Abstract: A system for blast-freezing items includes a plurality of cells arranged side-by-side, each cell including a housing with a bay space, a plenum, a front air passage, a rear air passage, and a fan. The fan is positioned in the plenum and configured to circulate air through the bay space. Each cell also includes a plurality of channels to separate pathways of air to segments of the bay space. The system also includes a plurality of crane rails extending between rows of cells and at least one crane capable of traveling along the plurality of crane rails to load or unload each of the plurality of cells.

Abstract: A layer pick system optimizes usage of a layer picker gantry or robotic arm by arranging and/or displacing the gantry or arm in optimal locations with respect to one or more groups of pallets, and/or by grouping pallets by their attributes and arranging the same group of pallets close to each other. In some implementations, a plurality of pallets is categorized into multiple groups by different velocities.

Abstract: A system for blast-freezing items includes a plurality of cells arranged side-by-side, each cell including a housing with a bay space, a plenum, a front air passage, a rear air passage, and a fan. The fan is positioned in the plenum and configured to circulate air through the bay space. Each cell also includes a plurality of channels to separate pathways of air to segments of the bay space. The system also includes a plurality of crane rails extending between rows of cells and at least one crane capable of traveling along the plurality of crane rails to load or unload each of the plurality of cells.

Abstract: An automated warehouse system can include automated pallet movers, a physical space in which the automated pallet movers operate, and a control system to provide commands to each of the automated pallet movers for operating in the physical space. The commands can include a pallet transportation command including a pallet identifier of a pallet to be transported by the automated pallet mover in the physical space, and a destination location to which the pallet is to be transported by the automated pallet mover. The commands can also include a control algorithm command that specifies a control algorithm for moving through the physical space. The automated pallet mover can be configured to transport the pallet to the destination location according to a route resulting from performance of the control algorithm, while other automated pallet movers concurrently transport other pallets to other destination locations.

Abstract: A layer pick system optimizes usage of a layer picker gantry or robotic arm by arranging and/or displacing the gantry or arm in optimal locations with respect to one or more groups of pallets, and/or by grouping pallets by their attributes and arranging the same group of pallets close to each other. In some implementations, a plurality of pallets is categorized into multiple groups by different velocities.

Abstract: An automated warehouse system can include automated pallet movers, a physical space in which the automated pallet movers operate, and a control system to provide commands to each of the automated pallet movers for operating in the physical space. The commands can include a pallet transportation command including a pallet identifier of a pallet to be transported by the automated pallet mover in the physical space, and a destination location to which the pallet is to be transported by the automated pallet mover. The commands can also include a control algorithm command that specifies a control algorithm for moving through the physical space. The automated pallet mover can be configured to transport the pallet to the destination location according to a route resulting from performance of the control algorithm, while other automated pallet movers concurrently transport other pallets to other destination locations.

Abstract: In general, the subject matter described in this disclosure can be embodied in a multi-level pallet-conveying system for a storage facility. The conveying system includes a first-level conveying system, a first-level into-storage conveying lane adapted to receive pallets from the first-level conveying system and provide such pallets to a first-level station of a storage lifting system, and a first-level from-storage conveying lane adapted to receive pallets from the first-level station of the storage lifting system and provide such pallets to the first-level conveying system.

Abstract: In general, the subject matter described in this disclosure can be embodied in a pallet-conveying system. The pallet-conveying system includes a vehicle-traversing loop, multiple vehicles configured to travel around the vehicle-traversing loop and move pallets around the vehicle-traversing loop, an inbound conveying lane arranged to move inbound pallets from a docking area to the vehicle-traversing loop, multiple outbound conveying lanes arranged to transfer pallets from the vehicle-traversing loop to the docking area, an into-storage conveying lane arranged to move pallets from the vehicle-traversing loop to a storage area, a from-storage conveying lane arranged to move pallets from the storage area to the vehicle-traversing loop, and multiple pallet stands located within an interior of the vehicle-traversing loop to receive pallets from the multiple vehicles.

Abstract: Disclosed are systems and methods for determining a pick area arrangement for a storage facility. A method can include retrieving, by a computer system, historic pallet information for pallet SKUs and pick area information, determining, based on the information, a number of bays to allocate for each pallet SKU, determining, based on the information, a number of dynamic bays to allocate in the pick area, which receive pallet SKUs in high demand during a particular time, determining, based on the information, quantities of aisles to allocate as pick aisles in the pick area by simulating aisle arrangements with pallet SKUs from the historic pallet information and determining average travel times to complete pick orders having the pallet SKUs in the aisle arrangements, selecting the quantity of aisles providing a lowest average travel time, and assigning each pallet SKU from the historic pallet information to bays in the quantity of aisles.

Abstract: A system for blast-freezing items includes a plurality of cells arranged side-by-side, each cell including a housing with a bay space, a plenum, a front air passage, a rear air passage, and a fan. The fan is positioned in the plenum and configured to circulate air through the bay space. Each cell also includes a plurality of channels to separate pathways of air to segments of the bay space. The system also includes a plurality of crane rails extending between rows of cells and at least one crane capable of traveling along the plurality of crane rails to load or unload each of the plurality of cells.

Abstract: In general, the subject matter described in this disclosure can be embodied in methods, systems, and program products for routing items in a warehouse. A computing system receives a request to assign an inbound truck to a transport bay and determines an available subset of unloading paths, by removing any unloading path directed from a transport bay or inbound storage area that is currently occupied/assigned. The computing system determines an available subset of loading paths, by removing any loading path directed to a transport bay or outbound staging area that is currently occupied/assigned. The computing system identifies multiple available path combinations that each include an unloading path from the available subset of unloading paths and a loading path from the available subset of loading paths. The computing system determines a selected path combination based on the selected path combination having a most favorable score.

Abstract: A layer pick system optimizes usage of a layer picker gantry or robotic arm by arranging and/or displacing the gantry or arm in optimal locations with respect to one or more groups of pallets, and/or by grouping pallets by their attributes and arranging the same group of pallets close to each other. In some implementations, a plurality of pallets is categorized into multiple groups by different velocities.

Abstract: This specification generally discloses technology for optimizing the loading of pallets on trucks and other sorts of vehicles. A pallet loading technique includes receiving pallet information for a shipment, the pallet information describing pallets to be included in the shipment, receiving vehicle constraint information for a vehicle, the vehicle constraint information describing rules for loading pallets on the vehicle, and determining candidate solutions for loading the pallets on the vehicle, each candidate solution (i) satisfying the rules for loading pallets on the vehicle, and (ii) defining, for each pallet to be included in the shipment, a respective position and orientation of the pallet on the vehicle. At least some of the candidate solutions are evaluated, one of the candidate solutions is selected, and the vehicle is loaded according to the selected candidate solution.

Abstract: Described are systems and methods for identifying an item in a storage facility to fulfill a pick request. The method includes receiving, by a computing system, a request for a physical item of a particular type, identifying a set of available physical items of the particular type from a plurality of physical items stored in storage locations in the storage facility, determining a score for each respective available physical item based on multiple sub-scores specific to the respective available physical item, to generate a set of scores corresponding to the set of available physical items, selecting a selected physical item from among the set based on the selected physical item having a most favorable score, identifying a selected storage location of the selected physical item, and providing instructions to cause a mechanical moving system to route the selected physical item from the selected storage location to a destination picking location.

Abstract: Described herein are systems and methods for storing items in storage facilities. The method can include receiving, by a computing system, a request to identify a destination location for a storage item, identifying a set of available storage locations from among a plurality of storage locations, and determining a score for each respective storage location of the set of available storage locations based on multiple sub-scores specific to the respective storage location, to generate a set of scores corresponding to the set of available storage locations. The method also includes selecting a selected storage location from among the available storage locations based on the selected storage location having a most favorable score from among the set of scores corresponding to the set of available storage locations, and providing instructions to cause a mechanical moving system to route the storage item to the selected storage location.

Abstract: Described herein are systems and methods for ordering item-movement tasks in storage facilities. Item-movement tasks are distributed amongst queues of operators in a first state of the queues. A first value indicating utilization based on the operators performing the queues in the first state is determined. A first task from a first queue is swapped with a second task from a second queue, forming a second state of the queues, such that the first queue to be performed by a first operator includes the second task and the second queue to be performed by a second operator includes the first task. A second value indicating utilization based on the operators performing the queues having the second state is determined. Based on determining that utilization is greater when the queues have the first state, the first task is swapped with the second task to revert the queues to the first state.

Abstract: In general, the subject matter described in this disclosure can be embodied in methods, systems, and program products for routing items in a warehouse. A computing system receives a request to assign an inbound truck to a transport bay and determines an available subset of unloading paths, by removing any unloading path directed from a transport bay or inbound storage area that is currently occupied/assigned. The computing system determines an available subset of loading paths, by removing any loading path directed to a transport bay or outbound staging area that is currently occupied/assigned. The computing system identifies multiple available path combinations that each include an unloading path from the available subset of unloading paths and a loading path from the available subset of loading paths. The computing system determines a selected path combination based on the selected path combination having a most favorable score.

Abstract: A layer pick system optimizes usage of a layer picker gantry or robotic arm by arranging and/or displacing the gantry or arm in optimal locations with respect to one or more groups of pallets, and/or by grouping pallets by their attributes and arranging the same group of pallets close to each other. In some implementations, a plurality of pallets is categorized into multiple groups by different velocities.

Abstract: Systems and methods for profiling a pallet in a warehouse can include a turntable that rotates the pallet, conveyor belts that move the pallet, and a vertical profiling structure, having cameras mounted at different locations, in a stationary position proximate to a side of the turntable. A photo booth can also be used to provide uniform lighting. A computing system can instruct a conveyor belt to automatically route the pallet onto the turntable, instruct the cameras to capture image data of the pallet as it rotates on the turntable, receive the image data, and retrieve image-based models of the pallet that were trained using images of pallets having unique identifiers. The computing system can determine, based on applying the image-based models to the image data, whether the pallet's unique identifier is identifiable, and transmit, to a warehouse management system, a notification indicating whether the unique identifier is identifiable.

Abstract: This specification generally discloses technology for optimizing the loading of pallets on trucks and other sorts of vehicles. A pallet loading technique includes receiving pallet information for a shipment, the pallet information describing pallets to be included in the shipment, receiving vehicle constraint information for a vehicle, the vehicle constraint information describing rules for loading pallets on the vehicle, and determining candidate solutions for loading the pallets on the vehicle, each candidate solution (i) satisfying the rules for loading pallets on the vehicle, and (ii) defining, for each pallet to be included in the shipment, a respective position and orientation of the pallet on the vehicle. At least some of the candidate solutions are evaluated, one of the candidate solutions is selected, and the vehicle is loaded according to the selected candidate solution.