CN111762498A

CN111762498A - Movable indicating equipment, picking system, picking method and server

Info

Publication number: CN111762498A
Application number: CN202010589959.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘凯
Original assignee: Beijing Geekplus Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Geekplus Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-06-24
Filing date: 2020-06-24
Publication date: 2020-10-13

Abstract

The specification discloses a movable indicating device, a picking system, a picking method and a server, wherein the movable indicating device is adopted to carry out picking operation. The movable pointing device interacts with the server and moves to a designated area corresponding to the target location according to a movement instruction sent by the server. When the movable indicating equipment reaches the designated area, the movable indicating equipment has the geographical condition of transmitting the guide signal to the target position, and at the moment, the movable indicating equipment sends the guide signal pointing to the target position according to the guide instruction, so that personnel or a manipulator in the field can execute corresponding operation according to the guide signal. The movable indicating equipment in the specification performs most of walking and guiding operations in the operation process, and is beneficial to improving the operation efficiency and reducing the labor cost. The picking system and the picking method provided by the specification send out the guide signal aiming at the target position aimed at by the picking operation, and effectively assist the picking operation of personnel.

Description

Movable indicating equipment, picking system, picking method and server

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of robots, in particular to a movable indicating device, a picking system, a picking method and a server.

Background

At present, warehousing technology has penetrated into all aspects of production and life, and the dependence degree of people on warehousing technology is continuously increased.

In the prior art, when an article is picked, an operator needs to find a shelf corresponding to the article in a field of a warehouse, then find a storage position corresponding to the article on the shelf, and then take the article off the shelf and/or place the article on the shelf. The manual sorting by operators has the obvious phenomena of difficulty in finding a goods shelf, difficulty in finding a storage position and serious consumption of human resources, and further causes the problems of low sorting efficiency and high sorting cost.

Therefore, how to improve the sorting efficiency and reduce the sorting cost becomes a problem to be solved urgently.

Disclosure of Invention

The movable indicating device, the picking system, the picking method and the server provided by the embodiments of the specification are used for at least partially solving the problems of low item picking efficiency and high dependence degree of manual operation in the prior art.

The embodiment of the specification adopts the following technical scheme:

the present specification provides a movable pointing device comprising: the device comprises a chassis, a body, and an indicating device and a communication device which are arranged on the body;

the body is arranged on the chassis;

the communication device is in communication connection with a preset server and receives a moving instruction aiming at a specified area and a guiding instruction aiming at a target position corresponding to the specified area, which are sent by the server;

the chassis is configured to bear the body to move to the designated area according to the movement instruction;

the indicating device is configured to send out a guiding signal pointing to the target position when the movable indicating equipment reaches the designated area according to the guiding instruction.

Optionally, the designated area includes: in a preset field, an area for carrying out picking operation; the number of designated areas in the field is multiple.

Optionally, the target location comprises: at least one of the bins for placement of items on the shelf corresponding to the designated area.

Optionally, the indication device comprises: a projection device; the pilot signal includes: the projection device projects an image;

the projection device is configured to project an image representing at least part of information in the guide command to a target position of the shelf corresponding to the guide command according to the guide command.

Optionally, the indication device comprises: a screen; the pilot signal includes: graphics and/or characters displayed by the screen;

the screen is configured to display, in accordance with the guiding instruction, graphics and/or characters characterizing at least part of the information in the guiding instruction.

Optionally, the indication device comprises: a directional beam emitting device; the pilot signal includes: the directional light beam emitted by the directional light beam emitting device;

and the directional light beam emitting device is configured to emit a directional light beam to the target position of the shelf corresponding to the guiding instruction according to the guiding instruction.

Optionally, the body is configured to:

according to the guiding instruction, determining the emission height and the emission angle of the guiding signal aiming at the target position, and adjusting the pose of the indicating device according to the emission height and the emission angle so that the indicating device sends out the guiding signal pointing to the target position.

Optionally, the screen has a human-machine interface such that a person receiving the guidance signal interacts with the movable pointing device through the screen.

Optionally, the movable pointing device further comprises: at least one carrier platform for holding articles.

Optionally, the movable pointing device further comprises: a tag reading device communicatively coupled to the communication device;

the tag reading device is configured to read preset identification information of the storage container, so that the communication device sends the identification information of the storage container to the server, the server generates the movement instruction and the guide instruction according to the identification information of the storage container, and sends the generated movement instruction and the guide instruction to the movable indicating equipment.

Optionally, the information in the guidance instruction includes: the guiding device comprises at least one of a unique identification of a shelf corresponding to the guiding instruction, a unique identification of a target position corresponding to the guiding instruction, a unique identification of an article corresponding to the guiding instruction, the number of articles corresponding to the guiding instruction, information of a next designated area to be reached by the movable indicating equipment, information of a person receiving the guiding signal, an operation instruction sent to the person, orientation information of the indicating device relative to the target position, and information of a loading platform and/or a storage container corresponding to the guiding instruction.

Optionally, the movable pointing device further comprises: a positioning device;

the positioning device includes: the system comprises a positioning module, an environment data acquisition module and an inertia measurement module, wherein the environment data acquisition module and the inertia measurement module are in communication connection with the positioning module;

the positioning module is configured to determine the current location of the movable indicating equipment according to the data acquired by the environment data acquisition module and the inertial measurement module.

Optionally, the movable pointing device further comprises: a navigation device in communicative connection with the positioning device;

the navigation device is configured to generate navigation information according to the current location of the movable indicating equipment and a preset path, so that the chassis moves according to the navigation information.

Optionally, the movable pointing device further comprises: a path planning device; the moving instruction comprises the following steps: the next designated area to be reached by the movable pointing device;

and the path planning device is configured to plan a path between the current location point and the next designated area according to the information of the next designated area and the current location of the movable indicating equipment.

Optionally, the movable pointing device further comprises: an obstacle detection device;

the obstacle detection device is configured to, when an obstacle is detected on a path leading to the specified area, send information corresponding to the obstacle to the server, so that the server regenerates the movement instruction, and the movable pointing device moves to the specified area corresponding to the regenerated movement instruction according to the regenerated movement instruction.

The present description provides a sorting system comprising: a server and a movable pointing device communicatively coupled to the server; wherein:

the server is configured to determine a designated area for picking operation of a shelf corresponding to each item to be picked in the field according to the information of the item to be picked and the information of each shelf in the field, and generate a movement instruction for the designated area; determining a storage position corresponding to the article to be picked on the shelf, taking the storage position as a target position of the article, and generating a guiding instruction aiming at the target position according to the moving instruction; and sending the movement instructions and the guidance instructions to the movable pointing device;

the movable indicating equipment is configured to reach a designated area corresponding to the movement instruction according to the movement instruction; and when the target area is reached, sending a guide signal pointing to the target position according to the guide instruction.

Optionally, the server is further configured to: determining an order to be picked corresponding to each storage container in each order to be picked aiming at each preset storage container, and taking the corresponding relation between the order to be picked and the storage container as a preset corresponding relation;

the movable pointing device is configured to: reading preset identification information of a storage container, and sending the identification information of the storage container to the server;

the server is further configured to: and receiving the identification information of the storage container sent by the movable indicating equipment, determining an order corresponding to the movable indicating equipment in each order to be picked according to the received identification information of the storage container and the preset corresponding relation, and sending a moving instruction and a guiding instruction corresponding to each article in the order to the movable indicating equipment corresponding to the order.

Optionally, the server is further configured to: for each object carrying platform of the movable indicating equipment, determining an order corresponding to the object carrying platform in each order to be picked, and taking an article in the order corresponding to each object carrying platform as an article corresponding to the movable indicating equipment; sending the moving instruction and the guiding instruction of each article corresponding to the movable indicating equipment corresponding to the order;

the movable pointing device is configured to: receiving the moving instruction, and moving according to the moving instruction; and receiving the guide instruction, and sending out a guide signal according to the guide instruction.

Optionally, the server is further configured to:

determining information of a guiding instruction according to at least one of the unique identification of a shelf corresponding to the item to be picked, the unique identification of a target position of the item to be picked, the unique identification of the item to be picked, the number of the items to be picked, information of a next designated area to be reached by the movable indicating device, information of a person receiving the guiding signal, an operation instruction sent to the person, orientation information of an indicating device of the movable indicating device relative to the target position, and information of a loading platform and/or a storage container corresponding to the guiding instruction;

and generating a guide instruction according to the information of the guide instruction.

Optionally, the server is further configured to: after the movable indicating equipment reaches the designated area according to the movement instruction, determining the transmitting height and the transmitting angle of the guide signal aiming at the target position according to the current position of the movable indicating equipment, the target position of the article and the current state of the movable indicating equipment; generating a guide instruction according to the transmitting height and the transmitting angle of the guide signal, and sending the guide instruction to the movable indicating equipment;

the movable pointing device is configured to: and receiving a guide instruction sent by the server, and sending a guide signal pointing to the target position according to the guide instruction.

Optionally, the movable pointing device comprises: a screen; the pilot signal includes: graphics and/or characters displayed on the screen;

Optionally, the movable pointing device comprises: a directional beam emitting device; the pilot signal includes: the directional light beam emitted by the directional light beam emitting device;

Optionally, the movable pointing device comprises: a projection device; the pilot signal includes: the projection device projects an image;

Optionally, the server is further configured to: determining a path which can be adopted by the movable indicating equipment when the order is picked according to the designated area corresponding to each item to be picked in each order to be picked, and sending the path to the movable indicating equipment, wherein the path passes through the designated area corresponding to each item in the order;

the movable pointing device is further configured to: and receiving the path sent by the server, and moving according to the path.

Optionally, the movable pointing device is further configured to: when an obstacle is detected on a path leading to the specified area, sending information corresponding to the obstacle to the server;

the server is further configured to: and receiving information corresponding to the obstacle sent by the movable indicating equipment, regenerating a path according to the information corresponding to the obstacle, regenerating a moving instruction according to the regenerated path, and sending the moving instruction to the movable indicating equipment.

Optionally, the picking system further comprises: a human-computer interaction device;

the human-computer interaction device is configured to: receiving information input by a person corresponding to the guide signal, and sending the information input by the person to at least one of the server and the movable indicating equipment;

the movable pointing device is configured to: receiving the information input by the personnel sent by the human-computer interaction device, and responding;

the server is configured to: and receiving the information input by the person and sent by the human-computer interaction device, and generating a movement instruction for the next specified area to be reached by the movable indicating equipment.

A first sorting method provided in the present specification includes:

receiving a moving instruction which is sent by the server and aims at a specified area;

moving to the designated area according to the moving instruction;

receiving a guiding instruction which is sent by the server and aims at a target position corresponding to the designated area;

and sending a guide signal pointing to the target position according to the guide instruction.

Optionally, receiving the movement instruction for the designated area sent by the server specifically includes:

reading preset identification information of the storage container;

sending the identification information to a server;

and receiving the moving instruction which is sent by the server and generated according to the identification information.

Optionally, moving to the designated area according to the moving instruction specifically includes:

positioning according to the acquired environmental data;

generating navigation information according to the positioning result and a preset path passing through the designated area;

and moving to the specified area according to the navigation information.

Optionally, generating navigation information according to the positioning result and a preset path passing through the designated area, specifically including:

determining a next designated area to be reached according to the moving instruction;

planning a path between the current location point and the next designated area according to the next designated area and a positioning result;

and generating navigation information according to the positioning result and the path.

when moving according to the moving instruction, determining that an obstacle exists on a path leading to the specified area;

sending information corresponding to the obstacle to the server, so that the server regenerates the movement instruction;

and moving to the designated area corresponding to the regenerated moving instruction according to the regenerated moving instruction.

Optionally, receiving a guidance instruction sent by the server for a target location corresponding to the designated area specifically includes:

after the specified area is reached, positioning according to the acquired environmental data;

sending the positioning result to a server;

and receiving a guiding instruction determined by the server according to the positioning result and the target position.

Optionally, sending a guidance signal pointing to the target position according to the guidance instruction specifically includes:

determining the transmitting height and the transmitting angle of the guiding signal according to the guiding instruction;

and sending a guide signal pointing to the target position according to the emission height and the emission angle.

Optionally, the sending a guidance signal pointing to the target position specifically includes:

projecting an image characterizing at least a portion of the information in the guidance instructions to the target location.

and displaying graphs and/or characters representing the emission height and the emission angle.

emitting a directional beam of light towards the target location.

Optionally, after sending the guiding signal pointing to the target position, the method further includes:

receiving information input by a person of the guidance signal;

and sending the information input by the personnel to a server, so that the server generates a moving instruction for the next designated area according to the information input by the personnel.

A second sorting method provided in the present specification includes:

for each item to be picked, determining a designated area available for picking the item in the field according to the information of the item to be picked and the information of each shelf in the field;

generating a movement instruction for the designated area, and sending the movement instruction to a movable indicating device corresponding to the movement instruction, so that the movable indicating device moves to the designated area according to the movement instruction;

determining a corresponding storage position of the article on a shelf, and taking the storage position as a target position of the article;

and generating a guide instruction aiming at the target position according to the movement instruction, and sending the guide instruction to the movable indicating equipment, so that the movable indicating equipment sends out a guide signal pointing to the target position according to the guide instruction.

Optionally, determining, according to information of an item to be picked and information of each shelf in the field, a designated area in the field, where the item can be picked, specifically includes:

determining a shelf corresponding to the article in each shelf positioned in the place according to the information of the article and the information of the place;

and determining a designated area available for picking operation of the item in the site according to the shelf corresponding to the item and the information of the site.

Optionally, generating a movement instruction for the specified area specifically includes:

for each order to be picked, determining a path which can be adopted by the movable indicating equipment when the order is picked according to the specified area corresponding to each item to be picked in the order to be picked, so that the path passes through the specified area corresponding to each item in the order;

and generating a movement instruction aiming at the specified area according to the path.

Optionally, after generating a movement instruction for the specified area according to the path, the method further includes:

receiving information of an obstacle detected by the movable pointing device;

regenerating a path according to the information of the obstacle;

and regenerating the moving instruction according to the regenerated path.

Optionally, after issuing a guidance signal pointing to the target position according to the guidance instruction, the method further includes:

receiving information input by a person corresponding to the guide signal;

generating a movement instruction for a next designated area to be reached by the movable pointing device, based on the information entered by the person.

Optionally, before sending the movement instruction to the movable pointing device corresponding to the movement instruction, the method further includes:

for each movable indicating device, determining an order corresponding to the movable indicating device in each order to be picked;

and taking the moving instruction of each article in the order corresponding to the movable indicating equipment as the moving instruction corresponding to the movable indicating equipment.

Optionally, for each movable indicating device, in each order to be picked, determining an order corresponding to the movable indicating device specifically includes:

determining an order to be picked corresponding to each storage container in each order to be picked aiming at each preset storage container;

taking the corresponding relation between the order to be picked and the storage container as a preset corresponding relation;

and determining the order corresponding to the movable indicating equipment in each order to be picked according to the identification information of the storage container sent by the movable indicating equipment and the preset corresponding relation.

for each loading platform of the movable indicating equipment, determining an order corresponding to the loading platform in each order to be picked;

and taking the orders corresponding to the loading platforms of the movable indicating equipment as the orders corresponding to the movable indicating equipment.

Optionally, generating a guidance instruction for the target position specifically includes:

determining that the current position of the movable pointing device is located in the designated area;

determining the transmitting height and the transmitting angle of a guide signal aiming at the target position according to the current position of the movable indicating equipment, the target position of the article and the current state of an indicating device of the movable indicating equipment;

and generating a guide instruction according to the emission height and the emission angle of the guide signal, so that the indicating device sends out a guide signal pointing to the target position according to the guide instruction.

This specification provides a server, including:

the designated area determining module is configured to determine a designated area available for picking operation of each item to be picked in the site according to the information of the item to be picked and the information of each shelf in the site;

the mobile instruction determining module is configured to generate a mobile instruction for the specified area and send the mobile instruction to a mobile indicating device corresponding to the mobile instruction, so that the mobile indicating device moves to the specified area according to the mobile instruction;

the target position determining module is configured to determine a corresponding storage position of the item on the shelf, and the storage position is used as a target position of the item;

and the guide instruction determining module is configured to generate a guide instruction for the target position according to the movement instruction, and send the guide instruction to the movable indicating equipment, so that the movable indicating equipment sends out a guide signal pointing to the target position according to the guide instruction.

Optionally, the designated area determining module includes: a shelf determining submodule and an appointed area determining submodule;

the shelf determining submodule is configured to determine a shelf corresponding to the item in each shelf located in the field according to the information of the item and the information of the field;

and the specified area determining submodule is configured to determine a specified area available for picking the item in the field according to the shelf corresponding to the item and the information of the field.

Optionally, the movement instruction determining module includes: the path determining sub-module and the moving instruction generating sub-module;

the path determining submodule is configured to determine, for each order to be picked, a path which can be taken by the movable indicating equipment when the order is picked according to a specified area corresponding to each item to be picked in the order to be picked, so that the path passes through the specified area corresponding to each item in the order;

and the movement instruction generation submodule is configured to generate a movement instruction for the specified area according to the path.

Optionally, the path determining sub-module is further configured to receive information of an obstacle detected by the movable pointing device, and regenerate a path according to the information of the obstacle;

and the movement instruction generation sub-module is also configured to regenerate the movement instruction according to the regenerated path.

Optionally, the method further comprises: an information receiving module;

the information receiving module is configured to receive information input by a person corresponding to the guiding signal;

the movement instruction determination module is further configured to generate a movement instruction for a next designated area to be reached by the movable pointing device, based on the information input by the person.

Optionally, the method further comprises: an order distribution module;

the order distribution module is configured to determine, for each movable indicating device, an order corresponding to the movable indicating device in each order to be picked; and taking the moving instruction of each article in the order corresponding to the movable indicating equipment as the moving instruction corresponding to the movable indicating equipment.

Optionally, the order allocation module includes: the order determining first sub-module, the corresponding relation determining sub-module and the searching sub-module;

the order determining first submodule is configured to determine, for each preset storage container, an order to be picked corresponding to the storage container in each order to be picked;

the corresponding relation determining submodule is configured to be used for taking the corresponding relation between the order to be picked and the storage container as a preset corresponding relation;

the searching submodule is configured to determine an order corresponding to the movable indicating device in each order to be picked according to the identification information of the storage container sent by the movable indicating device and the preset corresponding relation.

Optionally, the order allocation module includes: a second sub-module for order determination;

the order determining second sub-module is configured to determine, for each loading platform of the movable indicating device, an order corresponding to the loading platform in each order to be picked; and taking the orders corresponding to the loading platforms of the movable indicating equipment as the orders corresponding to the movable indicating equipment.

Optionally, the guidance instruction determining module includes: the information determination submodule of the guide instruction and the guide instruction generation first submodule;

an information determination submodule of the guiding instruction, configured to determine information of the guiding instruction according to at least one of a unique identifier of a shelf corresponding to the item to be picked, a unique identifier of a target position of the item to be picked, a unique identifier of the item to be picked, the number of the items to be picked, information of a next designated area to be reached by the movable indicating device, information of a person receiving the guiding signal, an operation instruction issued to the person, orientation information of an indicating device of the movable indicating device relative to the target position, and information of a loading platform and/or a storage container corresponding to the guiding instruction;

the first sub-module of the guide instruction generation is configured to generate a guide instruction according to the information of the guide instruction.

Optionally, the guidance instruction determining module includes: a current location determining submodule, a pose determining submodule and a guide instruction generating second submodule;

the current location determining submodule is configured to determine that a location where the movable pointing device is currently located is located in the designated area;

the position and orientation determining submodule is configured to determine the emission height and the emission angle of the guide signal aiming at the target position according to the current position of the movable indicating equipment, the target position of the article and the current state of the indicating device of the movable indicating equipment;

and the guide instruction generation second sub-module is configured to generate a guide instruction according to the emission height and the emission angle of the guide signal, so that the indicating device sends out a guide signal pointing to the target position according to the guide instruction.

The embodiment of the specification adopts at least one technical scheme which can achieve the following beneficial effects:

the present specification provides a movable indicating device, a picking system, a picking method and a server, which adopt the movable indicating device to carry out picking operation. The movable pointing device interacts with the server and moves to a designated area corresponding to the target location according to a movement instruction sent by the server. When the movable indicating equipment reaches the designated area, the movable indicating equipment has the geographical condition of transmitting the guide signal to the target position, and at the moment, the movable indicating equipment sends the guide signal pointing to the target position according to the guide instruction, so that personnel or a manipulator in the field can execute corresponding operation according to the guide signal. Therefore, the movable indicating equipment in the specification performs most of walking and guiding operations in the operation process, and is beneficial to improving the operation efficiency and reducing the labor cost. Furthermore, the picking system and the picking method provided by the specification can send out a guide signal aiming at a target position aimed at by picking operation, effectively assist the picking operation of personnel, and improve the picking effect.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the application and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the application and together with the description serve to explain the application and not to limit the application. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a portable pointing device as provided herein emitting a guidance signal;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of another movable pointing device provided herein for signaling a guide signal;

3a to 3c are schematic structural diagrams of a part of a movable pointing device provided in the present specification;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a mobile pointing device displaying a guidance signal through a screen provided by the present specification;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of picking performed using a movable pointing device as provided herein;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a server provided in this specification.

Wherein,

1-a movable pointing device;

11-a chassis of the movable pointing device, 12-a body of the movable pointing device, 13-a pointing device of the movable pointing device, 14-a stage of the movable pointing device, 15-a positioning mechanism of the movable pointing device;

132-screen, 1321-screen sorting information display area, 1322-screen guide signal display area, 1323-screen storage container display area, 1324-screen real object picture display area, 1325-screen actual sorting quantity display area;

161-top rod of pitch angle regulating mechanism, 162-guide bar of pitch angle regulating mechanism, 163-shaft of pitch angle regulating mechanism;

2-shelf, 21-shelf interlayer, 22-shelf inventory container;

31-a directional beam of light emitted by the movable pointing device, 32-a projection emitted by the movable pointing device;

4-an article;

5-field, 51-first operating zone of field, 52-second operating zone of field, 53-third operating zone of field, 54-waiting zone of field;

51a, 51b, 51c, 51 d-candidate/designated area in the first operating area, 52a, 52b, 52 c-candidate/designated area in the second operating area, 53a, 53 b-candidate/designated area in the third operating area;

α, β, γ -shelves in a first operating zone;

s1, S2, S3-path.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present disclosure more apparent, the technical solutions of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the specific embodiments of the present disclosure and the accompanying drawings. It should be apparent that the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present application, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by a person skilled in the art without making any inventive step based on the embodiments in the description belong to the protection scope of the present application.

The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in fig. 1 to 3c, the movable pointing device 1 in this specification includes at least: body 12, chassis 11, indicating device 13 and communication device (not shown in the figures).

The body 12 is connected to the chassis 11, and the indicating device 13 and the communication device are connected to the body 12. The body 12 is at least used to provide a setting position for the indicating means 13 and the communication means. The chassis 11 is at least used for carrying the body 12 and each device arranged on the body 12 and providing power for the movement of the movable indicating device 1.

Wherein the chassis 11 is configured to carry the various devices disposed thereon for movement within the field 5. The present description does not specifically limit the infrastructure on which the chassis 11 can be moved. For example, the chassis 11 may be moved on an overhead platform (e.g., a steel platform) or track, in which case various devices carried on the chassis 11 may be located below/above the platform or track. Alternatively, the chassis 11 may be configured to carry the devices disposed thereon for movement over the ground, in which case the devices carried on the chassis 11 may be located above the ground.

For example, the chassis 11 may comprise a drive mechanism, for example, for movement of the movable pointing device 1 over a ground surface. The drive mechanism may include wheels 111 (as shown in fig. 1 and 2), tracks, or the like that may engage the ground.

The body 12 may have a bracket, a frame, etc. to provide an installation space for the indication device 13 and the communication device. Optionally, at least a part of the structure of the body 12 connected with the indicating device 13 is a pull rod structure. The pull rod structure can be extended or contracted along the height direction, and the body 12 can adjust the position of the indicating device 13 in the height direction according to the guiding instruction so as to adjust the emitting height of the indicating device 13 when emitting the guiding signal.

In an alternative embodiment of the present description, the body 12 has a segmented tie rod structure that includes a first segment and a second segment. Wherein one end of the first section is connected with an indicating device 13; the other end is connected with the second section, and the connecting position of the other end of the first section and the second section is adjustable, so that the relative position of the first section and the second section is adjustable, and the position of the indicating device 13 arranged on the first section in the height direction is adjusted.

For example, the axial direction of the first section is parallel to the axial direction of the second section, and the other end of the first section is slidably connected to the second section, so that the relative positions of the first section and the second section along the axial direction of the body 12 can be adjusted.

Optionally, the second section is provided with a first rail along the axial direction thereof, and the other end of the first section can slide. At least part of the first track may be disposed inside the second section.

Further, in this specification, the first segment may be rotated about its axial direction with respect to the second segment to adjust the orientation of the indicating device 13 provided on the first segment in the horizontal plane (i.e., to adjust the steering angle of the indicating device 13).

Wherein one end of the second section is connected to the chassis 11, optionally the second section is fixed with respect to the chassis 11. The boundary between the second section and the chassis 11 is not strictly limited in this specification.

The body 12 in this specification may also include a first adjustment means. The first adjusting device can be arranged on the first section and/or the second section, and the first adjusting device can be used for adjusting the relative position between the first section and the second section and the rotating angle of the first section relative to the second section according to the guiding instruction. The first adjustment means may be a motor.

Further optionally, the body may be connected to the indicating device by a universal connection mechanism. The body can adjust the orientation of the indicating device through the universal connecting mechanism according to the guiding instruction so as to adjust the transmitting angle of the indicating device when transmitting the guiding signal.

In an alternative embodiment of the present description, the movable pointing device 1 comprises a pitch angle adjustment mechanism. The indicating device 13 is arranged on the body 12 (optionally on a first section of the body 12) by means of the pitch angle adjustment mechanism.

The pitch angle adjustment mechanism may include a carrier rod 161, a guide rod 162, and a shaft 163, as shown in fig. 3a and 3 b. One end of the guide rod 162 is connected with the body 12; the shaft 163 horizontally passes through a limiting hole (not shown) provided at the other end of the guide bar 162 and the indicating device 13, so that the indicating device 13 is in limiting connection with the other end of the guide bar 162.

The relative positions of the post rod 161 and the guide bar 162 along the axial direction of the pitch angle adjusting mechanism (which may extend along the height direction of the body 12) are adjustable, for example, the axial direction of the post rod 161 is parallel to the axial direction of the guide bar 162, and the guide bar 162 is provided with a second rail extending along the axial direction of the pitch angle adjusting mechanism for allowing the post rod 161 to slide, so that the post rod 161 can adjust its relative position with the guide bar 162 along the rail. One end of the jack 161 (which may be an end adjacent to the shaft 163) is connected to the indicating device 13.

Optionally, the position where the indicating device 13 is connected to the ejector 161 is located between a limiting hole on the indicating device 13 and a light-emitting position on the indicating device 13 for emitting a guiding signal; or the position where the indicating device 13 is connected with the ejector rod 161, and a position between one end of the indicating device 13 far away from the light-emitting position and a limiting hole on the indicating device 13.

When the post rod 161 moves along the axial direction of the pitch angle adjusting mechanism, the indicating device 13 can be driven to lift and tilt down, so as to adjust the pitch angle of the indicating device 13.

Take the position where the indicating device 13 is connected to the ejector 161, between the limiting hole on the indicating device 13 and the light-emitting position on the indicating device 13 for emitting the guiding signal as an example. When the ejector rod 161 moves upwards along the height direction of the body 12, the ejector rod 161 drives the light-emitting position of the indicating device 13 to raise; when the jack 161 moves downward along the height direction of the body 12, the jack 161 drives the light-emitting position of the indicating device 13 to tilt down.

Alternatively, the pitch angle adjustment mechanism may be rotated about its axial direction with respect to the body 12 to adjust the orientation of the indicating device 13 provided on the pitch angle adjustment mechanism in the horizontal plane (i.e., to adjust the steering angle of the indicating device 13).

The body 12 in this specification may also include a second adjustment means. The second adjusting means may be provided on the push rod 161 and/or the guide rod 162, and the first adjusting means may be used to adjust the relative position between the push rod 161 and the guide rod 162 according to the guide command. The second adjustment means may be a motor.

The present description does not limit the usage scenarios of the movable pointing device 1. The movable pointing device 1 can indicate a parking space for a user in a parking lot; and may be used in an industrial environment to indicate the installation location of an instrument.

The following description will be given only by taking an example of assisting a person in sorting in a warehousing scene.

The movable pointing device 1 of the present description may be provided with certain data processing capabilities (the data processing capabilities of the original elements may optionally be provided on the body 12), and may make an autonomous decision on at least some of the conditions encountered during the picking process. Furthermore, the movable pointing device 1 may also comprise communication means, by means of which the movable pointing device 1 can interact with a server in order to make decisions about the conditions encountered by the movable pointing device 1 during the picking process, using the data processing capabilities of the server.

Specifically, the movable pointing device 1 in this specification can receive a movement instruction sent by a server and move according to the movement instruction. For example, the movement instruction may include information pointing to a designated area. The specified area may be a location that can be identified by specific coordinates, or may be a certain range around a location that is identified by specific coordinates. The number, distribution mode and determination rule of the designated areas can be designed according to the actual scene.

For example, in a scenario where items 4 are picked, several shelves 2 are set in a field 5 (which may be the field 5 of a warehouse). As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the shelf 2 may include a plurality of compartments 21, and each compartment 21 may be arranged in a vertical direction. The compartment 21 may be used to define a storage position for the shelf 2. The storage position can be directly used for placing the articles 4; a storage location may also have an inventory receptacle 22 (e.g., a tray) disposed therein, with the inventory receptacle 22 having the item 4 disposed therein.

Each shelf 2 has a unique identification and each storage location has a unique identification on that shelf 2. For example, each bin corresponds to a SKU information. When an item 4 to be picked (hereinafter referred to as "item 4") is picked, first, according to SKU information of the item 4, a shelf 2 corresponding to the item 4 is determined in the field 5, and then a storage location on the shelf 2 corresponding to the item 4 is further determined, where the storage location corresponding to the item 4 is a target location of the item 4. Optionally, the target position of the item 4 may be determined according to the SKU information of the item 4 to be picked, and then the shelf 2 corresponding to the item 4 may be determined according to the determined target position.

When a picking operation is performed for the item 4, the item 4 to be picked is placed at a target position of the item 4, or the item 4 to be picked placed at the target position is removed. If the picking operation for the item 4 needs to be assisted by the movable indicating device 1 in this specification, the movable indicating device 1 needs to move to a position where the picking operation can be performed on the item 4 according to the movement instruction, and the position is a designated area.

Therefore, the designated area has a corresponding relation with the article, and the designated area corresponding to the article can be determined according to the SKU information of the article. Each item may correspond to a plurality of designated areas, for example, the items on the shelf 2 β in fig. 5 may correspond to at least one of the designated area 51a and the designated area 51 b; different items may also correspond to the same designated area, for example, items on both shelf 2 α and shelf 2 β in fig. 5 may correspond to designated area 51 a.

Since a designated area can be used at least to provide a picking area for the item, the designated area should at least satisfy a geographic relationship with the target location of the item corresponding to the designated area, e.g., the designated area should be closer to the target location. Alternatively, the area on the site 5 where the picking operation can be performed may be divided in advance to obtain a plurality of candidate areas, such as the candidate areas 51a to 51d, the candidate areas 52a to 52c, and the candidate areas 52a and 53b shown in fig. 5, and the candidate area closest to the target position in each candidate area is taken as the designated area corresponding to the target position, and the determined designated area is shown as the designated area 51a in fig. 5.

Then which designated area the movable pointing device 1 will reach when picking is carried out can be determined by the movement instructions; the designated area to be reached by the movable pointing device 1 corresponds specifically to which target position, which can be determined by the guiding instructions.

In addition, when picking is performed for the target position, the movable indicating device 1 sends out a guiding signal pointing to the target position according to the guiding instruction from the designated area where the movable indicating device is located, so as to assist people to find the target position and perform picking performed for the target position. As shown in fig. 5, the movable pointing device 1 located in the designated area 51a is emitting a guidance signal to a certain reserve (target position) in the shelf 2 α.

When the technical solution in the embodiment of the present specification is applied to a scene of picking up the item 4, the field 5 may be divided into a plurality of operation areas according to a preset division rule. The first, second and third operating areas 51, 52, 53 shown in fig. 5 each contain at least one rack 2, each assigned a person to perform picking. When the movable pointing device 1 reaches a specified area located in the operation area, a guidance signal is sent from the specified area to a target position corresponding to a guidance instruction. After observing the guiding signal, the person picks the target position corresponding to the guiding signal.

When each operation area is divided, each candidate area in the operation area may be determined based on attribute information (for example, at least one of shape and size) of the operation area, a placement manner of the shelf 2 in the operation area, attribute information (for example, at least one of specification and size) of the shelf 2, and information (for example, at least one of specification and size) of the item 4 placed on the shelf 2 for each operation area.

For example, in the scenario shown in fig. 5, the first operation area 51 has a larger size and a more regular shape, and the shelves 2 in the first operation area 51 have a smaller size and the shelves 2 are arranged more densely, one candidate area, i.e., the candidate areas 51a to 51d, may be arranged between every adjacent four shelves 2 in the first operation area 51.

The shelves 2 in the second operation region 52 are arranged in a row, and one candidate region, i.e., the candidate regions 52a to 52c, may be provided between two adjacent shelves 2.

The rack 2 in the third operation area 53 is large in size, and the items 4 placed thereon are large in size, requiring a large picking space, two candidate areas, i.e., candidate areas 53a and 53b, may be provided for each rack 2.

Furthermore, as shown in fig. 5, a waiting area 54 for placing the free movable pointing device 1 may also be provided in the field 5. When the movable pointing device 1 is located in this waiting area 54, it waits for the instructions of the server.

It can be seen that, when the movable indicating device 1 in the specification is used for picking, most of walking and guiding operations are executed by the movable indicating device 1 in the operation process, which is beneficial to improving the operation efficiency and reducing the labor cost.

In an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, to implement the function of guiding the person by the guiding signal, the projection device 131 is used as the indicating device 13, and the image 32 projected by the projection device 131 is used as the guiding signal. The projection device 131 may project the image 32 representing at least part of the information in the guidance instruction to the target position of the shelf 2 corresponding to the guidance instruction according to the guidance instruction.

Not only can the projection device 131 directionally emit a light beam that falls on the compartment 21 of the inventory receptacle 22 or shelf 2 but also can display an image 32 containing graphics and/or characters, both "direction guidance" and "information guidance" can be achieved by the projection device 131.

To position the screen 132 on the body 12, the movable pointing device 1 in this specification may further include a positioning mechanism 14. The positioning mechanism 15 is disposed on the body 12, at least a portion of the positioning mechanism 15 is in a frame shape or a groove shape, as shown in fig. 3a to 3c, and at least a portion of the screen 132 is embedded in the positioning mechanism 15. Optionally, the screen 132 is removably attached to the positioning mechanism 15.

As shown in fig. 2, the image 32 projected by the projection device 131 falls on the partition 21 of the shelf 2 and/or the inventory receptacle 22 to display information to the person.

Optionally, the information in the guidance instruction for "information guidance" may include: the unique identification of the shelf 2 corresponding to the guidance instruction, the unique identification of the target position corresponding to the guidance instruction (for example, "stock position number:" in fig. 2), the unique identification of the item 4 corresponding to the guidance instruction, the number of items 4 corresponding to the guidance instruction (for indicating how many items 4 should be picked by the person, for example, "number: 3" in fig. 2), the information of the next designated area to which the movable indication device 1 will reach (for prompting the person whether to follow the movable indication device 1 to the next designated area after the picking operation corresponding to the guidance instruction is completed), the information of the person receiving the guidance signal, the operation instruction issued to the person (which may be used to indicate what kind of operation the person should perform on the item 4, for example, loading and unloading, the "operation: removed "), at least one of orientation information of the pointing device 13 with respect to the target position (for example, the target position is located at the upper left of the pointing device 13), and information of the stage 14 and/or the storage container corresponding to the guidance instruction.

In an alternative embodiment of the present description, the movable pointing device 1 may comprise at least one carrier platform 14 for placing the item 4. A carrier platform 14 may be provided on the body 12.

In a scenario where the movable pointing device 1 picks for multiple orders at the same time, the correspondence between the carrier platform 14 and the orders may be established before picking is carried out, and the condition "the same carrier platform may not correspond to two orders at the same time" has to be fulfilled. To distinguish between the stages 14 of the same moveable pointing device 1, each stage 14 may have its own unique identifier. The guidance instruction may include information of the loading platform 14 corresponding to the guidance instruction (for example, a unique identifier of the loading platform 14), and after receiving the guidance instruction, the movable indicating device 1 can guide a person to determine the loading platform 14 corresponding to the guidance instruction in each loading platform 14 according to the information of the loading platform 14 corresponding to the guidance instruction.

In another alternative embodiment of the present description, the indication device 13 may include: a screen 132; the pilot signal includes: the screen 132 displays graphics and/or characters. The screen 132 is configured to display, in accordance with the guiding instruction, graphics and/or characters characterizing at least part of the information in the guiding instruction.

As shown in fig. 4, in a scenario where guidance of a person is implemented through the screen 132, to indicate a target position corresponding to the guidance instruction of this time, the interface of the screen 132 may include: the picking information display area 1321 and the picking information display area 1321 may be used to display at least part of information related to the picking operation.

The interface of the screen 132 may further include: a pilot display area 1322, and a plurality of arrow patterns indicating directions may be displayed in pilot display area 1322. The arrow graphic can show not only whether the target position is located on the left or right side of the movable pointing device 1, but also which floor on the shelf 2 the target position is located on. In fig. 4, the arrow d in the display area 1322 of the guide signal located on the left side of the screen 132 is shown highlighted, and the target position is located in the upper-most storage position of the left shelf 2 of the movable pointing device 1 with respect to the current position of the movable pointing device 1.

Alternatively, to accurately show the target position, the indicating device 13 in the present specification may further include: the directional beam 31 emits a device 133. The pilot signal further includes: the directed light beam 31 emits a directed light beam 31 emitted by the device 133. The directional light beam 31 emitting device 133 is configured to emit the directional light beam 31 to the target position of the shelf 2 corresponding to the guiding instruction according to the guiding instruction. In particular, the directional light beam 31 emitting device 133 may be a laser pointer.

Optionally, in this description, the screen 132 enables interaction between the person and the movable pointing device 1 and/or interaction between the person and a server, in addition to issuing the guidance signal. In the interface shown in fig. 4, the person may inform the movable pointing device 1 and/or the server, via the screen 132, that this operation is completed after the picking operation is completed. Alternatively, when item 4 is out of stock at the target location, the number of items that are actually finished picking may be entered via screen 132. As shown in fig. 4, when the number of items 4 to be picked is 3 but only 1 is currently picked, the actual picking number "1" is input, and the actual picking number "1" is displayed in the actual picking number display area 1325 of the screen 132.

Since the movable pointing device 1 may sequentially and respectively indicate a plurality of target positions corresponding to different designated areas when implementing the pointing function, the movable pointing device 1 is required to walk in the field 5 according to different movement instructions.

As shown in fig. 5, the movable pointing device 1 reaches the specified area 52c from the waiting area 54 along the path S1; after effecting the picking for designated area 52c, designated area 52a is reached along path S2; after picking is performed for designated area 52a, designated area 51a is reached along path S3, at which point the movable pointing device 1 is now located in designated area 51a, issuing a guiding signal to a target location.

In order to make the movement instruction sent by the server fit with the current status of the movable pointing device 1, the current position of the movable pointing device 1 needs to be acquired before the server sends the movement instruction. Moreover, when determining the guidance instruction for the movable pointing device 1, the current position of the movable pointing device 1 is also required to be able to determine the relative position relationship between the movable pointing device 1 (or the pointing device 13) and the target position, and further determine the transmission height and the transmission angle of the guidance signal.

To implement the positioning function of the movable pointing device 1, in an alternative embodiment of the present description, the movable pointing device 1 may further include: and a positioning device. The positioning device includes: a positioning module, and an environmental data acquisition module (e.g., radar) and an inertial measurement module (e.g., inertial measurement Unit, IMU) communicatively coupled to the positioning module. The positioning module is configured to determine a current location of the movable pointing device 1 according to the data acquired by the environment data acquisition module and the inertial measurement module.

The present description does not limit the timing at which the movable pointing device 1 is positioned. When determining the next designated area to be reached by the movable pointing device 1 based on the result of the positioning, the movable pointing device 1 can be positioned after the movable pointing device 1 issues the guidance signal; when determining a guidance instruction according to the result of positioning, the movable pointing device 1 can be positioned after the movable pointing device 1 reaches a specified area.

Furthermore, the positioning result of the movable pointing device 1 in this description can be used not only for the aforementioned determination of movement instructions and guiding instructions, but also for navigating the movement of the movable pointing device 1.

In particular, the movable pointing device 1 may comprise navigation means. When the movement instruction includes a next designated area to be reached by the movable pointing device 1 and a path for the movable pointing device 1 to go to the next designated area, the movable pointing device 1 may determine, according to the received movement instruction and the positioning result, a trajectory to reach the next designated area along the path, where the trajectory can reflect a motion state (e.g., velocity, direction, acceleration, etc.) of at least some points on the path of the movable pointing device 1 compared to the path. Then, based on the generated trajectory, navigation information for controlling the motion state of the movable pointing device 1 (e.g., information indicating that the movable pointing device 1 turns left at the current position) is determined.

Alternatively, the movable pointing device 1 may comprise a SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and mapping) apparatus, and both the aforementioned "Localization" and "navigation" functions may be implemented by the SLAM apparatus, i.e. the Localization apparatus and the navigation apparatus may be part of the SLAM apparatus.

Further, the information contained in the move instruction is not strictly limited by this specification. In an alternative embodiment, the movement instruction received by the movable pointing device 1 may only include the path for the movable pointing device 1 to go to the next designated area, and not include the path for the next designated area. At this point, the movable pointing device 1 may plan its own route to the next designated area according to a preset environment map (which may be a map of the field 5 in the scenario of picking up items 4).

In particular, the movable pointing device 1 may further include: a path planning device. The path planning device is configured to plan a path between the current location point and the next designated area according to the information of the next designated area, a preset environment map, and the current location point of the movable pointing device 1.

The above-described scenario of picking items 4 in field 5 is also described as an example. During actual picking there may be a plurality of mobile pointing devices 1 operating simultaneously in the field 5 and, in addition, there may be a plurality of persons in the field 5. The other movable pointing devices 1 and persons except the current movable pointing device 1 all affect the movement of the current movable pointing device 1 to different degrees, and the other movable pointing devices 1 and persons affecting the current movable pointing device 1 can be regarded as obstacles.

To ensure that the movable pointing device 1 can work properly, it is determined whether there are obstacles in the environment that affect the movable pointing device 1. In an alternative embodiment of the present description, the movable pointing device 1 further comprises: an obstacle detection device. The obstacle detection device is configured to, when it is detected that an obstacle exists on a path leading to the specified area, send information corresponding to the obstacle (for example, at least one of position information, shape information, size information, and motion state information of the obstacle) to the server, so that the server regenerates the movement instruction and moves to the specified area corresponding to the regenerated movement instruction according to the regenerated movement instruction.

Alternatively, the obstacle detection device may be at least one of a radar detection device, a vision-based obstacle detection device.

After the obstacle in the environment is detected, whether the obstacle is avoided can be determined according to the actual scene, and the vehicle can continuously move to the specified area corresponding to the currently executed moving instruction; or determining whether to go to the designated area corresponding to the currently executed movement instruction and go to other designated areas.

In a scenario where the server plans the path for the movable pointing device 1, the regenerated movement instruction may be different from the designated area to which the original movement instruction is directed, that is, the movable pointing device 1 encounters an obstacle when heading to the designated area according to the original movement instruction, the server may skip the designated area to which the original movement instruction is directed when planning the path for the movable pointing device 1, so that the regenerated movement instruction is directed to another designated area, and the movable pointing device 1 that receives the regenerated movement instruction may previously perform work to another designated area.

Alternatively, the regenerated move instruction may be the same as the designated area to which the original move instruction is directed. At this time, the movement instruction includes a trajectory to the next designated area, and the trajectory can reflect the motion state of at least part of the points on the path of the movable pointing device 1, and the movement instruction regenerated by the server can also adjust the trajectory of the movable pointing device 1, so that the movable pointing device 1 avoids the obstacle when heading to the designated area to which the original movement instruction is directed.

Still alternatively, the obstacle detecting device is configured to, when it is detected that an obstacle exists on a path leading to the specified area, send information corresponding to the obstacle to the path planning device, so that the path planning device replans the path.

Based on the same idea, the present specification embodiment also provides a corresponding picking system, which may include the aforementioned server and at least one movable pointing device 1. Each movable pointing device 1 is communicatively connected to a server for interaction during the picking process.

Wherein the server is configured to first, for each item 4 to be picked, from information on that item 4 to be picked and information on the shelves 2 in the field 5. The item to be picked can be an item to be placed on the shelf 2 or an item 4 to be taken off the shelf 2; the information for the item 4 to be picked may be SKU information for the item 4, etc.; the information of each shelf 2 in the field 5 may be the placement position of each shelf 2 in the field 5, a unique identifier of each shelf 2, the status of each storage location on the shelf 2 (for example, whether or not an item 4 has been placed; if an item 4 is placed, the number of placed items 4 is what), a unique identifier of each storage location, and the like.

Then, in the field 5, the server determines a designated area where the picking operation can be performed on the shelf 2 corresponding to the item 4 to be picked, and generates a movement instruction for the designated area. The moving instruction may include: information of the designated area (e.g., an identification of the area), a route from the current location of the movable pointing device 1 to the designated area, a trajectory from the current location of the movable pointing device 1 to the designated area, and a route through each designated area to which a picking operation by the movable pointing device 1 will reach within a preset period.

The timing of generating the movement instruction may be determined according to an actual scene. For example, the server may generate all the movement instructions for all the designated areas through which the path passes at once. The movement instruction for the next designated area may be generated after each designated area is reached. For example, it may be determined whether the movable pointing device 1 is currently located in a designated area according to a current location of the movable pointing device 1, and if so, a movement instruction for a next designated area is determined according to the designated area where the movable pointing device 1 is currently located and the path. Or may also be triggered manually.

Furthermore, the server can also determine the corresponding storage position of the item 4 to be picked on the shelf 2, take the storage position as the target position of the item 4, and generate a guiding instruction for the target position according to the moving instruction. Since there is a certain correspondence between the target position and the designated area, each designated area does not necessarily correspond to the same target position, and when determining the guidance instruction for the target position, the designated area corresponding to the target position needs to be combined.

The timing of generating the guidance instruction may be determined according to an actual scene. For example, each time a specified area is reached, a guidance instruction for a target position corresponding to the specified area where the guidance instruction is currently located may be generated. At this time, there may be various operations for triggering the server to generate the guidance instruction, and for example, the server may generate the guidance instruction after determining that the movable pointing device 1 is parked in the specified area.

Alternatively, when the designated area is a specific point that can be identified by the coordinates, the server may generate all the guidance instructions for the target positions corresponding to all the designated areas through which the route passes at one time.

The server then sends the generated movement instructions and guiding instructions to the movable pointing device 1. The timing of the server sending each instruction may also be determined according to the actual scenario.

The movable indicating equipment 1 is configured to receive a moving instruction sent by a server, and reach a designated area corresponding to the moving instruction according to the moving instruction; and when the target area is reached, sending a guide signal pointing to the target position according to the guide instruction. The guiding signal may be an acoustic and/or optical signal to assist a person in performing a corresponding operation on the item 4.

It can be seen that when picking is carried out for an item 4 by the picking system in this specification, control of the movable pointing device 1 needs to be effected by means of movement instructions and guiding instructions. It is necessary to first determine at least one of a movement command and a guiding command before controlling the movable pointing device 1.

In an optional embodiment of the present description, the server is further configured to: for each preset storage container, determining an order to be picked corresponding to the storage container in each order to be picked (hereinafter referred to as an order), and taking the corresponding relation between the order to be picked and the storage container as a preset corresponding relation. The storage container is optionally provided with a label of the storage container, and identification information representing the unique identification of the storage container is recorded in the label. Optionally, each order corresponds to at least one storage container, but the same storage container may not correspond to multiple orders, so as to avoid confusion of items 4 in different orders.

The movable pointing device 1 may comprise: a tag reading device. The movable indicating device 1 may read the preset identification information of the storage container through the tag reading apparatus, and send the identification information of the storage container to the server. The tag reading means is optionally in communication with said communication means, through which the interaction between the movable pointing device 1 and the server is achieved.

The process of reading the tag of the storage container by the tag reading device can be regarded as a process of establishing a correspondence relationship between the storage container and the movable indication device 1. Since there is a preset correspondence between the storage container and the order, the process of reading the tag of the storage container by the tag reading device can also be regarded as a process of establishing a correspondence between the movable indication device 1 and the order. Then the server determines movement and guidance instructions for the item 4 in the order, i.e. the corresponding movement and guidance instructions for the movable pointing device 1. Alternatively, the process of reading the tag may be implemented in the waiting area 54 shown in fig. 5.

Specifically, the server is further configured to receive identification information of the storage container sent by the movable indicating device 1, and determine an order corresponding to the movable indicating device 1 in each order to be picked according to the received identification information of the storage container and the preset corresponding relationship.

Alternatively, a plurality of mounting mechanisms for mounting the storage containers may be provided on the movable indicating device 1, so that one movable indicating device 1 can carry a plurality of storage containers and pick a plurality of orders at the same time.

When the movable indicating device 1 picks a plurality of orders at the same time, a path planning may be performed for a designated area corresponding to each item 4 in each order, so that the planned path passes through the designated areas corresponding to all orders corresponding to the movable indicating device 1.

In another alternative embodiment of the present description, the movable pointing device 1 comprises a plurality of carrier platforms 14, the carrier platforms 14 being used for placing the items 4, each carrier platform 14 having a unique identification. The server may determine, for each item carrying platform 14 of the movable pointing device 1, an order corresponding to the item carrying platform 14 in each order to be picked, and use the item 4 in the order corresponding to each item carrying platform 14 as the item 4 corresponding to the movable pointing device 1; and sending the moving instruction and the guiding instruction of each article 4 corresponding to the movable indicating equipment 1 corresponding to the order.

Then the person may be prompted to distinguish the storage/carrier platform 14 by a screen 132 on the movable pointing device 1 in order to avoid the person placing the removed item 4 in the wrong storage/carrier platform 14 or the person placing the item 4 in the wrong storage/carrier platform 14 in the target position when the same movable pointing device 1 is picking for multiple orders at the same time. As shown in fig. 4, the interface of the screen 132 may include a storage container display area 1323, four storage containers/platforms 14 of numbers 1 to 4 are simultaneously displayed in the storage container display area 1323, and the storage container/platform 14 corresponding to the current guiding signal d should be the highlighted storage container/platform No. 2 14.

To avoid personnel performing picking operations on the wrong item, the interface of screen 132 may also include a physical picture display area 1324. As shown in fig. 4, the real object picture display area 1324 displays a real object picture of the object in at least one viewing angle, so that a person can distinguish the object according to the picture.

After establishing the correspondence between the order and the movable pointing device 1, the server may generate a movement instruction and a guidance instruction for controlling the movable pointing device 1 for each item 4 corresponding to the movable pointing device 1.

Specifically, the process of generating the move instruction may be: and determining a next arriving appointed area according to the current position and the path of the movable indicating equipment 1. A move instruction for the next arriving specified area is generated.

The process of generating the guiding instruction may be: determining information of a guiding instruction according to at least one of the unique identification of the shelf 2 corresponding to the item 4 to be picked, the unique identification of the target position of the item 4 to be picked, the unique identification of the item 4 to be picked, the number of the items 4 to be picked, information of the next designated area to be reached by the movable indicating device 1, information of a person receiving the guiding signal, an operation instruction issued to the person, orientation information of the indicating device 13 of the movable indicating device 1 relative to the target position, and information of the carrying platform 14 and/or the storage container corresponding to the guiding instruction; and generating a guide instruction according to the information of the guide instruction.

When the designated area is an area having a certain range, the movable pointing device 1 may reach any one position in the area according to a movement instruction for the designated area. Since the pilot signal needs to be directed to the target location, the pilot signal should have a certain directivity. In order to ensure that the guiding signal can point to the target position more accurately, the current location of the movable pointing device 1 needs to be determined, and on the basis, the relative position relationship between the movable pointing device 1 and the target position needs to be determined, so as to generate the guiding instruction.

Specifically, the process of generating the guiding instruction may be: after the movable indicating equipment 1 reaches the designated area according to the movement instruction, determining the transmitting height and the transmitting angle of the guide signal aiming at the target position according to the current position of the movable indicating equipment 1, the target position of the article 4 and the current state of the movable indicating equipment 1; and generating a guiding instruction according to the transmitting height and the transmitting angle of the guiding signal, and sending the guiding instruction to the movable indicating equipment 1.

After that, the movable indicating equipment 1 receives the moving instruction sent by the server and moves according to the moving instruction; and receiving a guide instruction sent by the server, and sending a guide signal according to the guide instruction.

In a scenario where a server plans a path for the movable pointing device 1 (which planned path may be sent to the movable pointing device 1 by means of movement instructions). The server configuration may determine, according to the specified area corresponding to each item 4 to be picked in each order to be picked, a path that can be taken by the movable indicating apparatus 1 when each order is picked, and send the path to the movable indicating apparatus 1, where the path passes through the specified area corresponding to each item 4 in the order. Thereafter, the movable pointing device 1 receives the path sent by the server and moves according to the path.

Further, in this scenario, if the movable pointing device 1 detects that there is an obstacle on the route to the specified area, information corresponding to the obstacle is sent to the server. After receiving the information of the obstacle sent by the movable pointing device 1, the server regenerates the path according to the information corresponding to the obstacle, regenerates the movement instruction according to the regenerated path, and sends the movement instruction to the movable pointing device 1.

When picking by the system in this description, the interactions involved are not only the interactions between the movable pointing device 1 and the server, but also the interactions between the persons in the field 5 and the movable pointing device 1 and/or the interactions between the persons and the server.

In an alternative embodiment of the present description, the screen 132 of the movable pointing device 1 is a screen 132 with an interactive function, and a person can interact with the movable pointing device 1 through the screen 132 or interact with a server through the movable pointing device 1 with the screen 132.

During this interaction the movable pointing device 1 may receive information entered by the person and respond. The process of this response may be: the information input by the person is processed by the mobile pointing device 1 itself and the corresponding operations corresponding to the results of this processing are performed; or, the movable indicating device 1 may forward the information input by the person to a server, the server processes the information input by the person, and the movable indicating device 1 receives a result of processing the information input by the server to the person and performs a corresponding operation corresponding to the result of processing; or, the movable indicating equipment 1 may process the information input by the person to obtain intermediate information, and send the intermediate information to the server; the server processes the intermediate information process and sends the result of the processing aiming at the intermediate information to the movable indicating equipment 1, and the movable indicating equipment 1 operates corresponding to the result of the processing aiming at the intermediate information.

For example, after the movable pointing device 1 issues a guide signal directed to a target position for which picking is carried out by a person with the aid of the guide signal, the person inputs a picking completion notification message (which may contain at least one of information notifying completion of picking, the number of items 4 actually picked) to the screen 132 after completion of the picking operation.

The movable pointing device 1, after receiving the picking completion notification information, may terminate the execution of the guidance instruction currently being executed and generate a request instruction, which is sent to the server. After receiving the request instruction sent by the movable pointing device 1, the server regenerates the guidance instruction for the designated area, the regenerated guidance instruction is different from the target position pointed by the previous guidance instruction corresponding to the designated area, that is, the execution area corresponds to at least two target positions, and after the movable pointing device 1 reaches the designated area, the server sequentially sends out a guidance signal for each target position.

Alternatively, when picking at the target position corresponding to the designated area is completed completely, the server generates a movement instruction for the next designated area to be reached by the movable pointing device 1 after receiving the request instruction transmitted by the movable pointing device 1, and transmits the movement instruction to the movable pointing device 1. The movable pointing device 1 moves to the next designated area after receiving the movement instruction for the next designated area.

For another example, when the article 4 corresponding to the guidance signal is out of stock on the shelf 2 in the operation area for which the person is responsible; or a target position determination error occurs, the article 4 corresponding to the target position is not on the shelf 2, and the person can also send the information corresponding to the phenomenon that the picking cannot be carried out to the movable indicating equipment 1 and/or the server through the human-computer interaction device.

Furthermore, the picking system in this description may comprise human interaction means in addition to the movable pointing device 1 and the server. The man-machine interaction device can be a device which is fixedly arranged at a certain position in the field 5 and has a communication function; or a device with a communication function, such as a Pad (tablet computer), which is held by a person.

Alternatively, Pad may have an interface as shown in fig. 4 when displaying information.

It will be seen that the human-computer interaction means in this description may be used to assist the interaction between a person and the movable pointing device 1, and/or to assist the interaction between a person and a server.

When the human-computer interaction device is used for assisting the interaction between a person and the movable pointing device 1, the process of the interaction is similar to the aforementioned "interaction with the movable pointing device 1 is realized through the screen 132", and details are not repeated here.

In the case where the human-computer interaction device is used to assist the interaction between the person and the server, after the picking operation is completed, the person inputs a picking completion notification message (the picking completion notification message may contain at least one of a message notifying completion of picking, and the number of items 4 actually picked) to the human-computer interaction device.

After receiving the picking completion notification information, the human-computer interaction device sends the picking completion notification information to the movable indication device 1 which sends out a guide signal assisting the picking operation. The movable pointing device 1, after receiving the picking completion notification information, may terminate the execution of the guidance instruction currently being executed and generate a request instruction, which is sent to the server. The server regenerates the guiding instruction for the designated area after receiving the request instruction sent by the movable pointing device 1.

Or after receiving the picking completion notification information, the man-machine interaction device sends the picking completion notification information to the server. After receiving the picking completion notification information, the server generates a termination guide instruction and sends the termination guide instruction to the movable indicating equipment 1, and the movable indicating equipment 1 terminates sending a guide signal to a target position corresponding to the current guide signal according to the termination guide instruction. Furthermore, after receiving the picking completion notification information, the server regenerates the guidance instruction for the designated area, the regenerated guidance instruction is different from the target position pointed by the previous guidance instruction corresponding to the designated area, that is, the execution area corresponds to at least two target positions, and after the movable pointing device 1 reaches the designated area, a guidance signal is sequentially sent for each target position.

Alternatively, when the picking at the target position corresponding to the designated area is completed, the server generates a movement instruction for the next designated area to be reached by the movable pointing device 1 after receiving the picking completion notification information, and transmits the movement instruction to the movable pointing device 1. The movable pointing device 1 moves to the next designated area after receiving the movement instruction for the next designated area.

It can be seen that when people interact with the movable indication devices 1 through the human-computer interaction device, each human-computer interaction device can interact with a plurality of movable indication devices 1 respectively.

It should be noted that the present specification does not strictly distinguish between the functions that the movable pointing device 1 and the server perform during the picking process. For example, the server may be a remote server, which communicates with the movable pointing device 1 via a network. For another example, a module having some data processing function or functions of a server may be provided on the movable pointing device 1, and the server may perform information transfer with the server through a cable.

When some data processing modules of the server are provided on the movable pointing device 1, it can be considered that the data processing modules provided on the movable pointing device 1 are part of the movable pointing device 1.

The movement command and the guidance command for controlling the movable pointing device 1 in this specification may be generated by the server and transmitted to the movable pointing device 1, or may be considered to be generated by the movable pointing device 1 itself.

Based on the same idea, the embodiment of the present specification further provides a corresponding server. The server may be implemented as a server in the picking system and may implement at least part of the method processes described above.

Fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a server provided in an embodiment of the present specification, where the server includes:

a designated area determination module 600 configured to determine, for each item to be picked, a designated area available for picking the item in the site 5 according to information of the item to be picked and information of each shelf 2 in the site 5;

a movement instruction determining module 602, configured to generate a movement instruction for the specified area, and send the movement instruction to the movable pointing device 1 corresponding to the movement instruction, so that the movable pointing device 1 moves to the specified area according to the movement instruction;

a target position determination module 604 configured to determine a corresponding storage location of the item on the shelf 2, the storage location being a target position of the item;

a target guiding instruction determining module 606 configured to generate a guiding instruction for the target position according to the moving instruction, and send the guiding instruction to the movable pointing device 1, so that the movable pointing device 1 sends out a guiding signal pointing to the target position according to the guiding instruction.

Optionally, the designated area determining module 600 includes: a shelf 2 determining submodule and an appointed area determining submodule;

the shelf 2 determining submodule is configured to determine, according to the information of the item and the information of the site 5, a shelf 2 corresponding to the item in each shelf 2 located in the site 5;

the specified area determining submodule is configured to determine a specified area available for picking operation of the item in the field 5 according to the shelf 2 corresponding to the item and the information of the field 5.

Optionally, the movement instruction determining module 602 includes: the path determining sub-module and the moving instruction generating sub-module;

the path determining submodule is configured to determine, for each order to be picked, a path which can be taken by the movable indicating device 1 when the order is picked according to a specified area corresponding to each item to be picked in the order to be picked, so that the path passes through the specified area corresponding to each item in the order;

Optionally, the path determining sub-module is further configured to receive information of an obstacle detected by the movable pointing device 1, and regenerate a path according to the information of the obstacle;

Optionally, the method further comprises: an information receiving module;

the movement instruction determination module 602 is further configured to generate a movement instruction for a next designated area to be reached by the movable pointing device 1, according to the information input by the person.

Optionally, the method further comprises: an order distribution module;

the order distribution module is configured to determine, for each movable indicating device 1, an order corresponding to the movable indicating device 1 in each order to be picked; the movement instruction for each item in the order corresponding to the movable pointing device 1 is used as the movement instruction corresponding to the movable pointing device 1.

the search sub-module is configured to determine an order corresponding to the movable indicating device 1 in each order to be picked according to the identification information of the storage container sent by the movable indicating device 1 and the preset corresponding relationship.

the order determination second submodule is configured to determine, for each item carrying platform 14 of the movable pointing device 1, an order corresponding to the item carrying platform 14 among the orders to be picked; the order corresponding to each loading platform 14 of the movable indication device 1 is used as the order corresponding to the movable indication device 1.

Optionally, the destination guidance instruction determining module 606 includes: the information determination submodule of the guide instruction and the guide instruction generation first submodule;

an information determination submodule of the guiding instruction, configured to determine information of the guiding instruction according to at least one of the unique identification of the shelf 2 corresponding to the item to be picked, the unique identification of the target position of the item to be picked, the unique identification of the item to be picked, the number of the items to be picked, information of a next designated area to be reached by the movable indicating device 1, information of a person receiving the guiding signal, an operation instruction issued to the person, orientation information of an indicating device of the movable indicating device 1 relative to the target position, and information of a loading platform 14 and/or a storage container corresponding to the guiding instruction;

Optionally, the destination guidance instruction determining module 606 includes: a current location determining submodule, a pose determining submodule and a guide instruction generating second submodule;

the current location determining submodule is configured to determine that a location where the movable pointing device 1 is currently located is located in the specified area;

the pose determination submodule is configured to determine the emission height and the emission angle of the guide signal for the target position according to the current position of the movable indicating equipment 1, the target position of the object and the current state of the indicating device of the movable indicating equipment 1;

In the 90 s of the 20 th century, improvements in a technology could clearly distinguish between improvements in hardware (e.g., improvements in circuit structures such as diodes, transistors, switches, etc.) and improvements in software (improvements in process flow). However, as technology advances, many of today's process flow improvements have been seen as direct improvements in hardware circuit architecture. Designers almost always obtain the corresponding hardware circuit structure by programming an improved method flow into the hardware circuit. Thus, it cannot be said that an improvement in the process flow cannot be realized by hardware physical modules. For example, a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), such as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), is an integrated circuit whose Logic functions are determined by programming the Device by a user. A digital system is "integrated" on a PLD by the designer's own programming without requiring the chip manufacturer to design and fabricate application-specific integrated circuit chips. Furthermore, nowadays, instead of manually making an integrated Circuit chip, such Programming is often implemented by "logic compiler" software, which is similar to a software compiler used in program development and writing, but the original code before compiling is also written by a specific Programming Language, which is called Hardware Description Language (HDL), and HDL is not only one but many, such as abel (advanced Boolean Expression Language), ahdl (alternate Language Description Language), traffic, pl (core unified Programming Language), HDCal, JHDL (Java Hardware Description Language), langue, Lola, HDL, laspam, hardsradware (Hardware Description Language), vhjhd (Hardware Description Language), and vhigh-Language, which are currently used in most common. It will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that hardware circuitry that implements the logical method flows can be readily obtained by merely slightly programming the method flows into an integrated circuit using the hardware description languages described above.

The controller may be implemented in any suitable manner, for example, the controller may take the form of, for example, a microprocessor or processor and a computer-readable medium storing computer-readable program code (e.g., software or firmware) executable by the (micro) processor, logic gates, switches, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic controller, and an embedded microcontroller, examples of which include, but are not limited to, the following microcontrollers: the ARC625D, Atmel AT91SAM, Microchip PIC18F26K20, and Silicone Labs C8051F320, the memory controller may also be implemented as part of the control logic for the memory. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that, in addition to implementing the controller as pure computer readable program code, the same functionality can be implemented by logically programming method steps such that the controller is in the form of logic gates, switches, application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic controllers, embedded microcontrollers and the like. Such a controller may thus be considered a hardware component, and the means included therein for performing the various functions may also be considered as a structure within the hardware component. Or even means for performing the functions may be regarded as being both a software module for performing the method and a structure within a hardware component.

The systems, devices, modules or units illustrated in the above embodiments may be implemented by a computer chip or an entity, or by a product with certain functions. One typical implementation device is a computer. In particular, the computer may be, for example, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a cellular telephone, a camera phone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant, a media player, a navigation device, an email device, a game console, a tablet computer, a wearable device, or a combination of any of these devices.

For convenience of description, the above devices are described as being divided into various units by function, and are described separately. Of course, the functionality of the units may be implemented in one or more software and/or hardware when implementing the present application.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present application may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present application may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the application. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

In a typical configuration, a computing device includes one or more processors (CPUs), input/output interfaces, network interfaces, and memory.

The memory may include forms of volatile memory in a computer readable medium, Random Access Memory (RAM) and/or non-volatile memory, such as Read Only Memory (ROM) or flash memory (flash RAM). Memory is an example of a computer-readable medium.

Computer-readable media, including both non-transitory and non-transitory, removable and non-removable media, may implement information storage by any method or technology. The information may be computer readable instructions, data structures, modules of a program, or other data. Examples of computer storage media include, but are not limited to, phase change memory (PRAM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), other types of Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), Digital Versatile Discs (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transmission medium that can be used to store information that can be accessed by a computing device. As defined herein, a computer readable medium does not include a transitory computer readable medium such as a modulated data signal and a carrier wave.

It should also be noted that the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising an … …" does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

The application may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The application may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage devices.

The embodiments in the present specification are described in a progressive manner, and the same and similar parts among the embodiments are referred to each other, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from the other embodiments. In particular, for the system embodiment, since it is substantially similar to the method embodiment, the description is simple, and for the relevant points, reference may be made to the partial description of the method embodiment.

The above description is only an example of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application. Various modifications and changes may occur to those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application should be included in the scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A movable pointing device (1), characterized in that it comprises: the device comprises a chassis (11), a body (12), and an indicating device (13) and a communication device which are arranged on the body (12);

the body (12) is arranged on the chassis (11);

the chassis (11) is configured to carry the body (12) to move to the designated area according to the movement instruction;

the pointing device (13) is configured to issue a guidance signal pointing to the target position when the movable pointing device (1) reaches the designated area, in accordance with the guidance instruction.

2. The movable pointing device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the designated area comprises: in a preset field (5), areas available for picking operations; the number of the designated areas in the field (5) is multiple.

3. The movable pointing device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the target position comprises: at least one of the storage positions for placing the articles on the shelf (2) corresponding to the designated area.

4. The movable pointing device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the pointing means (13) comprise: a projection device (131); the pilot signal includes: an image (32) projected by the projection device (131);

the projection device (131) is configured to project an image (32) representing at least part of information in the guiding instruction to a target position of the shelf (2) corresponding to the guiding instruction according to the guiding instruction.

5. The movable pointing device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the pointing means (13) comprise: a directional beam emitting device (133); the pilot signal includes: a directional light beam (31) emitted by the directional light beam emitting device (133);

the directional light beam emitting device (133) is configured to emit a directional light beam (31) to a target position of the shelf (2) corresponding to the guiding instruction according to the guiding instruction.

6. The movable pointing device (1) according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the pointing means (13) comprise: a screen (132); the pilot signal includes: graphics and/or characters displayed by the screen (132);

the screen (132) is configured to display, in accordance with the guiding instruction, graphics and/or characters characterizing at least part of the information in the guiding instruction.

7. A sorting system, comprising: a server and a movable pointing device (1) communicatively connected to the server; wherein:

the server is configured to determine a designated area available for picking operation of the shelf (2) corresponding to each item to be picked in the field (5) according to the information of the item to be picked and the information of each shelf (2) in the field (5) and generate a movement instruction for the designated area; determining a storage position corresponding to the item to be picked on the shelf (2), taking the storage position as a target position of the item, and generating a guide instruction aiming at the target position according to the movement instruction; and sending said movement and guiding instructions to said movable pointing device (1);

the movable indicating equipment (1) is configured to reach a designated area corresponding to the movement instruction according to the movement instruction; and when the target area is reached, sending a guide signal pointing to the target position according to the guide instruction.

8. A method of sorting, comprising:

moving to the designated area according to the moving instruction;

9. A method of sorting, comprising:

for each item to be picked, determining a designated area available for picking operation of the item in the site (5) according to the information of the item to be picked and the information of each shelf (2) in the site (5);

generating a movement instruction aiming at the specified area, and sending the movement instruction to a movable indicating device (1) corresponding to the movement instruction, so that the movable indicating device (1) moves to the specified area according to the movement instruction;

determining the corresponding storage position of the article on the shelf (2), and taking the storage position as the target position of the article;

according to the movement instruction, a guide instruction aiming at the target position is generated, and the guide instruction is sent to the movable indicating equipment (1), so that the movable indicating equipment (1) sends out a guide signal pointing to the target position according to the guide instruction.

10. A server, comprising:

a designated area determination module configured to determine, for each item to be picked, a designated area available for picking the item in the site (5) according to information of the item to be picked and information of each shelf (2) in the site (5);

the mobile instruction determining module is configured to generate a mobile instruction for the specified area and send the mobile instruction to the mobile indicating equipment (1) corresponding to the mobile instruction, so that the mobile indicating equipment (1) moves to the specified area according to the mobile instruction;

a target position determination module configured to determine a corresponding storage position of the item on the shelf (2), the storage position being a target position of the item;

and the guiding instruction determining module is configured to generate a guiding instruction for the target position according to the moving instruction, and send the guiding instruction to the movable indicating equipment (1), so that the movable indicating equipment (1) sends out a guiding signal pointing to the target position according to the guiding instruction.