Abstract: A mobile robot provided with a drop guard. The robot includes a body coupled to a wheel assembly having a plurality of wheels and a drive mechanism arranged to move the body about a top of a storage frame along a first set of parallel rails extending in a first direction and a second set of parallel rails extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The robot includes a picking arm equipped with an end effector for picking items from a storage container and a drop guard secured to the body. The guard is movable from a stowed condition to an expanded condition to prevent items from falling within the storage frame.

Abstract: A robot with rechargeable and interchangeable batteries. The robot includes a body coupled to a wheel assembly, the wheel assembly including a plurality of wheels and a drive mechanism arranged to move the body along a first set of parallel rails extending in a first direction and a second set of parallel rails extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The body has a chassis defining a first battery compartment and a second battery compartments with a first battery module disposed within the first battery compartment. When the chassis engages with a charging station, the chassis is arranged to release the first battery module from the first battery compartment and receive a second battery module within the second battery compartment. The robot is thus designed to simultaneously swap a depleted first battery module with a charged second battery module and quickly return to operation.

Abstract: A robot includes a body coupled to a wheel assembly and a container retrieval device. The wheel assembly has a plurality of wheels and a drive mechanism arranged to move the body along a first set of parallel rails and along a second set of parallel rails. The container retrieval device includes an extendable and retractable grapple arranged to selectively secure an engagement feature positioned between a rim and a bottom surface of a container. The grapple thus allows the robot to lift multiple containers in a single lift.