System and method for automatic recognition of undetected assets

Abstract

In logistic scenarios where multiple assets are stacked to form a package of assets, it is often important to determine the number and types of assets which are stacked together. Various systems and methods of determining the content of a package of assets are known in the art, however, there are cases in which they fail to detect one or more assets and also fail to provide any indication that an asset has been overlooked or is missing. According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a system and method that enable to automatically detect one or more assets in a package which are missing. According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a system and method for detecting the number of missing assets and also specific characteristics of each of one or more missing assets.

1 . A method of automatic recognition of one or more undetected assets in a plurality of assets, said plurality of assets forming a package wherein one or more of said plurality of assets is coupled each to at least one respective identifier, the method comprising:
 a) obtaining information indicative of a position of at least one identifier in respect of an area of inspection, said area of inspection including at least part of said package; said position being indicative of a position of a respective asset associated with said identifier;   b) obtaining spatial properties of said asset;   c) generating a digital representation of said area of inspection, based on said position of said at least one identifier and said spatial properties of said asset being associated with said identifier;   d) analyzing said digital representation and detecting one or more holes, based on the spatial properties of said assets in said digital representation, each of said one or more holes being suspected as an area representing one or more undetected assets.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 e) determining spatial properties of each of said one or more holes; and 
 f) comparing said spatial properties of each of said one or more holes to spatial properties of one or more asset types, and selecting a combination of one or more assets, from said one or more asset types, which fit in each of said one or more holes, thereby identifying said one or more undetected assets. 
 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said plurality of assets include at least two assets of different asset types, each asset type is characterized by a unique spatial property;
 said obtaining spatial properties of said asset comprising: obtaining a respective spatial property for each asset of said at least two different asset types. 
 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said obtaining spatial properties of said asset further comprising:
 I. decoding said at least one identifier and obtaining an asset type of said asset from said identifier;   II. searching said asset type in a data storage; and   III. retrieving from said data storage said spatial properties of said asset type.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said obtaining spatial properties of said asset further comprising: calculating assets spatial properties based on the location of detected identifiers. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said spatial properties of said asset include to at least one of the following:
 asset size; asset perimeter; offset of identifier from asset perimeter; and distance between identifiers. 
 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said hole being a space within said package where no assets are detected. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 2  wherein said selecting a combination of one or more assets, from said one or more asset types further comprising:
 I. constructing one or more combinations of one or more assets; each of said one or more combinations representing a group of candidate assets for being undetected assets in said hole; 
 II. determining the quality of each of said one or more combinations; and 
 III. selecting the combination with highest quality from among said one or more combinations. 
 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8  wherein said determining of said quality is based on at least one of the following: a remaining empty space in said hole after it is filled with a combination; an excessive space in said package covered by a combination; and a similarity between asset types of asset in each of said combination and neighboring assets in the package. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising displaying said plurality of assets from said package, said plurality of assets including said holes. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said at least one identifier is from a group consisting of:
 barcode; OCR; Pattern; and RFID tag. 
 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said digital representation is in the form of at least one of the following:
 image; vector; tree. 
 
     
     
         13 . A system automatic recognition of one or more undetected assets in a plurality of assets, said plurality of assets forming a package wherein one or more of said plurality of assets is coupled each to at least one respective identifier, the system comprising:
 a processing unit operable to execute at least the following operations:   receive information indicative of a position of at least one identifier in respect of an area of inspection, said area of inspection including at least part of said package; said position being indicative of a position of a respective asset associated with said identifier;   obtain spatial properties of said asset; generate a digital representation of said area of inspection, based on said position of said at least one identifier and said spatial properties of said asset being associated with said identifier;   analyze said digital representation and detecting one or more holes, based on the spatial properties of said assets in said digital representation, each of said one or more holes being suspected as an area representing one or more undetected assets.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13  wherein said processing unit is further operable to:
 determine spatial properties of each of said one or more holes; compare said spatial properties of each of said one or more holes to spatial properties of one or more asset types, and select a combination of one or more assets, from said one or more asset types, which fit in each of said one or more holes, thereby identify said one or more undetected assets. 
 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 13  further comprising a data storage for storing one or more asset types and their corresponding spatial properties, and wherein said processor is configured to:
 decode said at least one identifier and obtain a respective asset type of said asset; and retrieve from said data storage said spatial properties of said asset type. 
 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 13  wherein said plurality of assets include at least two assets of different asset types, each asset type is characterized by a unique spatial property; said processing unit is configured to obtain a respective spatial property for each asset of said at least two different asset types. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein said processing unit is configured to obtain spatial properties of said asset by calculating assets spatial properties based on the location of detected identifiers. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 14 , is configured to select a combination of one or more assets, from said one or more asset types by:
 I. constructing one or more combinations of one or more assets; each of said one or more combinations representing a group of candidate assets for being undetected assets in said hole;   II. determining the quality of each of said one or more combinations; and   III. selecting the combination with highest quality from among said one or more combinations.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 13  further comprising a display said processing unit is configured to display said plurality of assets on said display, said plurality of assets including said holes. 
     
     
         20 . A computer program product stored in a computer readable storage medium for causing a computer to perform a method of automatic recognition of one or more undetected assets in a plurality of assets, said plurality of assets forming a package wherein one or more of said plurality of assets is coupled each to at least one respective identifier, the method comprising:
 a) obtaining information indicative of a position of at least one identifier in respect of an area of inspection, said area of inspection including at least part of said package; said position being indicative of a position of a respective asset associated with said identifier;   b) obtaining spatial properties of said asset;   c) generating a digital representation of said area of inspection, based on said position of said at least one identifier and said spatial properties of said asset being associated with said identifier;   d) analyzing said digital representation and detecting one or more holes, based on the spatial properties of said assets in said digital representation, each of said one or more holes being suspected as an area representing one or more undetected assets.