Abstract
Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Sorting parcels according to their assigned destination is a critical step for efficient delivery and supply management systems. While many a spects of parcel handling and transportation have become automated, sortation of parcels often involves precision in manipulating the parcels, particularly with parcels of a smaller size, which makes automation challenging. For this reason, many current methods of sorting parcels include manual sortation with some auto mated assistance. Attempts to automate fully manual and semi-manual sortation me thods have involved using an articulated robotic arm to receive the parcel and p lace the parcel within an assigned cubby within a vertical wall, which is ineffi cient to due to the kinematics of industrial arms. Additionally, robotic arms ty pically cannot finesse the positioning of parcels within the cubby to ensure max imum packaging. As a result, fewer parcels may fit within the cubby before it ne eds to be emptied. As such, these attempts at automation have been inefficient i n that they do not achieve the current throughput rates of the manual sortation systems. Additionally, in some instances, the use of robotic arms to sort parcel s along a vertical wall requires more space than what is allotted for parcel sor tation within existing infrastructure.”
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