Interview: AGVs and AMRs in the Industry 4.0

I was interviewed recently about what the AGVs and AMRs are, and why they are so important for the industry. Although the interview is in Spanish, I share with you the written translation of the interview in English.

click to see the interview (in Spanish)

Could you explain what automated intralogistics vehicles are and what they are useful for?

There is no doubt that the industry increasingly requires to operate in an automated way, otherwise, it could not serve the growing demand of the market, while reducing costs and improving the quality of the products and processes.

One of the ways to go in this direction is to use what are called automated intralogistics vehicles, which can move material completely unattended.

I'll give you two examples:

Case 1: Automotive manufacturing

The first example is in the automotive sector, where car assembly lines operate continuously and therefore require a constant flow of parts from what is called the kitting area, which is where the parts are located, to the assembly area. In this case, the automated vehicles deal precisely with this task without pause, communicating and interacting on their way with different elements of the factory such as doors, elevators, robotic cells, and even people if needed.

Case 2: Online Shopping

Another example is that of the orders we make online to Amazon, Zara, or Aliexpress, among others, in some cases with delivery times on the same day. This would be impossible without automation.

In this case, your order enters the web and from here it enters the supplier's order and warehouse management system. These systems are connected to a Fleet Management System, which manages the dozens or hundreds of automated vehicles that will pick up the products of your order and take them to the picking area, where the operator or even a robot introduces them into the box that then arrives at home.

In all this process there are a lot of technologies involved, such as artificial intelligence algorithms, perception systems, artificial vision, etc.

Could you briefly tell us about the difference between the two types of automated vehicles you mentioned: AGVs and AMRs?

AGVs, an acronym for Automatic Guided Vehicles, normally follow a band on the floor, which is like a road with forks. It is a very proven and very safe technology to drive the vehicle along fixed routes.

While the AMRs, acronym for Autonomous Mobile Robots, do not require these bands, using other sensors, such as laser scanners or artificial vision based systems and have a greater decision-making capacity, such as to avoid a person or decide the best route to reach a destination.

The important thing is to choose the technology that best meets the needs of the industry in each case.