Autonomous guided vehicles are computer-controlled transportation units that are used for material handling, transportation, sorting, assembly and delivery within manufacturing plants and warehouses. Autonomous or automated guided vehicles are able to perform their operations without any human direction or control. Used in a wide range of applications, AGVs are found in the aerospace, automotive, clean room, food and beverage, mail, manufacturing, newspaper, pharmaceutical, plastics and storage industries.
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Autonomous guided vehicles provide high volumes of repetitive movement and materials and are able to manage heavier and larger loads more efficiently than manual labor can. Automatic guided vehicles have become popular alternatives to forklifts, conveyor belts and manual cart transports due to their capacity and reliability. Depending on their specific application, autonomous guided vehicles range in size, construction and mobility. Transfer cars, towing vehicles, pallet trucks, assembly line units and material handling robots are all types of AGVs used for either light load or heavy load operations, or for assembly or transportation processes. There are numerous advantages to implementing an AGV system into a manufacturing process. They are able to cut down on labor costs and greatly improve the efficiency of processes. These vehicles eliminate the risk of bumping, crashes and collisions and therefore increase floor safety as the machines are able to use their internal navigation systems and computer programming to adjust to traffic and obstructions.
These battery or electricity powered vehicles are useful in applications where no immediate or important decisions need to be made that are beyond the scope of automated machinery. There are several different types of navigation systems used by autonomous guided vehicles. Fixed path guidance systems use embedded wire, tape or paint on the floor to provide a path for the vehicle. Wire paths have frequencies or currents running through them that an antenna on the vehicle follows. The paths are preplanned and rigid, therefore these systems are becoming less popular in favor of the more flexible capabilities of computerized AGV systems. Free range guidance systems provide no physical path, but rather determine the vehicle's path by entering it into computer software, allowing vehicles to adjust to traffic and obstructions as needed. Laser paths for laser guided vehicles use laser scanners and targets to determine the vehicle's position, while vehicles guided by inertia have a gyroscope that determines and maintains the path by directions from a computer control system. Transponders located beneath the facility floor keep the vehicle on track.