Driverless trains

The types of Automated Guided Vehicles Systems (AGVS) can be classified as follows:

1. Driverless trains: The type consists of a towing vehicle (which is the AGV) that pulls

one or more trailers to form a train. It was the first type of AGVS to be introduced and is still

popular. It is useful in applications where heavy payloads must be moved large distances in

warehouses of factories with intermediate pickup and drop-off points along the route.

2. AGVS pallet trucks: Automated guided pallet trucks are used to move palletized loads

along predetermined routes. In the typical application the vehicle is backed into the loaded pallet

by a human worker who steers the truck and uses its forks to elevate the load slightly. Then the

worker who steers the truck to the guide path, programs its destination, and the vehicle proceeds

automatically to the destination for unloading. A more recent introduction related to the pallet

truck is the forklift AGV. This vehicle can achieve significant vertical movement of its forks

reach loads on shelves.

3. AGVS unit load carriers: This type of AGVS is used to move unit loads from one

station to another station. They are often equipped for automatic loading and unloading by means

of powered rollers, moving belts, mechanized lift platforms, or other devices. The light-load AGV

is a relatively small vehicle with a corresponding light load capacity. It does not require the same

large aisle width as the conventional AGV. Light-load guided vehicles are designed to move small

loads through plants of limited size engaged in light manufacturing. The assembly line AGVS is

designed to carry a partially completed subassembly through a sequence of assembly workstations

to build the product.

AGVS technology is far from mature, and the industry, and the industry is continually

working to develop new systems in response to new application requirements. An example of a

new and evolving AGVS design involves the placement of a robotic manipulator on an automated

guided vehicle to provide a mobile robot for performing complex handling tasks at various

locations in a plan

for delivery to the shipping dock. When the rates of incoming loads and the outgoing loads are

in balance, this mode of operation permits loads to be carried in both directions by the AGVS

vehicles, thereby increasing the handling system efficiency.

3. Assembly line operations: AGV systems are being used in a growing number of

assembly-line applications. In these applications, the production rate is relatively low and there

are a variety of different models made on the production line. Between the workstations, components

are kitted and placed on the vehicle for the assembly operations that are to be performed on the

partially completed product at the next station. The workstations are generally arranged in parallel

configurations to add to the flexibility of the line. Unit load carries and light-load guided vehicles

are the type of AGVS used in these assembly lines.

4. Flexible manufacturing systems: Another application of AGVS technology is in flexible

manufacturing systems (FMS). In this application, the guided vehicles are used as the materials

handling system in the FMS. The vehicles deliver work from the staging area (where work is

placed on pallet fixtures, usually manually) to the individual workstations in the system. The

vehicles also move work between stations in the manufacturing system. At a workstation, the

work is transferred from the vehicle platform into the work area of the station for processing.

At the completion of processing by that station a vehicle returns to pick up the work and transport

it to the next area. AGV systems provide a versatile material handling system to complement the

flexibility of the FMS operation.

Example: Using roborts and automation together, manufacturing is carried out without using

manpower (unmanned) from raw material to finished products.

5. Miscellaneous applications: Other applications of automated guided vehicle systems

include non-manufacturing and non-warehousing applications, such as, mail delivery in office

buildings and hospital material handling operations. Hospital guided vehicles transport meal trays,

linen, medical and laboratory supplies, and other materials between various departments in the

building. These applications typically require movement of the vehicles between different floors

of the hospital and will use elevators for this purpose