METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCTS FOR REACHABILITY CONSTRAINT MANIPULATION FOR HEIGHT THRESHOLDED SCENARIOS IN ROBOTIC DEPALLETIZATION

1 . A computer-implemented method for robotic depalletization, the method comprising:

detecting, by a processor, a first set of objects disposed above a threshold height from a plurality of palletized objects in a stack, wherein the first set of objects is arranged in one or more groups of vertically oriented palletized objects, wherein the stack has a front side and a back side, the front side is closer to a deposit location;

identifying, by the processor, a first group of vertically oriented objects positioned closer to the deposit location and a robotic system on the front side of the stack;

causing, by the processor, the robotic system to manipulate an end effector of the robotic system to depalletize each of the first group of vertically oriented objects;

identifying, by the processor, a second group of vertically oriented objects from the first set of objects that are positioned closer to the deposit location and the robotic system on the front side of the stack; and

causing, by the processor, the robotic system to manipulate the end effector to depalletize the second group of vertically oriented objects.

2 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

detecting a second set of objects disposed below the threshold height from the plurality of palletized objects, wherein the second set of objects comprise two or more additional palletized objects of the plurality of palletized objects arranged in one or more vertical stacks; and

causing, by the processor, the end effector of the robotic system to depalletize the first set of objects before depalletizing any of the second set of objects.

3 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the deposit location is one of: a conveyor, a warehouse floor, a truck, a trailer bed, a cargo, a shipping container, and a rail freight transport.

4 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the threshold height is defined by a set of reachability constraints of the end effector of the robotic system.

5 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein each of the first set of objects is vertically depalletized by the end effector of the robotic system.

6 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein causing the robotic system to depalletize each of the first group of vertically oriented objects further comprises:

representing each of the plurality of palletized objects as an object set of electronic data points and the end effector of the robotic system as an end effector set of electronic data points;

simulating vertical removal of a first object electronic data point corresponding to a first object from the object set of electronic data points by the end effector set of electronic data points; and

determining potential collisions between the first object electronic data point and the end effector set of electronic data points during the simulated vertical removal of the first object electronic data point.

7 . The computer-implemented method of claim 6 , further comprising: determining potential collisions between other object electronic data points of the object set of electronic data points and the first object electronic data points.

8 . The computer-implemented method of claim 7 , further comprising adjusting the end effector set of electronic data points such that the end effector set of electronic data points is configured to engage a simulated grip on the first object electronic data point without a primary collision during the simulated vertical removal of the first object electronic data point from the object set of electronic data points.

9 . The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , further comprising:

checking for a pose of a colliding data point associated with the primary collision between the end effector set of electronic data points and the first object set of electronic data point; and

shifting the simulated grip based on the colliding data point to avoid the primary collision.

10 . The computer-implemented method of claim 6 , wherein the object set of electronic data points are voxels.

11 . A robotic depalletization system, comprising:

a perception subsystem configured to:

detect a first set of objects disposed above a threshold height from a plurality of palletized objects in a stack, wherein the first set of objects is arranged in one or more groups of palletized objects wherein the stack has a front side and a back side, the front side being closer to a deposit location;

one or more processors coupled to the perception subsystem, wherein the one or more processors are configured to:

determine a first group of palletized objects positioned closer to the deposit location;

in response to determining a first group of palletized objects positioned closer to the deposit location, identify a second group of palletized objects positioned closer to the deposit location than the first group of palletized objects; and

a robotic arm comprising an end effector, wherein the robotic arm is coupled to the one or more processors and configured to:

manipulate the end effector to depalletize the first group of palletized objects before depalletizing the second group of palletized objects to the deposit location.

12 . The robotic depalletization system of claim 11 , wherein the robotic arm has a reachability constraint, and the perception subsystem is further configured to set the threshold height based on the reachability constraint.

13 . The robotic depalletization system of claim 11 , wherein the one or more processors is further configured to:

represent each of the plurality of palletized objects as an object set of electronic data points, and the end effector of the robotic system as an end effector set of electronic data points;

simulate vertical removal of a first object electronic data point from the object set of electronic data points by the end effector set of electronic data points; and

determine any potential collisions between the first object electronic data point and the end effector set of electronic data points during the simulated vertical removal of the first object electronic data point.

14 . The robotic depalletization system of claim 13 , wherein the object set of electronic data points are voxels that represent a value in a three-dimensional space.

15 . The robotic depalletization system of claim 11 , further configured to:

detect a second set of palletized objects disposed below the threshold height from the plurality of palletized objects; and

manipulate the end effector to remove the first set of objects before removing any of the second set of palletized objects.

16 . The robotic depalletization system of claim 11 , wherein the perception subsystem comprises one or more of: a camera, a 2-D image capture device, a 3-D image capture device, a time-of-flight image sensor, a stereoscopic imaging sensor, LIDAR, or a height sensing device.

17 . A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions stored therein, the computer-readable program code portions comprising an executable portion configured to:

detect, from a perception subsystem associated with a robotic depalletization system, a first set of objects disposed above a threshold height from a plurality of palletized objects in a stack, wherein the first set of objects is arranged in one or more groups of vertically oriented palletized objects, wherein the stack has a front side and a back side, the front side is closer to a deposit location;

identify a first group of vertically oriented objects positioned closer to the deposit location;

manipulate an end effector associated with a depalletization system to depalletize each of the first group of vertically oriented objects;

in response to depalletizing the first group of vertically oriented objects down to the threshold height, identify a second group of vertically oriented objects positioned closure to the deposit location; and

manipulate an end effector associated with a depalletization system to depalletize each of the second group of vertically oriented objects.

18 . The computer program product of claim 17 , wherein the threshold height is defined by a set of reachability constraints of the robotic depalletization system comprising the end effector.

19 . The computer program product of claim 18 , wherein the reachability constraints comprise boundaries and limits of the robotic depalletization system's capabilities, including a threshold height.

20 . The computer program product of claim 17 , wherein the executable portion of the computer-readable program code portion is further configured to:

represent a plurality of palletized objects as an object set of electronic data points, and the end effector as an end effector set of electronic data points;

simulate vertical removal of a first object electronic data point from the object set of electronic data points by the end effector set of electronic data points; and

detect any potential collisions between the first object electronic data point and the end effector set of electronic data points during the simulated vertical removal of the first object electronic data point.