Detection of heavy objects using computer vision

1. A robotic system, comprising:

a communication interface configured to receive image data from one or more cameras associated with a source conveyor; and

one or more processors coupled to the communication interface and configured to:

determine, based at least in part on the image data, that an item requiring special handling has entered the source conveyor configured to convey the item to a singulation pick location; and

in response to determining that the item requiring special handling has entered the source conveyor, cause a plan for singulating the item to be updated to change a manner in which the item is handled, wherein:

the item requiring special handling corresponds to an item that is too heavy to be lifted by a robotic arm controlled by the one or more processors; and

causing the plan for singulating the item to be updated to change a manner in which the item is handled comprises determining an updated plan according to which the robotic arm is controlled to partially lift the item and push/pull the item to a destination location.

2. The robotic system of claim 1 , wherein the item requiring special handling corresponds to an item having a weight that exceeds a predefined weight threshold.

3. The robotic system of claim 1 , wherein:

the one or more processors are further configured to determine that the item is too heavy based on one or more of a perceived size or perceived shape.

4. The robotic system of claim 3 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

determine the perceived size or the perceived shape based at least in part on the image data.

5. The robotic system of claim 3 , wherein:

the one or more processors are further configured to:

obtain sensor data from one or more other sensors in a workspace associated with the pick location; and

the perceived size or the perceived shape is further determined based at least in part on the sensor data.

6. The robotic system of claim 3 , wherein:

the one or more processors are further configured to:

obtain sensor data from one or more sensors in a workspace associated with the pick location; and

determine a weight of the item based at least in part on the sensor data.

7. The robotic system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

identify the item based at least in part on the image data; and

determine a weight of the item based at least in part on the identifying of the item.

8. The robotic system of claim 7 , wherein determining the weight of the item based at least in part on the identifying of the item comprises:

obtaining an item identifier for the item; and

querying a mapping of item identifiers to weights to obtain the weight of the item.

9. The robotic system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

obtain information on a label of the item based at least in part on the image data; and

determine a weight of the item based at least in part on the information on the label.

10. The robotic system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

obtain information on a label of the item based at least in part on the image data; and

determine that the item is to be subject to special handling based at least in part on the information on the label.

11. The robotic system of claim 1 , wherein an updated plan for special handling the item comprises moving the item to a rejection path for manual handling.

12. The robotic system of claim 1 , wherein an updated plan for special handling the item comprises pushing the item onto a destination conveyor.

13. A method, comprising:

receiving, by one or more processors, image data from one or more cameras associated with a source conveyor configured to convey items to a pick location;

determining, based at least in part on the image data, that an item requiring special handling has entered the source conveyor; and

in response to determining that the item requiring special handling has entered the source conveyor, causing a plan for singulating the item to be updated to change a manner in which the item is handled, wherein:

the item requiring special handling corresponds to an item that is too heavy to be lifted by a robotic arm controlled by the one or more processors; and

causing the plan for singulating the item to be updated to change a manner in which the item is handled comprises determining an updated plan according to which the robotic arm is controlled to partially lift the item and push/pull the item to a destination location.

14. A computer program product embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium and comprising computer instructions for:

receiving, by one or more processors, sensor data from one or more sensors associated with a source conveyor configured to convey items to a pick location;

determining, based at least in part on the sensor data, that an item that is too heavy to be lifted by a robotic arm controlled by the one or more processors has entered the source conveyor; and

in response to determining that the item requiring special handling has entered the source conveyor, causing a plan for singulating the item to be updated to change a manner in which the item is handled, wherein:

the item requiring special handling corresponds to an item that is too heavy to be lifted by a robotic arm controlled by the one or more processors; and

causing the plan for singulating the item to be updated to change a manner in which the item is handled comprises determining an updated plan according to which the robotic arm is controlled to partially lift the item and push/pull the item to a destination location.