Granted Patent B2

US 9,682,481 · App. 14/922,738 · Granted Jun 20, 2017

Abstract

Claims (69)

1. A control system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the control system to perform functions comprising:

storing data indicating an association between an optical identifier and a first robot;

sending, to the first robot, data encoding the optical identifier for display by the first robot; and

after sending the data encoding the optical identifier, sending, to a second robot, the data indicating the association between the optical identifier and the first robot.

2. The control system of claim 1 , wherein the optical identifier comprises a two-dimensional matrix code.

3. The control system of claim 1 , wherein the optical identifier comprises one or more of (a) pulses of infrared light or (b) pulses of visible light.

4. The control system of claim 1 , the functions further comprising:

receiving, from the second robot, a message that includes data encoding the optical identifier,

wherein sending the data indicating the association between the optical identifier and the first robot comprises sending the data indicating the association between the optical identifier and the first robot in response to receiving the message.

5. The control system of claim 1 , wherein the optical identifier is a first optical identifier, the functions further comprising:

determining that a predetermined amount of time passed since (i) storing the data indicating the association between the first optical identifier and the first robot or (ii) sending the data encoding the first optical identifier to the first robot;

in response to determining that the predetermined amount of time passed, sending, to the first robot, data encoding a second optical identifier of the first robot for display by the first robot; and

storing data indicating an association between the second optical identifier and the first robot.

6. The control system of claim 1 , wherein the optical identifier is a first optical identifier, the functions further comprising:

identifying a potential security breach;

in response to identifying the potential security breach, sending, to the first robot, data encoding a second optical identifier of the first robot for display by the first robot; and

storing data indicating an association between the second optical identifier and the first robot.

7. The control system of claim 1 , wherein the data indicating the association between the optical identifier and the first robot comprises a network address of the first robot.

8. The control system of claim 1 , wherein the functions further comprise:

capturing, by a camera communicatively coupled to the control system, an image of the optical identifier displayed by the first robot;

identifying the first robot by detecting the optical identifier within the captured image;

determining a state of the first robot; and

based on the determined state, sending a message to the first robot.

9. The control system of claim 8 , wherein the first robot displays an indication of the state of the first robot, the functions further comprising:

capturing, by the camera, an image of the indication; and

identifying the indication within the captured image of the indication,

wherein determining the state of the first robot comprises determining the state of the first robot based on the identified indication.

10. The control system of claim 8 , wherein the state of the first robot comprises at least one of (i) an amount of energy stored by a battery of the first robot is less than a threshold amount of energy, (ii) the first robot is experiencing a mechanical failure, or (iii) the first robot is experiencing an electrical failure.

11. The control system of claim 8 , wherein determining the state of the first robot comprises determining the state of the first robot based on the captured image.

12. The control system of claim 1 , wherein the optical identifier is a first optical identifier, the functions further comprising:

storing data indicating an association between a second optical identifier and a pallet;

sending, to a computing device associated with the pallet, data encoding the second optical identifier for display by the computing device; and

after sending the data encoding the second optical identifier, sending, to a given robot, the data indicating the association between the second optical identifier and the pallet.

13. The control system of claim 12 , the functions further comprising:

receiving, from the given robot, a message that includes data encoding the second optical identifier,

wherein sending the data indicating the association between the second optical identifier and the pallet comprises sending the data indicating the association between the second optical identifier and the pallet in response to receiving the message.

14. A robot comprising:

one or more processors;

an optical communication interface; and

a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the robot to perform functions comprising:

receiving data encoding a first optical identifier of the robot;

displaying, by the optical communication interface, the first optical identifier;

receiving data encoding a second optical identifier of the robot; and

displaying, by the optical communication interface, the second optical identifier.

15. The robot of claim 14 ,

wherein the optical communication interface comprises a display screen, and

wherein the first optical identifier comprises a two-dimensional matrix code.

16. The robot of claim 14 ,

wherein the optical communication interface comprises a light source configured to generate one or more of (i) infrared light or (ii) visible light, and

wherein the first optical identifier comprises one or more of (a) pulses of infrared light or (b) pulses of visible light.

17. The robot of claim 14 , the functions further comprising:

receiving data encoding a priority status of the robot; and

displaying, by the optical communication interface, an indication of the priority status.

18. A first robot comprising:

one or more processors; and

a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the first robot to perform functions comprising:

receiving, from a control system, data encoding a first priority status of the first robot;

capturing an image of an indication of a second priority status of a second robot, wherein the indication is displayed by the second robot;

determining the second priority status by identifying the indication within the captured image;

comparing the first priority status to the second priority status; and

performing an action based on comparing the first priority status to the second priority status.

19. The robot of claim 18 ,

wherein comparing the first priority status to the second priority status comprises determining that the first priority status is lower than the second priority status, and

wherein performing the action comprises retrieving a first item from a third robot after the second robot retrieves a second item from the third robot.

20. The robot of claim 18 ,

wherein comparing the first priority status to the second priority status comprises determining that the first priority status is lower than the second priority status, and

wherein performing the action comprises yielding to the second robot while the second robot moves past the first robot.

Assignments (6)