Mumbai University > mechanical engineering > Sem 7 > CAD/CAM/CAE

Marks: 5 Marks

Year: Dec 2015

Computer-controlled and wheel-based, automatic guided vehicles (AGV) are load carriers that travel along the floor of a facility without an on board operator or driver.

Their movement is directed by a combination of software and sensor-based guidance systems. Because they move on a predictable path with precisely controlled acceleration and deceleration, and include automatic obstacle detection bumpers, AGVs provide safe movement of loads.

Typical AGV applications include transportation of raw materials, work-in-process, and finished goods in support of manufacturing production lines, and storage/retrieval or other movements in support of picking in warehousing and distribution applications.

Typically battery powered, AGV systems consist of multiple vehicles that navigate along pre-defined guide paths. Vehicles navigate in the facility using several guidance technologies including floor-surface mounted magnetic tape or bars, lasers, optical sensors, and magnet/gyroscope based inertial guidance. These guidance technologies make it easy to change the routes and expand the AGV system in response to facility changes for a flexible and scalable material handling solution.

AGVs provide automated material movement for a variety of industries including:

1. Automotive
2. Beverage
3. Chemicals
4. Commercial printing
5. Food
6. Hospital
7. Manufacturing
8. Newspaper
9. Paper
10. Pharmaceutical
11. Plastics
12. Warehousing and distribution.