An AGV (automated guided vehicle) is a driverless vehicle that moves materials along fixed or predefined paths, guided by floor wires, magnetic tape, reflectors or markers, in factories and warehouses.
AGVs date back to the 1950s, when the first units were tow tractors following a wire buried in the floor. Guidance methods today include embedded wire, magnetic tape, laser scanners that triangulate against reflectors mounted on walls and columns, floor markers or QR codes, and inertial navigation. Common forms are tuggers pulling carts, unit-load carriers, and automated forklifts.
A fleet manager assigns missions, controls traffic at intersections and interfaces with the MES or warehouse system. Safety scanners slow or stop the vehicle when an obstacle is detected. Because paths are fixed, an AGV stops and waits at an obstacle rather than going around it.
The usual confusion is with AMRs, autonomous mobile robots. An AGV depends on infrastructure and predefined routes. An AMR builds a map of its surroundings with onboard sensors and plans its own path around obstacles. The line is blurring, since many modern AGVs use natural-feature laser navigation. AGVs remain a good fit for repetitive, high-load, predictable routes, such as moving coils or engine blocks between fixed stations. Changing the route layout generally requires reconfiguration work.
AGV vs AMR
| AGV | AMR | |
|---|---|---|
| Navigation | Fixed or predefined paths | Plans its own route within mapped areas |
| Guided by | Floor wires, magnetic tape, reflectors or markers | Onboard sensors and maps |
| At an obstacle | Stops and waits | Replans or waits |
| When the layout changes | Changing the route generally means reconfiguration work | Route is updated in software |
Questions about AGV
What is the difference between an AGV and an AMR?
An AGV relies on infrastructure and routes defined in advance. An AMR maps its surroundings with onboard sensors and plans its own way around obstacles. The line is blurring, because many modern AGVs navigate by laser on natural features.
What does an AGV do when something blocks its path?
It stops and waits. Safety scanners slow or stop the vehicle when they detect an obstacle, and because the path is fixed, the AGV does not drive around it.
When is an AGV a good fit?
On repetitive, predictable routes with heavy loads, for example carrying coils or engine blocks between fixed stations. The trade-off is that a change to the route layout generally means reconfiguration work.
AGV in real plants
- Sango and Mujin: Sango runs a finished goods warehouse inside its factory with two Mujin depalletizing robots and 18 AGVs under one MujinOS control platform, handling automotive components.
- Toyota Boshoku and Mujin: Toyota Boshoku automated finished goods storage and transport in its manufacturing facility with MujinOS, combining robotic palletizing, seven AGVs and a digital twin.
- Tepco Japan and Mujin: Tepco automated high-mix case picking and order fulfillment with MujinOS, which coordinates robotic mixed-case palletizing and a fleet of 17 AGVs.
Related terms
AMR (autonomous mobile robot)
An AMR (autonomous mobile robot) is a wheeled robot that navigates a facility using onboard sensors and maps, planning its own route and steering around obstacles.
Cobot (collaborative robot)
A cobot (collaborative robot) is an industrial robot designed to work in close proximity to people, with safety functions that limit speed, force, or distance so that fencing can be reduced or removed after a risk assessment.
Lights-out manufacturing
Lights-out manufacturing is production that runs fully automated without people on site, so lights, and sometimes heating, can be switched off.
MES (manufacturing execution system)
An MES (manufacturing execution system) is software that manages and records production on the shop floor.