What is an Automated Guided Vehicle?

Are you familiar with the idea of an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) but need to figure out how it works? AGVs are quickly becoming a popular solution to help streamline automated processes and can be seen in warehouses, manufacturing plants, hospitals, airports, and more. An AGV is a miniature vehicle that utilizes onboard sensors and navigation systems such as lasers or magnets – to transport goods from one location to another in a predetermined route without direct human interaction. In this blog post, we will provide an overview of an AGV and showcase some examples of how they're being used today. So keep reading to learn more about automation's role in modern industries!

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What Are Automated Guided Vehicles? 

An AGV robot is used in different fields and different manners. The most common application of an automated guided vehicle is to move around many materials in a facility. For example, an AGV might be used instead of forklifts, conveyor belts, and another setup to internally move products down the supply chain. 

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The AGVs move materials like metals, plastic, rubber, or paper. The vehicles can be used to move raw materials to the warehouse before they are sent to the production facility, or they can also be used to carry around finished products from production lines. These vehicles can handle many loads, so they are used to move around raw materials reliably—delivering raw materials in large amounts without considerable manual intervention. 

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Without the use of AGV, the carrying of materials has to be done manually by workers that can do physical labor in a repetitive manner and for a long time. When a modern warehouse or storehouse uses AGV to store raw materials, manual skill is used, but it is only used to operate AGV robotics. The repetitive tasks and physical effort on behalf of human workers reduces, and the process becomes more efficient and more accessible. With the use of Avg robotics, production lines are also streamlined and smoothly automated. 

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AGV robots are used in work-in-progress lines to move partially finished products down the assembly line. The movement of partially finished goods down the assembly line also helps streamline the production process and speeds up the process for a lesser turnaround time. Without the AGV robot, the assembly line and production process might face hurdles and delays because of its dependency on manual skills. 

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AGV is also used for pickup handling of products down the inbound and outbound order fulfillment channels. AGV is also seen in inventory management, which is done to conduct products from the receiving end from the suppliers to the storage location so that the products can be stocked up and kept for long-term storage. Automated forklifts are also used to transport finished stored products from the inventory to picking-up facilities so they can be sent to customers. 

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The automated guided vehicles move products from e-commerce warehouses to different pickers and packages to be put into shipments and shipped to other places for order fulfillment. Large warehouses and order processing facilities use such guided machines to quicken the processing speed of multiple orders. In most cases, the AGVs are the same as any other vehicle designed by humans for their convenience. The only difference is the use of automated robotics to do most of its operations without the intervention of humans. For example, computerized forklifts are the same as average forklifts but are automated. 

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Related: Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems: Complete Guide

Different Types Of Automated Guided Vehicles Used In Industries

Industrial setups work with multiple types of AVG automated guided vehicles. The kinds of AGV are as follows- 

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AGC or Automated Guided Carts 

An automated Guided Cart is a simple AGV that can be used to transport a lot of load from one location in the facility to another. In large warehouses, the distance between two different places is enormous. Instead of using manual workers, an AGC can get things done well and fast. 

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The navigation system of these AGCs can range from something simple like a magnetic tape to systems based on sensors and advanced equipment. The AGC can transport small parts to the assembly line or loaded pallets from inventory to the pickup line. The AGCs are often used to move around things and in inventory storage, sorting, and cross-docking applications. An example of AGC is a hospital cart transporter transporting many loads like bulk packaged medicines, equipment, or food trays from different rooms and wards to the dining hall. 

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Forklift AGVs 

Automated forklifts are also called Forklift AGVs and can be used for the same purposes as any other human-operated forklifts, but they are operated without much human intervention. The automatically guided vehicle lifts large packages and pallets from the stock and brings them to different locations. 

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Towing AGVs 

Towing of vehicles is done by high-power vehicles called towing vehicles. The AGVs can also be automated towing vehicles with huge load-bearing vehicles behind them in a chain-like formation. These high-power automated vehicles are the best ones to be used for large vehicle transport from large vehicle depots and manufacturing facilities. If the company has to transport large loads over long distances, you should use towing AGVs. These long-distance transport vehicles might have a long list of pickups and drop-offs over a long distance. These stops are complete with the use of its automated algorithms. 

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Unit load carriers 

Some automated guided vehicles carry individual loads, which could be used in small-scale and large-scale industrial setups. These are used for order pickup facilities where products are shipped one by one, and packages are sent as individual shipments. 

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Conclusion

An AGV is a precious resource for streamlining automated processes and enhancing efficiency. They're available in various shapes and sizes, from fully-automated trucks to more miniature mobile robots. Best of all, they are incredibly versatile and can be used in many industries, such as warehouses, hospitals, airports, and more. Whether you want to automate existing processes or are just curious about how automation works, AGVs provide an exciting glimpse into the world of technology and robotics. As these vehicles become more sophisticated and advanced, the possibilities of what we can do with automation continue to grow – allowing us to innovate faster than ever!

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Recommended: Beginners Guide To An Automated Inventory System