Containers are constantly packed and unpacked in fulfillment centers that manage movement and storage of items sold on electronic marketplaces. In modern fulfillment centers, automation is heavily used and items are often sorted and moved to different locations by item conveyers. However, containers, such as reusable totes or cardboard shipping boxes, are often loaded with items manually by a human worker. The worker is responsible for packing the container in a way that prevents damage to items during the packing, but also during the transit of the items in the container. Packing containers manually by workers requires extra time for handling of each item and is expensive.
Some item conveyers transport items directly into containers. In these arrangements, the items typically fall to the bottom of the container and may be damaged by the fall or by an impact from above by a heavy item deposited into the container. For example, when a light bulb is followed by a dictionary along the item conveyer that feeds items into the container, the light bulb would likely get crushed when the dictionary falls on top of the light bulb. One solution is to order the heavier items first along the item conveyer. However, this sortation is often logistically challenging and expensive. For example, additional sortation may require additional conveyers and/or other hardware or sensors.