About AGVs and AGVs Manufacturers Including: AGV
Manufacturers, Automated
Guided Vehicles, Automatic
Guided Vehicles, Self
Guided Vehicles & Transfer Cars.
An automatic guided vehicle (AGV), also known as a self guided vehicle, is an unmanned, computer-controlled mobile transport unit that is powered by a battery or an electric motor. AGV manufacturers program AGVs to drive to specific points and perform designated functions. They are becoming increasingly popular worldwide in applications that call for repetitive actions over a distance or for transporting extremely heavy loads. Common applications include load transferring, pallet loading and unloading and tugging or towing, and AGVs are commonly used as automatic guided military vehicles and armored vehicles in defense industries. Many industrial manufacturing facilities use automated guided vehicles to transport multi-ton equipment or materials such as aircraft engines or large metal coils, across the plant floor. Different models, which include forked AGV, tuggers, towing vehicles and transfer cars, have wide ranging load capacities and design characteristics. They come in varying sizes and shapes, according to their specific uses, load requirements and industry.
AGVs have onboard microprocessors and usually a supervisory control system that helps with various tasks, such as tracking and tracing modules and generating and/or distributing transport orders. They are able to navigate a guide path network that is flexible and easy to program. Various navigation methods used on AGVs include laser, camera, optical, inertial and wire guided systems. The laser guided vehicle has advanced navigation capabilities and is able to navigate around objects along a programmed path and avoid collisions independently using laser beam sensors. AGVs manufacturers program AGVs for many different and useful maneuvers, such as spinning and side-traveling, which allow for more effective production. Some are designed for the use of an operator, but most are capable of operating independently.
Corporations that use AGVs, often factories, warehouses, hospitals and other large facilities, benefit AGVs' power, stability and remote operating capabilities. Using automated guided vehicles within facilities often results in reduced labor costs. AGVs can do hard physical work without wear or exhaustion, eliminating human labor which would otherwise be costly and potentially hazardous. Loads that AGVs carry are far heavier than any single human could manage, which makes transporting heavy objects quick and simple. AGVs help give companies a competitive edge because they increase productivity and time efficiency. They are flexible and can be adapted to many different needs. Using AGVs may reduces damage to products while creating a more ergonomic work environment.
Purchasing AGVs often involves making large initial monetary investments, as most automated guided vehicles are manufactured with a number of costly materials and guidance systems, although companies and manufacturers which use AGVs often see a quick return on investment through increased production, time and labor efficiency. As AGV use becomes more popular, AGV manufacturers are finding ways to lower costs and are designing smaller, more affordable models for smaller load transfer applications. Research on these vehicles is on-going, and new developments on software and movement techniques are frequently being made.
Types of AGV (automatic guided vehicle)
- make
automatic guided vehicles.
- are moving robots used in various industrial applications.
- consist of the computer, software
and technology that are the "brains" behind
the AGV. Without computer software systems and communications networks,
only the simplest AGV functions can be performed.
- ,
or ATVs, are robots used in industrial settings.
- are used when precise guidance accuracy is needed, such as in crowded
environments and smaller sized facilities. An on-board
camera focuses and guides the AGV while performing.
- are used to pick up and deliver various loads, such as
pallets, carts, rolls and others. These can be manually driven as well
as used automatically, and have the ability to lift loads to many levels.
- use a magnet sensing
device, a gyroscope that measures the unit's heading and a
wheel odometer that calculates the distance traveled. Magnets mounted
beneath the floor are detected
by the on-board magnetic sensing device and combine with the first
two readings to give an accurate positional location.
- are used to transport heavier loads with
various transfer devices such as rollerbeds, lift/lower mechanisms
and custom mechanisms.
- use mounted laser scanners
that emit a laser and reflect back from targets. The vehicle's
location can be determined based on distance to the target and time
of reflection information.
- use
a latex-based photosensitive tape on a facility's
floor for guidance. Distance is measured by use of wheel odometers,
which establish stop locations for the AGV along the course.
- have two horizontal stabilizing legs (outriggers)
to provide lateral support, and are used to handle pallets, rolls and
racks.
- are
computer-controlled robots.
- are able to maneuver through crowded workplaces
through laser sensing, while transporting smaller loads.
- are
capable of determining their own traffic control and routing without
necessitating a central controller.
- are
used to pull trailers and are usually manned by an operator who adds
and removes the trailers at designated
stops. These
can follow a basic loop or a more complicated path.
- use a charged wire that is
buried beneath the floor for proper guidance and has a small antennae
composed of
metal coils mounted on their bottoms. The stronger the field between
the buried
wire and antennae, the higher the voltage induced to the
coils.
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Automatic Guided Vehicle (AGV) Terms
- A control on
the sound and volume of the AGV that alerts the surrounding area when
it is in motion.
- A type of traffic control performed by
the AGV using detection sensors that allow for one vehicle to slow or
stop, then resume motion once there is a safe gap between machines. The
sensor housing on the AGV detects stopped and slower vehicles in front
of and behind it en route.
- Used for wireless
communication that gives the AGV instructions and information about traffic
control.
- An AGV's battery recharge without the
removal of the battery itself. A copper plate in the floor makes contact
with
the conductor of an AGV overhead, activating a charge, and the AGV departs
once charging is complete.
- Displays information necessary
to operating the AGV system and keeps it operating efficiently.
- A device with
a joystick designed to manually operate the AGV as needed.
- The process of relocating or stocking
materials using an automated device such as an AGV.
- A device on some AGVs
that allows them to grab circular or cylindrical objects such as barrels
and place them wherever needed.
- Unit commands within the AGV system such as where
to go, when to start, slow down and stop. Within most AGV systems, the
basic communication methods are infrared, radio, guide wire data and
inductive loop.
- Marks on the floor indicating where the AGV is supposed
to stop or change direction.
- AGV dispatch
that occurs from a nearby source, used for simpler systems. Onboard sensors,
keys and data couplers are
all examples of local dispatching controls.
- Wheels that, in addition to allowing
the vehicle to move forward and back, are capable of moving sideways
and spinning.
- The means by which
an AGV determines its calculated position and stop points. Laser, optical,
wire, camera and inertial systems
are types of navigation.
- A device that records the distance traveled. Wheel odometers
are often implemented on AGVs to determine position and speed.
- An ultrasonic sensor on an AGV that allows the
vehicle to slow down or stop when faced with an obstruction.
- A navigation system
that allows an AGV to select from a large number of pathways. Open path
systems are useful in crowded warehouses
and smaller facilities.
- When the battery of the AGV supplies power to
pickup and delivery stations, to make additional wiring unnecessary.
- A means
of communication that involves a central controller dispatching information
to the AGVs. Remote dispatching can
be done through an RF network (broadband or wired) or infrared communication.
- Usually a detection
sensor, designed to detect obstructions in front of and behind the AGV.
- Analysis
of the entire AGV system, including hours of runtime, transaction queue(s)
and parts and service records.
- A function of certain
AGVs that serves to pull or tow multiple items. Tug/tow AGVs are useful
for moving wheeled products such
as shopping carts.
- Analysis
of AGVs and their individual components. Common vehicle monitoring examples
are vehicle runtime, battery status
and error logs.
- Lights on an AGV
that flash in the direction of travel during an operation.
- A preventative
method controlled by an AGV system controller. Sections of guide
path that have zone blocking allow only one AGV to be in a particular
zone at one time.
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