary embodiment, control apparatus 100 is configured to derive the label information and/or the further image information from one or more images taken from respective one or more faces of a consignment unit.

[0162] In a step 303, attribute information is stored in a database.

[0163] As mentioned, control apparatus 100 is in an exemplary embodiment configured to store or cause storing of attribute information e.g. obtained from any one or more of consignment unit examination apparatuses 210, 220, 230, 240 in database 110.

[0164] In a step 305, processing of the consignment unit is controlled based on at least part of the attribute information.

[0165] For example, control apparatus 100 may be configured to derive information relating to a recipient of the consignment unit from the label information and may e.g. cause corresponding information to be displayed to an operator such that the consignment unit can be further processed. Alternatively or in addition, control apparatus 100 may be configured to provide one or more control signals to automatically control one or more devices such as conveyor belts, UAVs or UGVs provided in one or more corresponding nodes of logistics system 1000 for processing of the consignment unit.

[0166] FIG. 4 illustrates exemplary processing performed by logistics system 1000 in reaction to a determination that a consignment unit has been determined to contain particular content (explosive and/or flammable material, illegal drugs, illegal weapons, at least one substance harmful to human health). FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary method 500 in accordance with the first aspect of the present disclosure and will be described in connection with FIG. 4 in the following.

[0167] In a step 501 of FIG. 5, trigger information associated with at least part of attribute information associated with at least one first consignment unit is obtained.

[0168] For example, as exemplarily indicated in FIG. 4 by parcel bomb 350, an event may correspond to a case in which a parcel bomb explodes at a recipient. In such case, for example an operator of logistics system 1000 may be informed by police or by media about the event and may be provided with information on the consignment in relation with the parcel bomb. For example, depending on the case, at least part of items of label information (e.g. recipient information, shipment number, etc.) may still be derivable and may be provided to the operator who may then input this information (an example of trigger information) into control apparatus 110 (as illustrated by arrow 600 in FIG. 4) either via direct input using inputting means such as a real or virtual keyboard or indirectly using a mobile device such as a smartphone of the operator that may be connected to control apparatus 110 via a wireless network connection such as a WLAN connection and/or a cellular internet connection.

[0169] It is noted that while an event is exemplarily illustrated as an explosion of a parcel bomb, an event may also correspond to a determination of a consignment unit to contain particular content such as illegal goods upon a routine inspection (e.g. upon the described initial inspection) of a consignment unit using a consignment unit examination apparatus e.g. as disclosed in EP 3 537 133 Al. In such case, if for example an inspection by consignment unit examination apparatus 230 in FIG. 2 yields that an inspected parcel contains illegal content, trigger information may be transmitted from consignment unit examination apparatus 230 to control apparatus 100 via the network connection illustrated by arrow 505 in FIG. 2.

[0170] In a step 503, it is determined whether or not attribute information associated with at least one second consignment unit is stored in a database that is similar to the attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit. For example, control apparatus 100 may obtain attribute information associated with the first consignment unit from database 110 based on the trigger information as illustrated by arrow 605 in FIG. 4. If, for example, label information such as a shipment number of the first consignment unit is available, control apparatus 100 may obtain attribute information stored in the database 110 in association with the shipment number from database 110.

[0171] Further, the trigger information may comprise information representative of one or more images obtained from one or more faces of the first consignment unit (e.g. provided by police in case of a parcel bomb if one or more faces are still available or by a consignment unit examination apparatus in case the first consignment unit has been found upon routine inspection). In this case, the control apparatus 100 may derive further information from the one or more images e.g. employing a same image recognition algorithm as would be applied in case of an initial, intermediate or routine inspection of consignment units or may apply a same artificial intelligence based algorithm as would be applied in case of such inspection to derive further image information based on which the control apparatus may search the database 110 for attribute information associated with the first consignment unit and stored in database 110. Based on attribute information associated with the first consignment unit found in the database 110 based on the trigger information, control apparatus 100 may then further search database 110 for attribute information associated with any further consignment unit (candidate consignment unit) the attribute information of which is similar to the attribute information associated with the first consignment unit.

[0172] In a step 505, if attribute information associated with at least one second consignment unit is determined to be stored in the database that is determined to be similar to the attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit, method 500 further comprises generating alert information or causing alert information to be generated. As explained further herein, control apparatus 100 may for example display or cause a further device (e.g. an operator's mobile device) to display an alert based on the alert information, the alert information comprising identification information of the at least one second consignment unit.

[0173] As also further explained herein and as illustrated by arrows 610 in FIG. 5, control apparatus 100 may interrupt or cause interrupting a logistics processing of the at least one second consignment unit based on the alert information. For example, in an exemplary embodiment, any one of apparatuses 220 and 230 comprises (or is connected to) a controller of a conveyor belt. Control apparatus 100 is in this embodiment configured to generate a control signal and to transmit the control signal (e.g. via a wireless and/or wired network connection) to apparatuses 220 and 230 for causing apparatuses 220 and 230 using their respective controllers to interrupt a transport processing of the at least one second consignment unit using the respective conveyor belts. Alternatively or in addition, control apparatus may generate a control signal and provide the same for interrupting (or preventing) a corresponding transport processing of a UGV and/or UAV and to cause the UGV and/or UAV to transport the at least one second consignment unit e.g. to a safe location for further inspection.

[0174] Alternatively or in addition, in an exemplary embodiment, control apparatus 100 is configured to cause sending alert information to at least one transport vehicle (e.g. a truck, a plane, a ship) transporting the at least one second consignment unit causing alert information to be displayed at the at least one transport vehicle, e.g. using a display provided at the at least one transport vehicle.

[0175] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of control apparatus 100 according to the first aspect of the present disclosure. In the following, it is assumed that control apparatus 100 of FIGS. 2 and 4 corresponds to this control apparatus 100.

[0176] Control apparatus 100 comprises a processor 104. Processor 104 may represent a single processor or two or more processors, which are for instance at least partially coupled, for instance via a bus. Processor 104 executes a computer program code stored in program memory 101 (e.g. computer program code causing control apparatus 100 to perform any one embodiment of the disclosed method according to the first aspect (e.g. the steps of any one embodiment of the disclosed method) or a part thereof (e.g. at least some steps of any one embodiment of the disclosed method) (as for instance further described above with reference to FIG. 5), when executed on processor 104), and interfaces with a main memory 102. Program memory 101 may also contain an operating system for processor 104. Some or all of memories 101 and 102 may also be included into processor 104. One of or both of memories 101 and 102 may be fixedly connected to processor 104 or at least partially removable from processor 104, for example in the form of a memory card or stick.

[0177] A program memory (e.g. program memory 101) may for example be a non-volatile memory. Examples include a FLASH memory (or a part thereof), any of a ROM, PROM, EPROM, MRAM or a FeRAM (or a part thereof) or a hard disc (or a part thereof). For example, a program memory may for instance comprise a first memory section that is fixedly installed, and a second memory section that is removable, for instance in the form of a removable SD memory card. Further, a main memory (e.g. main memory 102) may for example be a volatile memory. Examples include a DRAM memory and the main memory may for example be used as a working memory for a processor (e.g. processor 104) when executing an operating system and/or programs.

[0178] Processor 104 further controls a wireless and/or wired communication interface 103 configured for communicating via the disclosed wireless and/or wired network, e.g. including a LAN, a WLAN and/or a cellular network (e.g. to transmit and receive WLAN and/or cellular radio signals). For example, wireless communication interface 103 may be or may comprise a LAN, a WLAN and/or a 2G/3G/4G/5G radio transceiver. Control apparatus 100 may use wireless communication interface 103 to receive attribute information from database 110 and/or from apparatus 210 of FIG. 2 (e.g. via a wireless and/or wired network connection). It is to be understood that any computer program code required for receiving and processing attribute information may be stored for example in program memory 101 and executed for example by processor 104.

[0179] The components 101, 102 and 103 of control apparatus 100 may for instance be connected with processor 104 by means of one or more serial and/or parallel busses. It is to be understood that control apparatus 100 may comprise various other components like a user interface for receiving user input and/or a display for displaying an alert as disclosed further herein.

[0180] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of consignment unit examination apparatus 220 (an example of a second and/or third apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure). In the following, it is assumed that apparatus 220 of FIG. 4 corresponds to this apparatus 220.

[0181] Apparatus 220 comprises a processor 200. Processor 200 may represent a single processor or two or more processors, which are for instance at least partially coupled, for instance via a bus. Processor 200 executes a computer program code stored in program memory 201 (e.g. computer program code causing apparatus 220 to perform any one embodiment of the disclosed method disclosed in relation to the system according to the second aspect (e.g. the steps of any one embodiment of the disclosed method) or a part thereof (e.g. at least some steps of any one embodiment of the disclosed method), when executed on processor 200), and interfaces with a main memory 202. Program memory 201 may also contain an operating system for processor 200. Some or all of memories 201 and 202 may also be included into processor 200. One of or both of memories 201 and 202 may be fixedly connected to processor 200 or at least partially removable from processor 200, for example in the form of a memory card or stick.

[0182] A program memory (e.g. program memory 201) may for example be a non-volatile memory. Examples include a FLASH memory (or a part thereof), any of a ROM, PROM, EPROM, MRAM or a FeRAM (or a part thereof) or a hard disc (or a part thereof). For example, a program memory may for instance comprise a first memory section that is fixedly installed, and a second memory section that is removable, for instance in the form of a removable SD memory card. Further, a main memory (e.g. main memory 202) may for example be a volatile memory. Examples include a DRAM memory and the main memory may for example be used as a working memory for a processor (e.g. processor 200) when executing an operating system and/or programs.

[0183] Processor 200 further controls a wireless and/or wired communication interface 203 configured for communicating via the disclosed wireless and/or wired network, e.g. including a LAN, a WLAN and/or a cellular network (e.g. to transmit and receive WLAN and/or cellular radio signals). For example, wireless communication interface 203 may be or may comprise a LAN, a WLAN and/or a 2G/3G/4G/5G radio transceiver. Apparatus 220 may use wireless communication interface 203 to transmit attribute information to control apparatus 100 and/or to database 110 (e.g. via a wireless and/or wired network connection). It is to be understood that any computer program code required for transmitting and processing attribute information may be stored for example in program memory 201 and executed for example by processor 200.

[0184] Processor 200 further controls a camera 400 for obtaining at least one image of at least one face of a consignment unit. It is to be understood that any computer program code required for obtaining images using the camera 400 may be stored for example in program memory 201 and executed for example by processor 200.

[0185] Processor 200 further controls a controller 204 which is in an exemplary embodiment a controller of a conveyor belt. Processor 200 controls controller 204 for interrupting transporting of a consignment unit in response to a control signal received from control apparatus 100 (e.g. via a wireless and/or wired network connection) generated at the control apparatus 100 in response to generation of alert information as disclosed further herein. It is to be understood that any computer program code required for operating controller 204 may be stored for example in program memory 201 and executed for example by processor 200.

[0186] The components 201 to 204 of apparatus 220 may for instance be connected with processor 200 by means of one or more serial and/or parallel busses. It is to be understood that apparatus 220 may comprise various other components like a user interface for receiving user input and/or a display for displaying an alert as disclosed further herein.

[0187] The following example embodiments are also disclosed:

Embodiment 1

[0188] A method performed by at least one apparatus, the method comprising: [0189] obtaining or causing obtaining trigger information associated with attribute information associated with at least one first consignment unit and/or associated with at least part of attribute information associated with at least one first consignment unit; [0190] determining or causing determining whether or not attribute information associated with at least one second consignment unit is stored in a database that is similar to the attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit; [0191] if attribute information associated with at least one second consignment unit is determined to be stored in the database that is determined to be similar to the attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit: [0192] generating alert information or causing alert information to be generated.

Embodiment 2

[0193] The method according to embodiment 1, further comprising: [0194] obtaining or causing obtaining the attribute information associated with the first consignment unit and the attribute information associated with the second consignment unit from the database; and [0195] comparing or causing comparing the attribute information associated with the first consignment unit with the attribute information associated with the second consignment unit.

Embodiment 3

[0196] The method according to any of embodiments 1 or 2, wherein the at least one first apparatus obtains the attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit from the database based on the obtained trigger information.

Embodiment 4

[0197] The method according to any of embodiments 1 to 3, further comprising: [0198] providing or causing of providing the alert information to cause at least one apparatus to perform an action for causing a logistics processing of the at least one second consignment unit to be interrupted.

Embodiment 5

[0199] The method according to any of embodiments 1 to 4, further comprising: [0200] providing or causing of providing the alert information to cause at least one apparatus to perform an action comprising at least one of: [0201] causing an alert and/or identification information of the at least one second consignment unit to be displayed based on the generated alert information; [0202] causing a logistics process in relation to the at least one second consignment unit to be interrupted based on the generated alert information; [0203] causing the at least one second consignment unit to be mechanically discharged from a conveyor belt transporting the second consignment unit based on the generated alert information; [0204] causing a recipient of the at least one second consignment unit to be informed based on the generated alert information.

Embodiment 6

[0205] The method according to any of embodiments 1 to 5, wherein the at least one apparatus caused to perform an action corresponds to or is comprised by at least one of [0206] a stand-alone computer; [0207] a mobile device; [0208] an apparatus installed at a node of a logistics system; [0209] a consignment unit sorting machine and/or a consignment unit examination apparatus; [0210] a transport vehicle for transporting consignment units; [0211] an unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV; [0212] an unmanned ground vehicle, UGV; [0213] a robot, e.g. a robot with at least one embedded camera, a sorting robot, a collaborative robot, a shuttle robot, and/or a picking robot; [0214] a control apparatus of a conveyor belt.

Embodiment 7

[0215] The method according to any of embodiments 1 to 6, wherein the trigger information is obtained after and/or in response to the at least one first consignment unit being determined as being or having been used to carry at least one of: [0216] explosive and/or flammable material; [0217] illegal drugs; [0218] illegal weapons; [0219] at least one substance harmful to human health; [0220] different illegal content.

Embodiment 8

[0221] The method according to any of embodiments 1 to 7, further comprising: [0222] determining or causing determining whether or not attribute information stored in the database and associated with at least one second consignment unit is similar to the attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit, wherein attribute information stored in the database and associated with at least one second consignment unit is determined to be similar to the attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit if at least one of the criteria are met: [0223] a value representative of a similarity between the attribute information stored in the database and associated with at least one second consignment unit and attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit is equal to or above a predefined threshold; [0224] a difference between at least one first parameter representative of attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit and at least one second parameter representative of attribute information associated with the at least one second consignment unit is equal to or below a corresponding at least one predetermined threshold.

Embodiment 9

[0225] The method according to any of embodiments 1 to 8, wherein attribute information of a consignment unit comprises at least: [0226] information representative of a weight of the consignment unit; [0227] information representative of a size of the consignment unit; [0228] information representative of a geometrical shape of the consignment unit; [0229] information representative of a material of the consignment unit; [0230] information representative of a material and/or a dimension of a sealing element used for closing and/or sealing the consignment unit; [0231] information of a class of the consignment unit; [0232] physical information derived from a label of the consignment unit.

Embodiment 10

[0233] The method according to any of embodiments 1 to 9, wherein attribute information of a consignment unit comprises at least: [0234] image information obtained via an image recognition algorithm based on at least one image taken of at least one corresponding face of the consignment unit; [0235] object information obtained via an object recognition algorithm based on at least two images taken of at least two corresponding faces of the consignment unit [0236] at least one image feature vector representative of at least one image taken from at least one corresponding surface of the consignment unit.

Embodiment 11

[0237] The method according to any of embodiments 1 to 10, wherein attribute information of a consignment unit comprises at least: [0238] information unique to a printer used for printing of a label of the consignment unit and derived from the consignment unit; [0239] label information related to the consignment unit.

Embodiment 12

[0240] The method according to any of embodiments 1 to 11, further comprising: [0241] determining or causing determining whether attribute information stored in the database associated with at least one second consignment unit is similar to the attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit using an artificial intelligence based and/or deep learning and/or machine learning based algorithm configured to compare at least part of attribute information associated with the at least one first consignment unit to attribute information associated with the at least one second consignment unit.

Embodiment 13

[0242] A system comprising at least one first apparatus configured to perform at least the method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 12, and at least one second apparatus configured to perform a method comprising: [0243] obtaining or causing of obtaining the alert information from the at least one first apparatus; and at least one of: [0244] displaying or causing of displaying an alert based on the alert information; [0245] interrupting or causing interrupting a logistics processing of the at least one second consignment unit based on the alert information.

Embodiment 14

[0246] The system according to embodiment 13, wherein the at least one second apparatus corresponds to or is comprised by at least one of: [0247] a stand-alone computer; [0248] a mobile device; [0249] an apparatus installed at a node of a logistics system; [0250] a consignment unit sorting machine and/or a consignment unit examination apparatus; [0251] a transport vehicle for transporting consignment units; [0252] an unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV; [0253] an unmanned ground vehicle, UGV; [0254] a robot, e.g. a robot with at least one embedded camera, a sorting robot, a collaborative robot, a shuttle robot, and/or a picking robot; [0255] a control apparatus of a conveyor belt.

Embodiment 15

[0256] The system according to any of embodiments 13 to 14, wherein the at least one second apparatus obtains the alert information from the at least one first apparatus via a wireless and/or a wired network connection.

Embodiment 16

[0257] The system according to any of embodiments 13 to 15, wherein, based on the alert information, the at least one second apparatus is configured to perform at least one of: [0258] displaying or causing of displaying an alert based on the alert information; [0259] interrupting or causing interrupting a logistics processing of the at least one second consignment unit based on the alert information.

Embodiment 17

[0260] The system according to any of embodiments 13 to 16, wherein the at least one second apparatus corresponds to or is comprised by the at least one apparatus caused to perform an action.

Embodiment 18

[0261] The system according to any of embodiments 13 to 17, wherein the system further comprises at least one third apparatus configured to perform a method comprising: [0262] obtaining or causing of obtaining attribute information relating to at least one consignment unit; [0263] storing or causing of storing the attribute information in the database.

Embodiment 19

[0264] The system according to any of embodiments 13 to 18, wherein the at least one third apparatus is connected to at least one sensor configured to obtain information representative of a weight of the at least one consignment unit and/or comprises or is connected to at least one camera arranged for and being configured to obtain at least one image of at least one corresponding face of the at least one consignment unit.

Embodiment 20

[0265] An apparatus comprising means for performing the method according to any of embodiments 1 to 12.

Embodiment 21

[0266] An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, said at least one memory and said computer program code configured to, with said at least one processor, cause said apparatus to perform the steps of the method according to any of embodiments 1 to 12.

Embodiment 22

[0267] A computer program code, the computer program code when executed by a processor causing an apparatus to perform the method according to any of embodiments 1 to 12.

Embodiment 23

[0268] A non-transitory computer readable storage medium in which computer program code is stored, said computer program code when executed by a processor causing at least one apparatus to perform the steps of the method according to any of embodiments 1 to 12.

[0269] Any presented connection in the described embodiments is to be understood in a way that the involved components are operationally coupled. Thus, the connections can be direct or indirect with any number or combination of intervening elements, and there may be merely a functional relationship between the components.

[0270] It will be understood that all presented embodiments are only exemplary, and that any feature presented for a particular exemplary embodiment may be used with any aspect of the present disclosure on its own or in combination with any feature presented for the same or another particular exemplary embodiment and/or in combination with any other feature not mentioned. It will further be understood that any feature presented for an example embodiment in a particular category may also be used in a corresponding manner in an example embodiment of any other category.

[0271] All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.

[0272] The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) is to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.

[0273] Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.