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WHO CREATED/STARTED AGVS?

• AGVs where created in 1953 when Barrett Electronics installed a tow tractor that transported parts by following a wire in the floor.

WHAT IS AN AGV?• Computer-controlled wheel-based load carriers that travel

along the floor of a facility without an operator or driver. They are typically battery powered.

• Their movement is directed by a combination of software and sensor-based guidance systems.

• They can be navigated by using guidance technologies such as floor-surface mounted magnetic tape or bars, lasers, optical sensors, and magnet/gyroscope based inertial guidance.

• Computer-based software uses wireless connections to collect data about each unit’s current location, then interfaces with software for destination and routing logic.

WHEN WAS THE AGV INVENTED?

• The first AGV system was built and introduced in 1953 by Barrett Electronics. It was a modified towing tractor that was used to pull a trailer and follow an overhead wire in a grocery warehouse.

• In 2003, Dr. Hans Moravec and Dr. Scott Friedman founded Seegrid Corporation, the first manufacturer of vision-guided flexible AGVs.

WHERE DID AGVS ORIGINATE?

The first AGV was originated in Barrett Electronics.

WHY ARE AGVS USED?

• Once on an AGV items are tracked, therefor making it harder for product to be “lost” or misplaced.

• AGVs reliable and have on-time delivery, and can improve scheduling capabilities and the efficiency of operations.

• AGVs always follow their guide path and stop if they encounter an obstruction, improving the safety of surrounding personnel.

• AGVs handle products gently, reducing scrap and waste.

SOURCES

• http://www.mhi.org/fundamentals/automatic-guided-vehicles

• http://www.egeminusa.com/pages/agv_education/education_agv_history.html