Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV)

Automatic guided vehicle is a vehicle equipped with automatic guidance equipment that is capable of following prescribed guidepaths, either physical or residing in software, to transport material between various points in a system. Suitable for frequent movement on set routes.

They are powered by driverless trolley, which are guided by a under floor wire. The wire carries an electric signal, or by optically following a painted or plastic tape track lay on the floor. Addressable with computer control and radio control.

The variety in configurations of AGVs is endless, virtually any type of material handling equipment can be converted to an AGV.

It is good for company with high labor cost, hazardous, or environmentally sensitive conditions (e.g., clean-room).

Also suitable for low-to-medium volume medium-to-long distance random material flow operations (e.g., transport between work cells in a flexible manufacturing system (FMS) environment)

Two means of guidance can be used for AGV systems:

Fixed path: Physical guidepath (e.g., wire, tape, paint) on the floor used for guidance

Free-ranging: No physical guidepath, thus easier to change vehicle path (in software), but absolute position estimates (from, e.g., lasers) are needed to correct dead-reckoning error

Some advantages of these systems include:

1. Most AGVs load and unload automatically.
2. They can transport materials of many different sizes and shapes.
3. They efficiently interface with other equipment, thereby, providing physical integration.
4. They are well suited to operate under computer control, allowing the control system to know the location of all materials at all times.

Types of AGV avaliable:

• Unit Load AGV

Have decks that can be loaded manually or automatically
Deck can include conveyor or lift/lower mechanism for automatic loading
Typically 4 by 4 feet and can carry 1–2,000 lb. loadsTypically less than 10 vehicles in AGV system

• Assembly AGV

Used as assembly platforms (e.g., car chassis, engines, appliances)
Greatest development activity during the 1980s (alternative to AEMs)
Typically 50–100 vehicles in AGV system

• Fork AGV

Counterbalanced, narrow-aisle straddle, and sideloading versions available
Typically have sensors on forks (e.g., infrared sensors) for pallet interfacingThis is another version of an AGV that has added functionality to raise and lower the pallet to allow the transfer pallet loads into and out of pallet racking or to other equipment at different heights

• Tow AGV

Used to pull a train of trailers
Automated version of a tractor trailer
Trailers usually loaded manually (early type of AGV, not much used today)

• Light Load AGV

Used for small loads (< 500 lbs), e.g., components, tools
Typically used in electronics assembly and office environments (as mail and snack carriers)