Simbe Robotics, Inc.

Simbe Robotics, Inc.b

Lorin Vandegrift

Bradley Bogolea

Jariullah Safi

Jeffrey Gee

Mirza Akbar Shah

Luke Fraser

Durgesh Tiwari

Shiva Reddy

Tom Gehani

One variation of a method for tracking placement of products in a store includes: accessing an image recorded by a mobile robotic system within a store; detecting a shelf in a region of the image; based on an address of the shelf, retrieving a list of products assigned to the shelf by a planogram of the store; retrieving a set of template images—from a database of template images—defining visual features of products specified in the list of products; extracting a set of features from the region of the image; determining that a unit of the product is mis-stocked on the shelf in response to deviation between the set of features and features in a template image, in the set of template images, representing the product; and in response to determining that the unit of the product is mis-stocked on the shelf, generating a restocking prompt for the product.

Method for tracking placement of products on shelves in a store

One variation of a method for stock keeping in a store includes: accessing an image captured by a fixed camera within the store; retrieving a field of view of the fixed camera; estimating a segment of an inventory structure in the store depicted in the image based on a projection of the field of view onto a planogram of the store; identifying a set of slots within the inventory structure segment; retrieving a product model representing a set of visual characteristics of a product type assigned to a slot, in the set of slots, by the planogram; extracting a constellation of features from the image; if the constellation of features approximates the set of visual characteristics in the product model, detecting presence of a product unit of the product type occupying the inventory structure segment; and representing presence of the product unit, occupying the inventory structure segment, in a realogram.

Method for stock keeping in a store with fixed cameras

One variation of a method for tracking and maintaining inventory in a store includes: accessing a image of an inventory structure in the store; identifying a top shelf, in the inventory structure, depicted in the image; identifying a set of product units occupying the top shelf based on features detected in the image; identifying a second shelf, in the set of shelves in the inventory structure, depicted in the image, the second shelf arranged below the top shelf in the inventory structure; based on features detected in the image, detecting an understock condition at a slot—assigned to a product type—on the second shelf; and, in response to the set of product units comprising a product unit of the product type, generating a prompt to transfer the product unit of the product type from the top shelf into the slot on the second shelf at the inventory structure.

Method for tracking and maintaining inventory in a store

One variation of a method for tracking promotional states of slots in inventory structures within a store includes: accessing an image of an inventory structure within a store; detecting a shelf tag on the inventory structure in the image; extracting a set of features from the shelf tag detected in the image; detecting a promotional tag on the inventory structure in the image; extracting a set of features from the promotional tag detected in the image; detecting a deviation between the shelf tag and the promotional tag based on a difference between the sets of features; and, in response to detecting the deviation between the shelf tag and the promotional tag, identifying the first promotional tag as erroneous, and notifying a store associate to replace the first promotional tag with a second promotional tag at the first slot, the second promotional tag correcting the difference.

Method for tracking and maintaining promotional states of slots in inventory structures within a store

A method for stock keeping in a store includes: accessing an image captured by a fixed camera within the store; retrieving a field of view of the fixed camera; estimating a segment of an inventory structure in the store depicted in the image based on a projection of the field of view onto a planogram of the store; identifying a set of slots within the inventory structure segment; retrieving a product model representing a set of visual characteristics of a product type assigned to a slot, in the set of slots, by the planogram; extracting a constellation of features from the image; if the constellation of features approximates the set of visual characteristics in the product model, detecting presence of a product unit of the product type occupying the inventory structure segment; and representing presence of the product unit, occupying the inventory structure segment, in a realogram.

One variation of a method for tracking placement of products in a store includes: accessing an image depicting a shelving structure in the store; reading a product identifier of a product from a shelf tag detected in the image; accessing a set of template features associated with the product identifier; based on the shelf tag detected in the image, locating a region in the first image depicting a slot on the shelving structure; confirming presence of a unit of the product in the slot in response to detecting features analogous to the set of template features in the region in the image; detecting absence of the product from the slot based on absence of features analogous to the set of template features in the region in the image; and in response to detecting absence of the product from the slot, generating a prompt to restock the slot.

One variation of a method for tracking and maintaining inventory in a store includes: accessing a image of an inventory structure in the store; identifying a top shelf, in the inventory structure, depicted in the image; identifying a set of product units occupying the top shelf based on features detected in the image; identifying a second shelf, in the set of shelves in the inventory structure, depicted in the image, the second shelf arranged below the top shelf in the inventory structure; based on features detected in the image, detecting an understock condition at a slot&#x2014;assigned to a product type&#x2014;on the second shelf; and, in response to the set of product units comprising a product unit of the product type, generating a prompt to transfer the product unit of the product type from the top shelf into the slot on the second shelf at the inventory structure.

One variation of a method for automatically generating a planogram for a store includes: dispatching a robotic system to autonomously navigate within the store during a mapping routine; accessing a floor map of the floor space generated by the robotic system from map data collected during the mapping routine; identifying a shelving structure within the map of the floor space; defining a first set of waypoints along an aisle facing the shelving structure; dispatching the robotic system to navigate to and to capture optical data at the set of waypoints during an imaging routine; receiving a set of images generated from optical data recorded by the robotic system during the imaging routine; identifying products and positions of products in the set of images; and generating a planogram of the shelving segment based on products and positions of products identified in the set of images.

Method for automatically generating planograms of shelving structures within a store

One variation of a method for tracking placement of products in a store includes: accessing an image recorded by a mobile robotic system within a store; detecting a shelf in a region of the image; based on an address of the shelf, retrieving a list of products assigned to the shelf by a planogram of the store; retrieving a set of template images&#x2014;from a database of template images&#x2014;defining visual features of products specified in the list of products; extracting a set of features from the region of the image; determining that a unit of the product is mis-stocked on the shelf in response to deviation between the set of features and features in a template image, in the set of template images, representing the product; and in response to determining that the unit of the product is mis-stocked on the shelf, generating a restocking prompt for the product.

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San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Lorin Vandegrift