Design considerations for automated guided vehicles

摘要

Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) system is one of the most exciting, dynamic, battery powered industrial trucks and functions as an unmanned, computerised system that is capable of understanding external guidance signals in order to deliver a unit load from origin to destination. Within industrial environments, the use of AGVs has increased drastically from traditional distribution-oriented applications at one end of the spectrum to complex computer controlled sophisticated assembly systems with robotic interfaces at the other end. AGVs have been used in virtually every major industry such as Automobile, Electronic, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, Textiles, Warehouse, Material Flow and Transport, etc. The paper presents the study of technological development, and design considerations for AGV, such as travelling unit, load handling system, control system, flow path, traffic control at intersections and battery charging.