Method for tracking stock level within a store

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017193434-A1
Application number	US-201615347689-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 9, 2016
Priority date	Nov 9, 2015
Publication date	Jul 6, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

One variation of a method for tracking stock level within a store includes: dispatching a robotic system to image shelving structures within the store during a scan cycle; receiving images from the robotic system, each image recorded by the robotic system during the scan cycle and corresponding to one waypoint within the store; identifying, in the images, empty slots within the shelving structures; identifying a product assigned to each empty slot based on product location assignments defined in a planogram of the store; for a first product of a first product value and assigned to a first empty slot, generating a first prompt to restock the first empty slot with a unit of the first product during the scan cycle; and, upon completion of the scan cycle, generating a global restocking list specifying restocking of a set of empty slots associated with product values less than the first product value.

First claim

I claim:

1 . A method for tracking stock level within a store, the method comprising:
dispatching a robotic system to image a set of shelving structures within the store during a scan cycle concurrent with a peak traffic period in the store; receiving a set of images from the robotic system, each image in the set of images recorded by the robotic system during the scan cycle and corresponding to one waypoint in a set of waypoints defined along the set of shelving structures; identifying, in the set of images, a set of empty slots within the set of shelving structures; identifying a product assigned to each empty slot in the set of empty slots based on product location assignments defined in a planogram of the store; for a first product associated with a first product value and assigned to a first empty slot in the set of empty slots, generating a first prompt to restock the first empty slot with a unit of the first product during the scan cycle; and in response to completion of the scan cycle, generating a global restocking list specifying restocking of a second subset of empty slots in the set of empty slots, each empty slot in the second subset of empty slots assigned a product associated with a product value less than the first product value.

2 . The method of claim 1 :
wherein dispatching the robotic system to image the set of shelving structures during the scan cycle comprises dispatching the robotic system, within the store comprising a grocery store, after 5:00 PM and before 7:30 PM on a weekday; and wherein generating the global restocking list comprises generating the global restocking list, from images collected from the scan cycle completed by the robotic system, prior to 10:00 PM on the weekday.

3 . The method of claim 1 :
wherein generating the first prompt comprises, during execution of the scan cycle by the robotic system, serving the first prompt to a first computing device affiliated with an associate of the store; and wherein generating the global restocking list comprises, following completion of the scan cycle by the robotic system, distributing portions of the global restocking list across a set of computing devices affiliated with associates of the store, the set of computing devices comprising the first computing device.

4 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising:
at a time succeeding service of the portion of the global restocking list to the computing device and succeeding a manual restocking period in the store, dispatching the robotic system to image the set of shelving structures during a second scan cycle; receiving a second set of images from the robotic system, each image in the set of images recorded by the robotic system during the second scan cycle and corresponding to one waypoint in the set of waypoints; identifying, in the second set of images, a set of slots on shelves within the set of shelving structures; in memory, labeling each slot in the set of slots as one of stocked, under-stocked, empty, and improperly-stocked based on a comparison between visual data in each slot identified in the second set of images and the planogram of the store; and generating a list of deviations between the global restocking list and a state of the store during the second scan cycle based on labels assigned to each slot in the set of slots.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the first prompt comprises inserting a location of the first empty slot in the store and a target number of units of the first product, specified for the first empty slot in the planogram, into the first prompt.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the first prompt comprises:
for the first product associated with the first product value that exceeds a threshold product value, generating the first prompt to restock the first empty slot with the unit of the first product during the scan cycle; and serving the first prompt to a virtual account affiliated with the store substantially in real-time with receipt of a first image, in the set of images, recorded by the robotic system occupying a waypoint adjacent the first empty slot.

7 . The method of claim 6 :
further comprising labeling a third slot within the set of shelving structures as improperly-stocked based on a difference between a product identified in a region of an image, in the set of images, corresponding to the third slot and a third product assigned to the third slot in the planogram; and wherein generating the first prompt comprises generating the first prompt to restock the first empty slot and to correct stocking of the third slot in response to the first product value of the first product and a third product value of the third product exceeding the threshold product value.

8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising, for each product assigned to an empty slot in the set of empty slots:
accessing a current sale rate of the product from a point-of-sale system in the store; and calculating a product value of the product as a function of a predefined profitability of the product and the current sale rate of the product.

9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
defining an order for the set of waypoints based on product values of products assigned to slots, within the set of shelving structures, in fields of view of cameras integrated into the robotic system when occupying each waypoint in the set of waypoints; and serving the order for the set of waypoints to the robotic system for execution during the scan cycle.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein defining the order of the set of waypoints comprises:
for each shelving structure within the set of shelving structures, summing product values of products assigned to slots in the shelf segment; prioritizing the set of shelving structures in order of product value sum; and calculating the order for the set of waypoints that minimizes total distance traversed by the robotic system from waypoints defined along a first shelving structure associated with a greatest product value sum to waypoints defined along a last shelving structure associated with a lowest product value sum.

11 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising, in response to the robotic system detecting an object obstructing access to a next waypoint in the set of waypoints:
marking, in memory, the next waypoint as deferred; calculating a revised waypoint order for remaining waypoints in the set of waypoints to enable the robotic system to physically avoid the object; serving the revised waypoint order to the robotic system; and triggering robotic system to return to the next waypoint at a later time during the scan cycle.

12 . The method of claim 9 , wherein defining the order of the set of waypoints comprises:
for each waypoint, calculating a sum of product values of products assigned to slots within a field of view of the robotic system occupying the waypoint; identifying a first subset of waypoints associated with sums of product values greater than a threshold product value; identifying a second subset of waypoints associated with sums of product values less than the threshold product value; and defining the order of the set of waypoints specifying image capture at each waypoint in the first subset of waypoints, followed by image capture at each waypoint in the second subset of waypoints, followed by image capture at each waypoint in the first subset of waypoints during the scan cycle.

13 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
during execution of the scan cycle by the robotic system, serving the first prompt through a virtual portal associated with the store; in response to se

Assignees

• Simbe Robotics Inc

Inventors

• Shah Mirza Akbar
• Bogolea Bradley
• Gee Jeffrey

Classifications

• G06Q10/087 Primary

  Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders · CPC title

• G05D1/246

  using environment maps, e.g. simultaneous localisation and mapping [SLAM] · CPC title

• G05D1/646

  Following a predefined trajectory, e.g. a line marked on the floor or a flight path · CPC title

• G06K9/00664

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06K9/00771

  Physics · mapped topic