AGV Information
Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) help to reduce costs of manufacturing and increase efficiency in a manufacturing system. AGVs can tow objects behind them in small trailers which they can autonomously hook up to. These trailers can be used to move raw materials into line to get them ready to be manufactured. The AGV can also store objects on a bed. The objects can be placed on a set of motorized treads and then pushed off by reversing them. Some AGVs use fork lifts to lift objects for storage. Transporting materials such as medicine in a hospital situation is also done.
Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) is also known as Laser Guided Vehicle (LGV) or Self Guided Vehicle (SGV). In Germany the technology is also called Fahrerlose Transportsysteme (FTS) and in Sweden förarlösa truckar.
The first AGV was brought to market in the 1950s, at the time it was simply a tow truck that followed a wire in the floor instead of a rail. Over the years the technology has become more sophisticated and today automated vehicles are mainly Laser navigated e.g. LGV (Laser Guided Vehicle). In an automated process, LGVs are programmed to communicate with other robots to ensure product is moved smoothly through the warehouse, whether it is being stored for future use or sent directly to shipping areas. Today, the LGV plays an important role in the design of new factories and warehouses, safely moving goods to their rightful destinations.