CN111950967A

CN111950967A - Inventory management system based on thermal characteristic image

Info

Publication number: CN111950967A
Application number: CN202011056497.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 贺桂和
Original assignee: Hunan University of Humanities Science and Technology
Current assignee: Hunan University of Humanities Science and Technology
Priority date: 2018-02-01
Filing date: 2018-08-23
Publication date: 2020-11-17
Also published as: CN114548882A; CN109146380B; CN108846621B; CN108846621A; CN109214751A; CN114819797A; CN111626681A; CN109146380A; CN109214751B; CN109089082B; CN109089082A; CN111626681B

Abstract

The invention relates to an inventory management system based on thermal characteristic images, which comprises thermal image collectors, a thermal image collector and a thermal image storage and retrieval mechanism, wherein the thermal image collectors are used for collecting thermal images of the storage and retrieval mechanism in a static state and/or a moving state, each thermal image collector comprises a first thermal image collector, a second thermal image collector, a third thermal image collector, a fourth thermal image collector and a fifth thermal image collector, and the first thermal image collector is used for collecting a first thermal image of the storage and retrieval mechanism; the second thermal image collector is used for detecting a second thermal image of the hand of the at least one access mechanism; the third thermal image collector is used for detecting a third thermal image of the hand of the at least one access mechanism; the fourth thermal image collector is used for detecting the action of the goods temporary storage unit when the goods enter the storing and taking mechanism; the fifth thermal image collector is arranged in the access passage of the access mechanism and used for collecting the identification mark for payment and/or registration. The storage mechanism is subjected to thermal characteristic image acquisition, so that warehouse inventory information can be effectively acquired, and the thermal characteristic image acquisition can be performed only when the storage mechanism acts, so that the action condition can be fed back in real time, and the inventory information condition can be acquired in real time.

Description

Inventory management system based on thermal characteristic image

The invention relates to a divisional application of an image acquisition system based on thermal characteristic images, which has the application number of 201810967891.6, the application date of 2018, 08 and 23 days, and the application type of the invention.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of inventory management systems and methods, in particular to an image acquisition system based on thermal characteristic images.

Background

When electronic commerce is gradually started, how to synchronously and accurately update the inventory becomes a hot problem. Especially for unattended warehouses, manual inventory is almost an unfeasible task. Therefore, some intelligent systems are needed to update and manage the inventory of the unmanned warehouse, and the final requirement in the intelligent systems is information collection. The existing warehouse is centralized, large-scale and large-scale, shelves in an unmanned warehouse area are all truss structures arranged in a stacking mode, and the technical problems of weak light, short distance between shelves and the like exist in the acquisition of inventory information. How to realize the inventory information collection of the warehouse is an urgent problem to be solved for synchronously and accurately realizing the inventory update.

CN104103146B discloses a fire emergency command management system and method for a logistics warehouse, where the fire emergency command management system for a logistics warehouse includes at least one front end collection unit and a monitoring center, each front end collection unit includes multiple thermal sensing devices, video encoders and video servers, which are arranged at multiple monitoring points in the logistics warehouse, the thermal sensing devices are connected with the video servers through the video encoders, and the video servers are connected with the monitoring center through a communication network; according to the invention, the image data is detected and processed through the thermosensitive sensing device, the video coding is carried out on the image information through the video coding module, and then the video server is used for transmitting the video signal to the monitoring center, so that the fireproof monitoring of the logistics warehouse is realized. The invention can realize the rapid identification, accurate positioning and timely disposal of the fire of the logistics warehouse. But does not address the collection of warehouse inventory information.

CN107077659A provides an intelligent inventory management system, server, method, terminal and program product for reducing the complexity of inventory management; it includes: the intelligent machine terminal shoots objects and sends shot images to the intelligent inventory management server; the intelligent inventory management server identifies and determines articles and inventory in the image according to the image shot by the intelligent machine terminal; and warehousing the articles and stock information identified by the object identification module. Although the object recognition technology is utilized, the workload of manual input is reduced, the accuracy of warehousing the article information is improved, and the complexity of inventory management is reduced; but cannot accurately assess inventory changes in real time. Unless there is manual intervention to count and inventory, the inventory count remains confusing.

CN104361039A provides an auxiliary method for embedded intelligent refrigerator based on Qt development, which comprises the following steps: step 1, displaying overdue reminding preview and message information; step 2, managing food stock, namely checking detailed information of all food materials in the current stock on the basis of data and user operation, and performing unified management of editing and deleting the food material information; classifying and managing all food materials, and sequencing according to the production date, the remaining quality guarantee period and the expiration date so as to check the information of each food material; step 3, expiration reminding, namely counting the remaining quality guarantee period of the food material information in the stock, providing visual information preview for the food materials with the remaining quality guarantee period less than 5 days, specifically displaying the expiration date and the remaining quality guarantee period of the food materials, and displaying and updating the expiration date and the remaining quality guarantee period in real time; step 4, inquiring and recommending recipes, providing massive recipe data, providing various delicious dishes making methods, and searching according to the existing food materials or custom food materials to obtain a specific recipe; recommending recipes with different tastes and efficacies according to the inventory food materials or current season and health nutrition information; step 5, shopping lists are obtained, existing food materials or custom food material information are added to the shopping lists, statistics and management are conducted on the food materials in the shopping lists, a shortage reminding list is provided on the basis of data mining, and shopping selection is provided; and 6, identifying and storing the food materials, namely identifying and storing the food materials. According to the technical scheme, the inventory consumption can not be counted in real time, and the effect of effectively managing the inventory can not be achieved in a kitchen and a kitchen storehouse which frequently take food.

In addition, in order to accurately manage kitchen inventory, large hotels and restaurants typically have a dedicated person to manage inventory (i.e., an inventory manager) that provides relevant food items to the relevant persons according to orders (eating information) only when the restaurant provides the orders (corresponding to the eating information described below in the present disclosure). Thereafter, the correspondence between the order and the food is checked manually by the inventory manager. This approach is not only inefficient, but also often results in a large number of losses due to the extremely numerous and varied types of food.

Chinese patent publication No. CN105531715A discloses an inventory updating method based on image detection, in which an update of inventory and a shopping list are determined by comparing images before and after taking an article. The problem with this approach is that shopping list and inventory updates are inaccurate once the user has removed the item and returned it to an improper location. In addition, when the user repeatedly compares the items in the areas with similar types and similar placement positions, the shooting and calculation are challenged, and if the user takes the items with both hands and puts back one item to the wrong position, errors often occur in updating the shopping list and the inventory. It omits the settlement link, but other problems arise as a result. Therefore, there is room for improvement in such an automatic shopping manner.

Chinese patent document with publication number CN104637198A discloses an intelligent settlement shopping cart system with autonomous tracking function, which is composed of an MCU microcontroller, a controllable dc motor, a pressure weighing sensor, an RFID reader, a camera, a wireless transceiver, a touch display screen, a bar code scanner and a unionpay card reader, and is characterized in that: the MCU microcontroller 1 controls the driving force of the controllable direct current motor through the weight of the shopping cart body sensed by the pressure weighing sensor, and moves the shopping cart at a proper speed; the bar code scanner automatically scans articles, the touch display screen displays article information and the total price of the current purchased articles in real time, the wireless transceiver realizes real-time interaction of the MCU and a supermarket background server about the article information, and a consumer automatically swipes a card through the Unionpay card reader for settlement. In the system, an RFID radio frequency card is used as a signal source for tracking a shopping cart and establishes point-to-point single-line contact with the shopping cart; the camera shoots the surrounding environment of the shopping cart at any time, and the obstacle is automatically avoided through a path recognition algorithm, and a tracking path is selected; the driving wheel driven by the driving motor can deflect left and right, and the steering of the driving wheel is controlled by the MCU according to the path information provided by the path recognition algorithm.

Chinese patent document with publication number CN202904765U provides a self-service intelligent shopping cart for shopping malls, which comprises a cart frame, wheels mounted below the cart frame, a cart basket and a push rod mounted above the cart frame, wherein the lower end of the push rod is connected with the outer side surface of the bottom of the cart basket, the included angle between the push rod and the outer side surface is 40-60 degrees, a touch display screen is mounted between the upper end of the cart basket and the push rod, a scanner is mounted on the left side of the touch display screen, a brush slot is mounted on the right side of the touch display screen, and an automatic. The automatic opening and closing induction door has the advantages that the automatic opening and closing induction door is installed at the upper end of the bicycle basket, the induction instrument is installed on the automatic opening and closing induction door and can sense articles placed in the automatic opening and closing induction door, and the trouble of buying in error or buying more in the shopping process is avoided.

By studying the above technical solutions, even if the technical solutions are combined, the skilled person cannot obtain a satisfactory inventory information collecting system with a complicated storage rack for unattended operation.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the foregoing problems inherent in conventional large warehouse supermarkets and other problems of unmanned supermarkets, the present invention is directed to providing an image acquisition system based on thermal property images. The use of RFID tags is not absolutely avoided in the present invention, but the present invention takes more general image recognition measures in consideration of the cost of RFID tags. However, the present invention does not exclude RFID, and RFID and two-dimensional graphic codes are preferred modes for identification of access devices for access mechanisms represented by intelligent handling devices. This is also because most of the warehouse supermarkets are equipped with video monitoring management systems, and the accuracy of the monitoring systems is better and better, and can reach the image accuracy of millimeter level, and the low-cost image recognition solution is still developing at a high speed.

In view of the above, the present invention provides an image capturing system based on thermal characteristic images, comprising a thermal image capturing device for capturing thermal images of an access mechanism in a stationary state and/or a moving state, a temperature regulator for regulating the temperature of the access mechanism, and a controller for controlling the temperature regulator and/or the thermal image capturing device; the temperature detector is used for recording the temperature value of the storage rack, the access mechanism and/or the environment where the system is located in real time; when the access mechanism moves, the temperature regulator can regulate the temperature of the access mechanism based on an indication sent by the controller and used for regulating the temperature of the access mechanism and/or a temperature value of the temperature detector, so that the temperature difference between the access mechanism and a shelf and/or the ambient temperature is increased, the thermal image collector can track and record the access mechanism and generate the thermal image; when the storing and taking mechanism is static, the controller sends an indication for adjusting the temperature of the storing and taking mechanism to the temperature adjuster, and the temperature adjuster adjusts the temperature of the storing and taking mechanism to be the same as the temperature of the goods shelf, so that the thermal image collector does not track and record the storing and taking mechanism any more.

According to a preferred embodiment, a temperature adjusting chip is arranged in the access mechanism and is used for receiving a temperature adjusting signal of the controller and sending the temperature adjusting signal to the temperature adjuster, the temperature adjuster adjusts the temperature of the access mechanism within a first preset time after receiving the temperature adjusting signal, and the temperature detector compares the temperature of the access mechanism with the temperature of the shelf and/or the ambient temperature; when the difference value between the environment temperature and the temperature of the access mechanism is within the temperature difference threshold value, the temperature regulator continuously regulates the temperature of the access mechanism within second preset time; when the difference value between the temperature of the access mechanism and the temperature of the goods shelf is beyond the temperature difference threshold value, the temperature detector monitors the temperature of the access mechanism in real time, and the temperature regulator continues to regulate the temperature of the access mechanism until the temperature of the access mechanism is the same as the temperature of the goods shelf.

According to a preferred embodiment, the thermal image collector is capable of acquiring at least two thermal images with different focal lengths when recording the same action of the same access mechanism, so as to enhance the definition of the recorded thermal images of the action information of the access mechanism.

According to a preferred embodiment, the thermal image collector comprises at least one first thermal image collector for collecting a first thermal image of the access mechanism and determining, by the computing device, based on the first thermal image, an absolute position of the access mechanism within the area of the shelf and the relative position of the access mechanism with respect to at least one shelf carrying at least one item; the computing device takes relative and absolute positions to carry out classification analysis on the inventory position change and the access mechanism, and associates a shelf and the access mechanism which is currently interacted with the shelf with each other, so that the computing device can dynamically divide areas needing analysis and calculation according to the change of the items and the inventory positions at any time and any place.

According to a preferred embodiment, the thermographic collectors comprise at least one second thermographic collector and at least one third thermographic collector, the second thermographic collector being configured to detect a second thermal image of a hand of at least one access mechanism, the second thermal image being recorded before the hand of the access mechanism enters at least one inventory position of the rack; the third thermal image collector is used for detecting a third thermal image of the hand of at least one access mechanism, and the third thermal image is shot after the hand of the access mechanism is moved out of at least one stock position of the shelf; wherein the status of the item held by the respective access mechanism is determined based on the comparison of the second thermal image and the third thermal image, a change in at least one inventory position of the shelf in a predetermined relative position around the absolute position of the access mechanism is identified in response to the status of the item held by the access mechanism, and a correspondence between the item and the change in inventory position is thereby determined.

According to a preferred embodiment, the thermal image collectors comprise at least one fourth thermal image collector arranged on a temporary goods storage unit for detecting the movement of an article into the temporary goods storage unit, wherein the corresponding relationship between the article entering the temporary goods storage unit and the change of the stock position is determined in response to the movement of the article into the temporary goods storage unit.

According to a preferred embodiment, the fourth thermographic collector is further configured for: the method includes capturing a fourth thermal image and a fifth thermal image of a hand of the access mechanism in response to a hand of the access mechanism entering the unit, wherein the fourth thermal image is captured before the hand of the access mechanism enters the unit, the fifth thermal image is captured after the hand of the access mechanism is removed from the unit, determining a status of the respective access mechanism for removing the item based on a comparison of the fourth thermal image and the fifth thermal image, identifying a change in at least one stock position of a rack in a predetermined relative position around an absolute position of the access mechanism in response to the status of the access mechanism holding the item, and thereby determining a correspondence between the removal of the item and the change in the stock position.

According to a preferred embodiment, the thermal image collector comprises at least one fifth thermal image collector arranged in the access means access for collecting identification for payment and/or registration, wherein the fifth thermal image collector is activated only in response to an event in which the fourth thermal image collector provides a thermal image.

According to a preferred embodiment, the controller can control the fifth thermal image collector to adjust the collecting direction and the focal length of the fifth thermal image collector when the fourth thermal image collector provides the event of the thermal image and according to the position of the cargo temporary storage unit equipped with the fourth thermal image collector relative to the access passage.

According to a preferred embodiment, starting from the initial time point of the absolute position determination based on the first thermal image, the goods buffer unit sets an introduction timing period in response to the state of the access means holding the goods, and after the seemingly specific introduction timing period has elapsed, if the fourth thermal image collector fails to collect the movement of the goods into the goods buffer unit, a prompt about the goods property is sent to the controller via the goods buffer unit, wherein the prompt may be in the form of an electronic signal, voice, image or video. By the method, the increase and decrease conditions of the articles at the stock position can be analyzed, and whether the corresponding articles are placed back to the correct stock position on the shelf or not can be analyzed. Here, the access mechanism may be a human or a machine. For a person, the object of image recognition is the person's arm; for a machine device, the object of image recognition is a robot arm or the like; therefore, the invention can flexibly deal with the supermarket environment with the coexistence of the robot and the human.

The absolute position refers to a position in a coordinate system established for a supermarket or a warehouse applying the inventory management system, and the origin of coordinates of the absolute position may be, for example, a corner of the supermarket or the warehouse on the ground, such as the southeast corner, or a position of a certain settlement counter. The relative position refers to the relative position between the shelves in the supermarket, and can also be the relative position between the storage mechanism or the personnel and the shelves.

Consider that in most cases a person or access agency can only operate their accessible nearby shelves (typically in the range of about 2 meters). In the invention, the relative position and the absolute position are adopted to classify and analyze the inventory position change and the personnel/access mechanisms simultaneously, so that the supermarket dynamically divides areas needing analysis and calculation according to the change place anytime and anywhere, the shelf and the personnel or the access mechanisms interacting with the shelf at present can be accurately associated with each other, and the difficulty in simultaneously shopping or arranging the inventory by a large number of dynamic personnel and the dynamic access mechanisms is solved. In other words, the stock change is firstly corresponding to the personnel or the access mechanism according to the position, which has a decisive effect on the real-time property of the stock management of the supermarket. For supermarkets with thousands of stock positions, the stock change is associated with the absolute position and the relative position in advance, so that the calculation amount of image recognition is greatly reduced, and the real-time stock analysis can be completed without adding a large amount of computing equipment. Chaotic disorder of the inventory data is thereby largely avoided.

According to a preferred embodiment, the method further comprises: and at least one fourth thermal image collector is used and arranged on the temporary goods storage unit and used for detecting the action of the articles entering the temporary goods storage unit, wherein the corresponding relation between the articles entering the temporary goods storage unit and the change of the stock position is confirmed in response to the action of the articles entering the temporary goods storage unit. By the mode, after the goods are placed in the goods temporary storage unit, the corresponding relation between the goods entering the goods temporary storage unit and the change of the stock position can be confirmed, so that the statistics of the change of the stock position is more accurate, and the practicability of the system is improved. The goods buffer unit is a shopping frame for personnel and a goods storage frame for machines.

According to a preferred embodiment, the fourth thermographic collector is further configured for: capturing a fourth thermal image and a fifth thermal image of a hand of an access mechanism in response to an action of the hand of the access mechanism entering the item escrow unit, wherein the fourth thermal image is captured before the hand of the access mechanism enters the item escrow unit, and the fifth thermal image is captured after the hand of the access mechanism is removed from the item escrow unit, wherein a state of the respective access mechanism removing an item is determined based on a comparison of the fourth thermal image and the fifth thermal image, a change in at least one stock position of a rack in a predetermined relative position around an absolute position of the access mechanism is identified in response to the state of the access mechanism holding the item, and a correspondence between the removal of the item and the change in the stock position is thereby determined. The removal of an item corresponds to the removal of the respective item, which has been placed in the item buffer unit, from the item buffer unit, i.e. the action of the item removal is modified when the access mechanism receives an indication from the outside to withdraw an item; or, the access mechanism alters the action of the cargo pick-up in response to its own optical or RFID recognition mechanism rejecting the erroneous cargo pick-up; in the case of personnel, of course, this may be the act of returning the goods after the personnel have evaluated the goods. By the mode, the change of the stock position possibly caused by the process can be analyzed again when the goods are moved out of the temporary storage unit, so that the stock position can be updated more comprehensively and accurately.

According to a preferred embodiment, the method further comprises: at least one fifth thermographic collector is used, which is arranged in the access gateway for collecting identification marks for payments and/or registrations. Through the mode, the fifth thermal image collector is arranged in the access mechanism access passage to collect the identification marks for payment and/or registration, the settlement of the price can be rapidly carried out, the goods turnover efficiency, the settlement efficiency and the user experience are greatly improved, and the fifth thermal image collector has remarkable advantages particularly under the conditions of large passenger flow and large inventory quantity. The image recognition mode is adopted, so that the existing supermarket can deal with the situation coming in the intelligent era, the infrastructure does not need to be transformed in a large scale, the machine and the people are all regarded as customers in a certain sense at the same time, and the temporary storage unit of the goods is uniformly borrowed to finish the inventory arrangement and settlement.

According to a preferred embodiment, the fifth thermal image collector is activated only in response to an event that the fourth thermal image collector provides an image. Through the mode, the fifth thermal image collector can be started only when needed, and can be in a dormant or standby state when idle, so that energy is saved.

According to a preferred embodiment, the fifth thermal image collector adjusts the optical collection direction and the focal length thereof in response to an event that the fourth thermal image collector provides an image and according to the position of the temporary cargo storage unit equipped with the fourth thermal image collector relative to the entrance and exit way. Through the mode, the fifth thermal image collector can clearly and conveniently collect the identification marks for payment and/or registration in a lens following and focal length adjusting mode according to the position of the cargo temporary storage unit relative to the access passage, so that the range and flexibility of price settlement are increased, and the user experience degree is improved.

According to a preferred embodiment, the first thermal image is captured by the first thermal image collector after the second thermal image collector captures a second thermal image of the hand of the access mechanism, wherein the second thermal image is captured before the hand of the access mechanism enters at least one inventory location of the rack. In this way, the supermarket can simultaneously deal with a scene in which multiple persons and/or multiple devices enter the shop for purchase, and only when the access mechanism with the first thermal image accesses or puts back the articles again, the system can start a series of responsible image analysis operations. In other words, the tracking of the access mechanism by the system begins when it attempts to reach the item on the shelf. Therefore, not only can the calculation overhead be reduced, but also the storage overhead can be reduced, the construction cost of the system is reduced, and the use efficiency of each component in the system and the fluency of the system are improved.

According to a preferred embodiment, starting from the initial time point of the absolute position determination based on the first thermal image, the goods buffer unit sets an introduction timing period in response to the state of the goods held by the access mechanism, and after the specific introduction timing period, if the fourth thermal image collector fails to collect the motion of the goods entering the goods buffer unit, a prompt about the goods attribute is sent to the access mechanism holding the goods through the goods buffer unit, wherein the prompt may be in the form of an electronic signal, voice, image or video. Because the characters on the existing object package are arranged very small and densely, the required information cannot be found quickly even if an access mechanism with a high-resolution camera is used in a short time, and the access mechanism is more difficult for people with visual disorder, myopia or hypermetropia. After the introduction timing period, the corresponding access mechanism does not place the article into the temporary goods storage unit, which indicates that the access mechanism does not find the required information. Therefore, by the mode, when the corresponding personnel or the access mechanism does not determine whether to purchase the goods after a certain time, the invention can send out the prompt related to the commodity attribute to the personnel or the access mechanism holding the goods in an auxiliary manner, so that the personnel or the access mechanism can make the determination according to the prompt.

The invention provides a stock management system and a method in a warehouse type supermarket aiming at coexistence of personnel and intelligent carrying equipment, which at least have the following advantages:

(1) in the warehouse area, because the light is weak, the obtained shot image or camera is difficult to distinguish, and the warehouse inventory information cannot be accurately obtained. The access mechanism is subjected to thermal characteristic image acquisition, so that warehouse inventory information can be effectively acquired, and the access mechanism can be subjected to thermal characteristic image acquisition only when action exists, so that the action condition can be fed back in real time, and the inventory information condition can be acquired in real time;

(2) the invention can not only analyze the increase and decrease conditions of the articles at the stock position, but also analyze whether the corresponding articles are placed back to the correct stock position on the shelf;

(3) according to the invention, after the goods are put into the temporary storage unit, the corresponding relation between the goods which enter the temporary storage unit and the change of the stock position can be confirmed, so that the statistics of the change of the stock position is more accurate, and the practicability of the system is improved;

(4) the invention can analyze the change of the stock position possibly caused by the process again when the goods are moved out of the temporary storage unit of the goods, so that the stock position can be updated more comprehensively and accurately.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a relationship module for the elements of the system of the present invention; and

figure 2 is a block schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of the system of the present invention.

List of reference numerals

11: first thermal image collector 12: second thermal image collector

13: the third thermal image collector 14: fourth thermal image collector

15: a fifth thermal image collector 16: sixth thermal image collector

17: the seventh thermal image collector 18: eighth thermal image collector

21: the indication mark 22: position error marker

30: the computing device 40: temporary storage unit for goods

50: the access mechanism 60: thermal image collector

70: temperature regulator 80: controller

90: temperature detector

Detailed Description

The following detailed description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate similar elements that are common to the figures.

Example 1

The invention discloses an inventory management system of an image acquisition system based on thermal characteristic images, and under the condition of not causing conflict or contradiction, the preferred implementation modes of other embodiments can be used as a supplement to the embodiment.

The system includes a thermal image collector 60 for collecting thermal images of the accessor mechanism 50 in a stationary and/or moving state, a temperature regulator 70 for regulating the temperature of the accessor mechanism 50, a controller 80 for controlling the temperature regulator 70 and/or the thermal image collector 60, and a temperature value temperature detector 90 for recording in real time the temperature value of the shelf, the accessor mechanism, and/or the environment in which the system is located. When the accessor mechanism 50 is in motion, the thermal adjuster 70 can adjust the temperature of the accessor mechanism 50 based on an indication from the controller 80 to adjust the temperature of the accessor mechanism 50 and/or the temperature value of the temperature detector 90 to increase the temperature differential between the accessor mechanism 50 and the shelf and/or ambient temperature so that the thermal image collector 60 can track and record the accessor mechanism 50 and generate a thermal image. When the accessor mechanism 50 is stationary, the controller 80 sends an indication to the temperature regulator 70 to temperature regulate the accessor mechanism 50, and the temperature regulator 70 regulates the temperature of the accessor mechanism 50 to be the same as the temperature of the shelf so that the thermal image collector 60 no longer tracks and records the accessor mechanism 50. In the warehouse area, because the light is weak, the obtained shot image or camera is difficult to distinguish, and the warehouse inventory information cannot be accurately obtained. The thermal characteristic image acquisition is carried out on the access mechanism 50, so that the warehouse inventory information can be effectively acquired, and the thermal characteristic image acquisition is carried out only when the access mechanism 50 acts, so that the action condition can be fed back in real time, and the inventory information condition can be acquired in real time.

Preferably, the movement of the accessor mechanism 50 includes picking up the goods, placing the goods, linear movement, curvilinear movement, rotational movement, and localized movement. The localized motion includes hand motion of the accessor mechanism 50. The movement of the accessor mechanism 50 is acquired by a motion sensor, such as one or more of a velocity sensor, a displacement sensor, a three-axis gyroscope, an angular velocity sensor, and a position sensor. The signal of the action sensor is fed back to the controller 80, the controller 80 sends out a temperature control signal to heat or cool the access mechanism 50 so as to be different from the ambient temperature and/or the shelf temperature, thereby being beneficial to acquiring the thermal characteristic of the access mechanism 50 and the real carrying condition, and acquiring the inventory information condition in real time.

Preferably, thermal image collector 60 may be a thermal infrared imager. The controller 80 may be one or more of a PLC controller, a PID controller, and an MCU controller. The temperature regulator 70 may be one or more of an electric heater, an electromagnetic heater, and a refrigerator. The temperature detector 90 may be one or more of a temperature sensor and a thermometer.

Preferably, the accessor mechanism 50 has a temperature control chip built therein for receiving a temperature control signal from the controller 80 and sending the temperature control signal to the temperature controller 70. The thermostat 70 receives the thermostat signal and adjusts the temperature of the accessor mechanism 50 for a first predetermined time (e.g., 10 seconds) and the temperature detector 90 compares the temperature of the accessor mechanism 50 to the shelf and/or ambient temperature. If the ambient temperature is within the temperature differential threshold from the temperature of the accessor mechanism 50, the thermostat 70 continues to regulate the temperature of the accessor mechanism 50 for a second predetermined time (e.g., 5 seconds). If the difference between the temperature of the accessor mechanism 50 and the temperature of the shelves is outside the temperature difference threshold, the temperature detector 90 monitors the temperature of the accessor mechanism 50 in real time. For example, when the ambient temperature is within ± 2 degrees celsius of the temperature of the accessor 50, the temperature regulator 70 continues to regulate the temperature of the accessor 50 for a second predetermined time (e.g., 5 seconds). If the difference between the temperature of the access mechanism 50 and the temperature of the shelf is more than or equal to 2 ℃ or less than or equal to-2 ℃, the temperature detector 90 monitors the temperature of the access mechanism 50 in real time. The temperature difference between the storing and taking mechanism 50 and the shelf is increased, thermal image imaging and distinguishing of the thermal image collector 60 are facilitated, and the action of the storing and taking mechanism is also conveniently identified, so that inventory analysis under the condition of dim light is facilitated.

Preferably, the thermal image collector 60 is capable of acquiring at least two thermal images with different focal lengths when recording the same motion of the same access mechanism 50, so as to enhance the definition of the recorded thermal images of the motion information of the access mechanism 50. For example, the thermal image collector 60 can acquire two thermal images, one of which is a short focal length thermal image and the other of which is a long focal length thermal image, while recording the same motion of the same access mechanism 50. Enlarging the short-focus image and dividing the long-focus image into a low-frequency image and a high-frequency image; according to the focal length proportion of the long-focus lens and the short-focus lens, the preprocessed short-focus image is enlarged, so that the enlarged short-focus image and the long-focus image have the same proportion scale in a common area; dividing the preprocessed tele image into a high-frequency image and a low-frequency image by using a Gaussian low-pass filter, wherein the filtering aims to enable the blurring degree of the low-frequency image to be equivalent to that of the short-focus image obtained from A1; establishing a mapping relation of the extended short-focus image and the infinite plane alignment of the original long-focus image by using a DLT algorithm and a translation mapping table; establishing an image pyramid and calculating the horizontal parallax between the images; according to the obtained coordinate mapping table, determining a region to be fused in the enlarged short-focus image, and obtaining a coordinate starting point of the region to be fused and the size of the region to be fused, namely obtaining a common region between the region and the B2; determining a region to be fused, specifically: setting a certain coordinate (i, j) in the enlarged short-focus image according to a coordinate mapping table, wherein the coordinate value (i, j) is recorded when the coordinate value (i, j) is 0< HPs (i, j) <1, and the coordinate value (i, j) is used as a starting point of the fusion area, and the length and Width values Width and Height of the fusion area are required not to exceed the corresponding size of the long-focus image, so that the position of the lower fusion area is determined; taking the region to be fused as an image I, taking the low-frequency image as an image J, and calculating the disparity vector of each point to be matched of the image I on the basis of a coordinate mapping table to form a disparity vector table; taking a region to be fused as an image I, taking a low-frequency image as an image J, and respectively establishing three-layer pyramid image sequences for the images, wherein the three-layer pyramid comprises an upper layer, a middle layer and a lower layer, and the length and width of the upper layer pyramid are 1/2 of the length and width of the lower layer pyramid; traversing pixel points on the upper layer of the I image, establishing a 3 x 3 feature block, searching in the horizontal unilateral direction on the image J according to a coordinate mapping table, limiting the searching range according to the experience of the relation between the depth and the parallax, and using error square difference (SSD) as a measure similarity index, (I ', J') obtaining the coordinate of a corresponding point on the image J by inquiring the mapping table for a coordinate point (I, J), thereby determining the parallax offset of a certain number of rough matching points; according to the determined rough matching points, SSD is used as a similarity evaluation index, the lower layer is directly switched to carry out accurate comparison on four surrounding points until the parallax offset between the matching points on the original image is determined, and the parallax offset corresponding to each point of one image I is formed; the high frequency portion of the tele image is fused into the enlarged short focus image.

Example 2

The invention discloses an inventory management system, and the preferable implementation modes of other embodiments can be used as a supplement of the embodiment under the condition of not causing conflict or contradiction.

According to a preferred embodiment, referring to fig. 1, the system may comprise: a first thermal image collector 11 for collecting a first thermal image and determining by the system, based on said first thermal image, the absolute position of the at least one access mechanism 50 within the area of the shelf and the relative position of the access mechanism 50 with respect to the at least one shelf carrying the at least one item. Preferably, corresponding reference points and/or reference lines for identification may be provided on the ground to assist the system in determining the absolute and relative positions.

According to a preferred embodiment, the system may further comprise: a second thermal image collector 12 for detecting a second thermal image of the hand of at least one access mechanism 50 taken prior to the hand of that access mechanism 50 entering at least one inventory location of the rack. Preferably, for a shelf, it may have at least one inventory location. A shelf may be divided into multiple levels. Each level may be an inventory location. Alternatively, a floor may be divided horizontally into a plurality of zones, each of which may be an inventory location. It should be noted that the separation lines between these regions may be image-recognizable separations and/or non-image-recognizable virtual separation lines. The separating device is, for example, a partition wall and/or a reference line for spraying. The virtual dividing line that is not capable of image recognition may be that after the shelf, the second thermal image collector 12 and/or the third thermal image collector 13 corresponding to the shelf are fixed, the corresponding articles are placed, and then the system collects the image information of the shelf to divide the shelf, so as to obtain at least one stock location containing at least one type of articles.

According to a preferred embodiment, the system may further comprise: a third thermal image collector 13 for detecting a third thermal image of the hand of the at least one access mechanism 50, the third thermal image being taken after the hand of the access mechanism 50 is removed from the at least one inventory location of the rack.

According to a preferred embodiment, the system may determine the status of the item held by the respective access mechanism 50 based on a comparison of the second thermal image and the third thermal image, identify a change in at least one inventory location of the shelves in a predetermined relative position around the absolute position of the access mechanism 50 in response to the status of the item held by the access mechanism 50, and thereby determine a correspondence between the item and the change in inventory location. The relative and absolute positions are then taken to classify the change in inventory location and the personnel/access mechanisms 50, accurately associating the shelves with the personnel or access mechanisms 50 with which they are currently interacting, so that the areas to be analyzed and calculated can be dynamically partitioned from time to time and from place to place depending on the change in the items and the inventory location. Because the 'inventory change' is associated with the 'absolute position' and the 'relative position' in advance, the operation amount of image recognition is greatly reduced, and real-time inventory analysis can be completed without adding a large number of computing devices.

For example, there may be multiple shelves around the absolute position, but the actual changing inventory position may not be accurately determined by the absolute position, while the relative position may relate to the distance between the two, and only when the corresponding access mechanism 50 is at a distance less than or equal to a predetermined distance from a shelf, may the access mechanism 50 be in an item-transferring relationship with the shelf in the relative position. In the case where the access mechanism 50 is close to the corresponding stock location where the item is stored, when the access mechanism 50 returns the item to the corresponding stock location, the change in the stock location includes only an increase in the number, not an increase in the category. In the case where the access mechanism 50 is far from the corresponding stock location where the item is stored, the access mechanism 50 may not put the item back to the corresponding stock location of the item due to its own operation error. Thus, in the case of an item being placed back on a shelf and not being placed back in its corresponding inventory location, then the change in at least one inventory location of the shelf in the predetermined relative position may include: the inventory locations store an increased number of items and an increased number of items. Preferably, the status of holding the item may include the type and/or number of the item. Preferably, the identity of the item removed from and/or placed in the inventory location of the shelf may be identified based on data received from various input devices prior to determining the correspondence between the item and the change in inventory location. For example, a series of images of the hand of the respective access mechanism 50 before the hand passes through the plane into the inventory position and also a series of images of the hand after the hand leaves the inventory position may be acquired by a thermographic acquirer. Based on the comparison of the images, it may be determined whether the respective access mechanism 50 removed or placed an object from or in the inventory location. For example, based on the analysis of the images, it may be determined that the respective access mechanism 50 did not hold the object when the hand entered the inventory location, but did hold the object when the hand moved out of the inventory location (the respective access mechanism 50 removed the object from the inventory location). Likewise, image analysis may be used to identify whether the respective access mechanism 50 holds an object on their hand before the hand enters the inventory location but does not hold the object when the hand is removed from the inventory location (the respective access mechanism 50 places the object in the inventory location). That is, the second thermal image and the third thermal image used for comparison in accordance with the present invention may not only comprise a single image, but may also be a composite alignment of a series of second thermal images and a series of third thermal images.

Preferably, the management system of the present invention further discloses a fourth thermal image collector 14, which is arranged at the temporary goods storage unit 40 and is used for detecting the action of the articles entering the temporary goods storage unit 40, wherein, in response to the action of the articles entering the temporary goods storage unit 40, the corresponding relationship between the articles entering the temporary goods storage unit 40 and the change of the stock position is confirmed. Preferably, if and only if after the confirming step, an item identifier representative of the item is added to a bill of lading associated with at least one accessor mechanism 50. By adding the article identifier to the pick-up list, the pick-up list is checked in real time according to the articles placed in the article temporary storage unit 40 in the process that a user visits a supermarket, and finally, the payment can be directly settled according to the pick-up list, so that the problem of long time consumption caused by the fact that the articles are sequentially moved out of the scanning bar codes again for settlement is solved. Preferably, the cargo staging unit 40 is at least one of a dedicated storage frame, shopping cart, shopping basket, and shopping bag for the accessor 50, for example.

Preferably, the fourth thermal image collector 14 may be further configured to: capturing a fourth thermal image of a hand and a fifth thermal image of the hand in response to an action of the hand of the accessor mechanism 50 entering the product escrow unit 40, wherein the fourth thermal image is captured before the hand of the accessor mechanism 50 enters the product escrow unit 40, the fifth thermal image is captured after the hand of the accessor mechanism 50 is removed from the product escrow unit 40, wherein a state that the respective accessor mechanism 50 removes the item is determined based on a comparison of the fourth thermal image and the fifth thermal image, a change in at least one stock position of the shelf at a predetermined relative position around an absolute position of the accessor mechanism 50 is identified in response to the state that the accessor mechanism 50 holds the item, and a correspondence between the removal of the item and the change in the stock position is thereby determined. In this case, the return of a certain item from the product buffer to the stock position is determined both by the removal of the item and by a change in the stock position. The location of the changed inventory may thus be first identified based on the absolute and relative locations determined by the first thermal image, while the returned items are analytically determined based on the second, third, fourth and fifth thermal images. The stock location can be updated accordingly or a stock clearing procedure can be initiated, for example, to invoke manual intervention to clear non-matching items from the shelf, or to feed the wrong item to the recycling channel in an automatic feed manner. For example, non-shelf-good conforming items or wrong items are returned to a storage aisle by a ceiling-mounted movable robotic arm or an automated cleaning cart with a robotic arm. Preferably, after determining the returned item based on the second, third, fourth and fifth thermal images, the item identifier representing the item is removed from the invoice associated with the at least one access mechanism 50. Preferably, the fourth thermal image is taken of the hand of the accessor mechanism 50 before the hand enters the product staging unit 40 without holding a product. A fifth thermal image is taken after the hand of the accessor mechanism 50 removes an article from the load buffer unit 40.

According to a preferred embodiment, the fourth thermal image collector 14 may also be configured for: in response to the access mechanism 50 reaching the checkout area, the pick-up of the items in the item escrow unit 40 takes up the amount of space in the item escrow unit 40, and the system provides the access mechanism 50 with bags of a matching size based on the provision device indicating the checkout area by the amount of space. In this way, it is possible to provide the depositing and dispensing mechanism 50 with bags of an appropriate size, thereby avoiding waste of excessive time in the settlement area due to determination of the size of the required bag, and improving the settlement efficiency.

According to a preferred embodiment, the invention also discloses a fifth thermographic collector 15, which is arranged in the access passage of the accessor 50, for collecting identification marks for payment and/or registration. Preferably, the identification mark may be at least one of RFID, two-dimensional code, fingerprint, human body contour, human face contour, iris image and typical thermal characteristic image. For example, after an accessor mechanism 50 detects the presence of a unit of merchandise 40, the system associates the unit of merchandise 40 with the accessor mechanism 50. At the time of settlement of the fee, in the case where the accessor 50 is an unregistered user, the owner of the accessor 50 may be alerted to register or to complete payment directly remotely at the time of settlement or before. At the time of registration of the owner of the accessor 50 or the user as a natural person, the owner or user may be required to select an identification as a credential for later settlement of the fee and to enter corresponding information based on the identification selected by the user. Assuming that the user chooses to pay through the iris image, the graphic two-dimensional code or the RFID, the accessor 50 directs the graphic two-dimensional code (posted in the accessor 50) or the corresponding eye to the acquisition area of the fifth thermal image acquirer 15 when the fee is settled, and after the verification of the system, the fee settlement is completed by using the bound payment account; or to have the RFID or its graphical two-dimensional code entry system of the accessor 50 used for settlement.

According to a preferred embodiment, the fifth thermal image collector 15 is activated only in response to an event that the fourth thermal image collector 14 provides an image. Preferably, the fifth thermal image collector 15 adjusts the optical collection direction and the focal length thereof in response to an event that the fourth thermal image collector 14 provides an image and according to the position of the cargo temporary storage unit 40 equipped with the fourth thermal image collector 14 relative to the entrance and exit way.

According to a preferred embodiment, the first thermal image is captured by the first thermal image collector 11 after the second thermal image collector 12 captures a second thermal image of the hand of the access mechanism 50, wherein the second thermal image is captured before the hand of the access mechanism 50 enters at least one inventory location of the rack. Therefore, the unmanned supermarket can simultaneously deal with a scene that a plurality of people enter the shop to purchase, and only when the access mechanism 50 with the first thermal image stores or puts back the articles again, the system can start a series of responsible image analysis operations. In other words, the tracking of the accessor mechanism 50 by the system begins when it attempts to reach an item on a shelf.

Preferably, the cargo hold unit 40 sets an introduction timing period (e.g., 5 seconds) in response to the state of the accessor mechanism 50 holding the article from the initial time point of determining the absolute position based on the first thermal image, and after the specific timing period has elapsed, if the fourth thermal image collector 14 fails to collect the motion of the article into the cargo hold unit 40, a prompt about the property of the article is sent to the accessor mechanism 50 holding the article through the cargo hold unit 40, wherein the prompt may be in the form of an electronic signal, voice, image or video. When the temporary storage unit of goods determines that the holder is a person rather than the storing and taking mechanism 50 in the form of a carrying device, the temporary storage unit of goods 40 can prompt the storing and taking mechanism 50 to take the goods from the shelf but not put into the temporary storage unit of goods 40 to sell at a price of 20 yuan, which is ten months according to the expiration time of the shelf life. Preferably, the temporary goods storage unit 40 further sets a reminding timing period (for example, 30 seconds) in response to the setting of the introduction timing period, and after the reminding timing period elapses, if the fourth thermal image collector 14 fails to collect an action of entering the temporary goods storage unit 40, a prompt prompting that the current goods are correctly loaded into the temporary goods storage unit 40 is sent to the access mechanism 50 holding the goods through the temporary goods storage unit 40, wherein the prompt may be in a graphical manner of an arrow pointing to the receiving opening. Preferably, after the reminding timing period has elapsed, in case the fourth thermal image collector 14 fails to collect the item entering the temporary goods storage unit 40, the system further indicates the current item to be placed back on the shelf in the correct position by the indication mark 21. Wherein the indication mark 21 can be in a graphic mode of an arrow pointing to the area of the same kind of the current object. More specifically, for example, the indicator 21 is a green fluorescent arrow and can blink at a preset frequency. When the temporary storage unit of goods judges that the holding party is the storing and taking mechanism 50 in the form of a carrying device and not a person as a natural person, the temporary storage unit of goods 40 transmits the related goods introduction information to the storing and taking mechanism 50 in an electronic signal mode, and the temporary storage unit of goods sends a prompt to a remote user so as to finish the purchasing decision as soon as possible.

Preferably, the system further comprises a sixth thermal image collector 16, the sixth thermal image collector 16 is activated after the reminding timing period is passed and in case that the fourth thermal image collector 14 fails to collect the action of the item entering the goods temporary storage unit 40, and is used for collecting a sixth thermal image of the shelf associated with the item and a seventh thermal image of the shelf, wherein the sixth thermal image is taken before the hand holding the item at the access mechanism 50 enters the shelf, the seventh thermal image is taken after the hand holding the item at the access mechanism 50 is removed from the shelf, and the correspondence relationship between the item and the change of the stock position is determined for the second time based on the comparison of the sixth thermal image and the seventh thermal image. The sixth thermal image collector 16 is only started after the reminding timing period has elapsed, in case the fourth thermal image collector 14 fails to collect the movement of the item into the temporary goods storage unit 40, because the environmental information required for the item to be returned onto the shelf is more and the analysis difficulty is greater than the difficulty in taking the item out of the shelf. Preferably, when the first determination is performed by the second and third thermal images, and the second determination is performed by the sixth and seventh thermal images, the obtained correspondence between the article and the change in the stock position is more accurate and reliable. Preferably, when the results of the two judgments are inconsistent, manual checking or field checking by the intelligent robot can be arranged. Preferably, the sixth thermal image and the seventh thermal image differ from the second thermal image and the third thermal image primarily in that the object of the sixth thermal image and the seventh thermal image is a shelf. And the object of the second thermal image and the third thermal image is a hand. The significance of the sixth thermal image collector 16 is that it recognizes that the corresponding storage mechanism 50 can track items from a shelf and then place the items on another shelf. For example, after an access mechanism 50 has picked up a corresponding item at one inventory location, another item of the same type is seen at another inventory location, which is more attractive, and then the user wishes to remove the corresponding item and replace it with another item, but at this time, the access mechanism 50 is likely not near the corresponding shelf from which the corresponding item was picked, which results in a low willingness to return the item to the corresponding inventory location, and the corresponding item may be placed directly on the shelf at the current location, which may result in the corresponding item being placed at a non-corresponding inventory location on a non-corresponding shelf. Thus, preferably, the system audibly plays an advisory reminder to the accessor mechanism 50 holding the item when the accessor mechanism does not place the item back on the shelf in the correct position according to the indicator 21. For example, a respectful customer who does not return a certain product to its correct position, to maintain a good shopping environment and avoid misleading others, asks to return a certain product to the correct position according to the indication mark 21, and thanks for your cooperation. Preferably, after the advice reminder is played and the corresponding item has not yet been put back in the correct position, a positional error marker 22 is displayed at the wrong position of the item, wherein the positional error marker 22 may take the form of at least one of an exclamation point, a cross, or text. Preferably, after an item that has not been put back in the correct position is removed from the shelf displaying the misplaced mark 22, the correct position and/or the correct selling price of the item is indicated audibly and/or graphically. For example, by flashing the indicator 21 and by speech: honored customers, good, you have the item in your hand placed in the wrong place, with the correct place being the position of the blinking indicator 21, please refer to the corresponding price tag in the correct place to make a purchase, thanks! Through this mode, can let the staff find the article of misplacing fast to and put it back to the correct position fast, improve work efficiency. Meanwhile, wrong shopping guide caused by the fact that the price tags do not correspond to the actual articles can be avoided, and user experience is improved. Moreover, in this way, since the correct position of the item can be quickly known, in the case where the user does not have a long distance to move to the correct position by walking, even if the user chooses not to purchase the item after seeing the actual price tag and/or the correct selling price, some users will assist in putting the item back to their correct position, reducing the workload of the staff. Preferably, the system may further include an indicator display that may be used to play the correct selling price for the accessor mechanism 50 picking up the misplaced item through the indicator display when the correct location of the misplaced item is not on its misplaced shelf.

According to a preferred embodiment, the position error marking 22 can distinguish the degree of deviation of the error in a hierarchical display by means of at least two different visual states. The degree of deviation is, for example, at least one of a distance deviation, a price deviation, and a utility deviation. Thereby intuitively prompting the staff or the shopper. For example, when the position error marks 22 can distinguish the distance deviation by a gradation display manner, the degree of deviation of the distance deviation is distinguished in three steps by a first color, a second color different from the first color, and a third color different from the first and second colors. The position error marker 22 is configured to a first color when the required distance to place the article from the current wrong position back to its correct position is equal to or less than a first distance threshold, the position error marker 22 is configured to a second color when the required distance to place the article from the current wrong position back to its correct position is greater than the first distance threshold and equal to or less than a second distance threshold, and the position error marker 22 is configured to a third color when the required distance to place the article from the current wrong position back to its correct position is greater than a third distance threshold. Preferably, the first, second and third colors may be blue, yellow and red, respectively. The first trip threshold is for example 5 meters. The second path threshold is, for example, 20 meters. The third path threshold is, for example, 40 meters. Preferably, the deviation in efficacy is, for example, a deviation of weight gain versus weight loss, bowel movement versus diarrhea. It should be noted that the invention can also be implemented in other ways or in a combination of ways to achieve different visual states, not just in different colors. For example, the present invention may also be implemented by a combination of numbers and colors. Specifically, here again taking the distance deviation as an example, when the required distance for placing the article from the current wrong position back to its correct position is equal to or less than the first distance threshold, the position error mark 22 is configured in the first color and displays the first number, when the required distance for placing the article from the current wrong position back to its correct position is equal to or more than the first distance threshold and equal to or less than the second distance threshold, the position error mark 22 is configured in the second color and displays the second number, and when the required distance for placing the article from the current wrong position back to its correct position is greater than the third distance threshold, the position error mark 22 is configured in the third color and displays the third number. The first number is for example 1, the second number is for example 2 and the third number is for example 3.

According to a preferred embodiment, the system further comprises a seventh thermal image collector 17, the seventh thermal image collector 17 is used for collecting an eighth thermal image before the system indicates the current item to be placed back to the correct position on the shelf by means of the indicator 21 on the shelf, the system analyzes the visual condition of the indicator 21 corresponding to the correct position according to the eighth thermal image, and the indicator 21 is only displayed if the indicator 21 is located within the visual range of the access mechanism 50 for picking up the current item. Preferably, in the case where the indication mark 21 is not located within the visual range of the accessor mechanism 50 picking up the current article, or in the case where there is a fixed barrier obstructing the view between the accessor mechanism 50 picking up the current article and the corresponding indication mark 21, the correct position and/or the correct selling price of the article is indicated by voice. By the mode, no misguidance can be caused to other people under the condition that the correct position of the article is not in the visible range. Preferably, the system also analyzes the identity of the accessor mechanism 50 picking up the current item based on the eighth thermal image, and displays the indicator 21 only if the indicator 21 is within the viewing range of the accessor mechanism 50 picking up the current item and the identity of the accessor mechanism 50 is a clean up accessor mechanism 50. For example, the identity of the analyst may be at least one of identified by human face, wearing a particular suit, and carrying an electronic tag.

According to a preferred embodiment, before displaying the index mark 21, the system also analyzes a first number of index marks 21 to be displayed simultaneously within the visual range of the access mechanism 50 picking up the current item on the basis of the eighth thermal image, and when the first number of displays is equal to or greater than two, associates the corresponding position error marks 22 with the index marks 21 in groups, and sets the position error marks 22 and the index marks 21 in the same group in a visually associated manner and in the different groups in a visually distinguished manner. For example, the position error mark 22 in the same group emits at least partially the same color mark as the indication mark 21, and the color mark is different between different groups. For another example, the position error mark 22 and the indication mark 21 in the same group show the same numerical mark, and the numerical marks are different between the groups. As another example, the position error mark 22 and the indication mark 21 in the same group show the same graphic mark, and the graphic marks are different between the groups. The graphical markers are, for example, circles, triangles or quadrilaterals.

According to a preferred embodiment, the system may further comprise: and an eighth thermal image collector 18 for collecting a ninth thermal image of at least a partial area of the shelf where the position error marker 22 is arranged, and analyzing the display of the actual position error marker 22 and the set matching condition of the position error marker 22 in the system by the system according to the ninth thermal image, wherein when the display and the setting of the position error marker 22 are not matched, the shelf where the unmatched position error marker 22 is located is positioned and maintenance personnel is informed. In this way, the shelf with the position error mark 22 failed can be quickly identified and positioned, and the maintenance can be quickly carried out, so that the conditions of label missing or label error are reduced.

Preferably, second thermal image collector 12, upon detecting a second thermal image of the hand of one of accessor mechanisms 50, will also analyze both: "the situation of the access means 50 holding an item based on a comparison of the second thermal image with the third thermal image" and "the action of the fourth thermal image collector 14 of the product buffer unit 40 carried by the access means 50 detecting an item entering the product buffer unit 40", the system grants the access means 50 access to items in at least one storage position of a shelf located in the absolute vicinity of the access means 50 in a predetermined relative position when the analysis result shows that the access means 50 does not hold an item or holds only one item.

According to a preferred embodiment, the thermal image collectors mentioned in the present invention can use any type of camera and other alternative imaging devices. For example, one or more of the cameras may be an RGB camera. One or more of the cameras may be a depth sensing camera.

Preferably, in order to acquire a required image, one or more thermal image collectors may be provided, and when a plurality of thermal image collectors are provided, the thermal image collectors may be dispersedly arranged in a plurality of positions. For example, some thermal image collectors may be located overhead, such as on a ceiling, to collect images of the access mechanism 50 and/or corresponding locations within the facility. Also for example, some thermal image collectors may be located on or within the inventory location. For example, may be located on an exterior portion of the inventory location and positioned to capture images of the accessor mechanism 50 and/or locations around the inventory location. For another example, some thermal image collectors may be located in the area of the price tag facing the opposite shelf to collect image information on the opposite shelf.

According to a preferred embodiment, computing device 30 may be a local, remote processor, such as a CPU. Likewise, the computing device 30 may be configured to communicate with the input components, the output components, and/or directly with at least one of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth thermographic collectors and the cargo staging unit 40 over a network. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that communication may be by wired and/or wireless means. Preferably, the computing device 30 is, for example, one or more servers. The server may include a processor and a memory. The system may include or provide image processing (e.g., for user identification, expression identification, and/or item identification), inventory tracking, and/or location determination.

Example 3

This embodiment is a further improvement of embodiment 2, and repeated contents are not described again. Preferred implementations of other embodiments may be used in addition to the present embodiment without causing conflicts or inconsistencies.

The invention also discloses an inventory management method which can be realized by the system and other alternatives. For example, the method of the present invention may be implemented using various components of the system.

According to a preferred embodiment, the method may comprise: using at least one first thermal image collector 11 for collecting a first thermal image and determining, by the management system, based on said first thermal image, the absolute position of at least one access mechanism 50 within the area of the shelf and the relative position of the access mechanism 50 with respect to at least one shelf carrying at least one item; using at least one second thermal image collector 12 for detecting a second thermal image of the hand of at least one access mechanism 50, the second thermal image being taken before the hand of that access mechanism 50 enters at least one inventory location of the rack; using at least one third thermal image collector 13 for detecting a third thermal image of the hand of at least one access mechanism 50, said third thermal image being taken after the hand of the access mechanism 50 is removed from the at least one inventory location of the rack; wherein the status of the item held by the respective access mechanism 50 is determined based on the comparison of the second thermal image and the third thermal image, a change in at least one inventory location of a shelf in a predetermined relative position around the absolute position of the access mechanism 50 is identified in response to the status of the item held by the access mechanism 50, and a correspondence between the item and the change in inventory location is thereby determined.

According to a preferred embodiment, the method may further comprise: at least one fourth thermal image collector 14 is used, which is arranged at the product buffer unit 40 and is used for detecting the movement of the articles into the product buffer unit 40, wherein the corresponding relationship between the articles entering the product buffer unit 40 and the change of the stock position is confirmed in response to the movement of the articles into the product buffer unit 40.

Example 4

This embodiment is a further improvement on embodiments 1, 2, and 3 or a combination thereof, and repeated details are not repeated. Preferred implementations of other embodiments may be used in addition to the present embodiment without causing conflicts or inconsistencies.

According to a preferred embodiment, a shielding door is installed in front of the bar code scanner, the shielding door takes various personal payable two-dimensional codes used by personnel as switches, only one person enters the shielding door at one time, and the shielding door is closed immediately after the codes are scanned. The person moves the shopping cart at a proper speed, the bar code scanner automatically scans the articles, the touch display screen displays the information of the articles to be paid and the total price of the current purchased articles, and after the person confirms that the article is correct, the system automatically settles the account on the previously scanned two-dimensional code account. After confirming that the settlement is correct, the shielding door behind the bar code scanner is opened, and meanwhile, the shielding door in front of the bar code scanner starts to scan the two-dimensional code of the next person. By the mode, the problem that people steal commodities or settle accounts wrongly is avoided, and the loss of the supermarket can be reduced.

Example 5

This embodiment is a further improvement on embodiments 1, 2, 3, and 4 or a combination thereof, and repeated details are not repeated. Preferred implementations of other embodiments may be used in addition to the present embodiment without causing conflicts or inconsistencies.

According to a preferred embodiment, at least one weight-acquiring device is provided on the shelf for acquiring a difference in weight of the hand of the respective person before entering the at least one inventory position of the shelf and after the hand has been removed from the at least one inventory position of the shelf, and after the system has determined the status of the item held by the respective person on the basis of the comparison of the second thermal image and the third thermal image, the status of the item is checked by means of the determined weight of the item and the difference in weight recorded in the system.

In addition, the weight acquisition device can be directly arranged on the goods shelf, and the state of the goods can be preliminarily judged through the weight difference acquired by the acquisition device. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that in such a case, the weight of the plurality of items on a shelf should be differentiated for the purpose of identifying the status of the items.

Example 6

This embodiment may be a further improvement and/or a supplement to embodiments 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or a combination thereof, and repeated details are not repeated. The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in whole and/or in part in the context of other embodiments, which can supplement the present embodiment, without resulting in conflict or inconsistency.

The embodiment also discloses an unmanned supermarket system, and the technical characteristics of the system are the same as those of an inventory management system or part of the inventory management system, so that the corresponding technical effect is achieved.

The embodiment also discloses an inventory management system of the unmanned supermarket, and the technical characteristics of the system are completely or partially the same as those of the inventory management system so as to achieve the corresponding technical effect.

The embodiment also discloses an inventory management method of the unmanned supermarket, and the technical characteristics of the method are completely or partially the same as that of the inventory management method so as to achieve the corresponding technical effect.

Although the present invention has been described in detail, modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such modifications are also considered to be part of this disclosure. In view of the foregoing discussion, relevant knowledge in the art, and references or information discussed above in connection with the background, all of which are incorporated herein by reference, further description is deemed unnecessary. Further, it should be understood that aspects of the invention and portions of the various embodiments may be combined or interchanged both in whole or in part. Furthermore, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the foregoing description and accompanying drawings are by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the present invention.

The foregoing discussion of the disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be limited to the form disclosed herein. In the foregoing detailed description, for example, various features of the disclosure are grouped together in one or more embodiments, configurations, or aspects for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. Features of the embodiments, configurations or aspects may be combined in alternative embodiments, configurations or aspects to those discussed above. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the disclosure requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment, configuration, or aspect. Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of the disclosure.

Claims

1. An inventory management system based on images of thermal characteristics, comprising a thermographic collector (60) for collecting thermal images of an accessor mechanism (50) in stationary and/or moving motion, characterized in that,

the thermal image collectors (60) comprise a first thermal image collector (11), a second thermal image collector (12), a third thermal image collector (13), a fourth thermal image collector (14) and a fifth thermal image collector (15), wherein,

the first thermal image collector (11) is used for collecting a first thermal image of the access mechanism (50);

the second thermographic collector (12) is used for detecting a second thermal image of the hand of at least one access mechanism (50);

the third thermal image collector (13) is used for detecting a third thermal image of the hand of at least one access mechanism (50);

the fourth thermal image collector (14) is used for detecting the action of articles entering the temporary goods storage unit (40) in the storing and taking mechanism (50);

the fifth thermal image collector (15) is arranged in the access passage of the access mechanism (50) and is used for collecting identification marks for payment and/or registration.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first thermographic collector (11) determines, by a computing device (30), an absolute position of the access mechanism (50) within the area of the shelf and a relative position of the access mechanism (50) with respect to at least one shelf carrying at least one item based on the first thermal image;

the computing device (30) analyzes the change of the stock position and the classification of the access mechanism (50) by adopting the relative position and the absolute position, and associates a shelf and the access mechanism (50) which is currently interacted with the shelf with each other, so that the computing device (30) can dynamically divide the area needing analysis and calculation according to the change of the article and the stock position at any time and any place.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the second thermal image detected by the second thermographic collector (12) is recorded prior to a hand of the access mechanism entering at least one inventory location of a shelf;

the third thermal image detected by the third thermal image collector is taken after a hand of the access mechanism is removed from at least one inventory location of the shelf;

wherein the status of the items held by the respective access mechanism (50) is determined based on a comparison of the second thermal image and the third thermal image, a change in at least one inventory location of a shelf in a predetermined relative position around the absolute position of the access mechanism (50) is identified in response to the status of the items held by the access mechanism, and a correspondence between the items and the change in inventory location is thereby determined.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the fourth thermographic collector (14) is responsive to an action of an item entering the unit for staging (40) thereby confirming a correspondence between the item entering the unit for staging (40) and the change in the stock location; it is further configured for: capturing said fourth and fifth thermal images of a hand of said access mechanism (50) in response to the entry of said hand into said load escrow unit (40),

wherein the fourth thermal image is taken before a hand of the depositing and withdrawing mechanism (50) enters the item staging unit (40), the fifth thermal image is taken after the hand of the depositing and withdrawing mechanism (50) is removed from the item staging unit (40),

determining a status of the respective access mechanism for removal of the item based on the comparison of the fourth thermal image and the fifth thermal image, identifying a change in at least one inventory location of the shelf in a predetermined relative position around an absolute position of the access mechanism in response to the status of the access mechanism holding the item, and determining therefrom a correspondence between the removal of the item and the change in the inventory location.

5. The system according to claim 4, characterized in that the fifth thermographic collector (15) is activated in response to an event in which the fourth thermographic collector (14) provides a thermal image.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the thermal image collector (60) comprises a sixth thermal image collector (16), the sixth thermal image collector (16) being configured to collect a sixth thermal image of a shelf associated with the item and a seventh thermal image of the shelf, wherein the sixth thermal image is taken before a hand holding the item at the access mechanism (50) enters the shelf, wherein the seventh thermal image is taken after the hand holding the item at the access mechanism (50) is removed from the shelf, and wherein the correspondence between the item and the change in the inventory location is determined a second time based on a comparison of the sixth thermal image and the seventh thermal image.

7. The system according to claim 6, characterized in that the thermal image collector (60) comprises a seventh thermal image collector (17), the seventh thermal image collector (17) is used for collecting an eighth thermal image before the system indicates the current item to be placed back to the correct position on the shelf by means of the indicating mark (21) on the shelf, the system analyzes the visual condition of the indicating mark (21) corresponding to the correct position according to the eighth thermal image, and the indicating mark (21) is displayed only if the indicating mark (21) is located within the visual range of the access mechanism (50) for picking up the current item.

8. The system according to claim 7, characterized in that the thermographic collector (60) comprises an eighth thermographic collector (18) for collecting a ninth thermal image of at least a part of the area of the shelf where the position error marker (22) is arranged, and the system analyzes the matching of the display of the actual position error marker (22) and the setting of the position error marker (22) in the system from the ninth thermal image, wherein, when the two do not match, the shelf where the position error marker (22) does not match is located and maintenance personnel are notified. By the method, the shelf with the fault position error mark (22) can be quickly identified and positioned, maintenance can be quickly carried out, and the condition of label missing or label error is reduced.

9. The system according to claim 8, characterized in that before displaying the index mark (21), the system is able to analyze, through said eighth thermal image, a first displayed number of index marks (21) displayed within the visual range of the access means (50) picking up the current item, by associating, in groups, the corresponding position error marks (22) and index marks (21) and setting, in a visually differentiated manner, between the same group of position error marks (22) and index marks (21), when the first displayed number is equal to or greater than two.

10. The system according to claim 9, characterized in that the thermal image collector (60) is capable of increasing the identification accuracy of the action of the storing and taking mechanism (50) by setting the temperature difference between the storing and taking mechanism (50) and the shelf to be increased.