AGV vs. AMR

AGVs and AMRs can both be understood as subcategories of mobile robots.

While they share mobility as a common feature, they differ significantly in several respects, including their areas of application. While the use of AGVs requires extensive changes to expand production space or redesign existing operations, AMRs only require software adjustments. This means that AMRs can be used in a wide variety of applications, while AGVs are limited to one application after commissioning.

Due to the relatively simple adaptation of an AMR to new or changed tasks and environments, they enable greater flexibility and scaling of processes. To make the adjustment, all you need to do is change the map in the AMR's intuitive software to match your new production layout. However, how scalable an AMR fleet is depends on the intended use and is not linear.

In most cases, expanding the vehicle fleet requires little effort, up to the point where the vehicles block each other and controlling the flow of traffic becomes more complex. However, this point is not reached as quickly with AMRs as with AGVs. One reason for this is that an AMR can change its route depending on the situation by recalculating it using the control system, which means that blockages do not occur as quickly.

AGVs have been an integral part of many transport processes in modern industry for many years. State-of-the-art laser sensors make the use of driverless transport vehicles very safe. The entire setup of the transport route is based on various safety regulations. But what about an AMR that simply avoids obstacles? Doesn't that increase the risk of accidents? That is not the case, because AMRs also work with highly complex laser technology.

There is therefore no risk of an AMR colliding with an obstacle when it avoids another one. However, this autonomy significantly increases the demands on the laser scanners, although the additional financial outlay for adapting the hardware as part of the safety measures is low. This is because the lasers used for navigation can often also be used as safety scanners.

The use of automated guided vehicles has long been a way to optimize internal processes efficiently and reliably. AGVs are punctual and predictable, waiting times can be reduced, and transport damage and incorrect deliveries are significantly reduced through their use. Mislocalizations are also rare, and downtime is almost always due to an obstacle in the environment.

In contrast, AMRs are much more prone to errors, and their autonomy also makes problems more complex than with AGVs. The reliability of an AMR is therefore lower, but it does not decrease linearly with autonomy; rather, it depends in particular on the complexity of the AMR and the quality of its manufacture.

It is not surprising that autonomous mobile robots are significantly more expensive than automated guided vehicles due to their more complex sensor setups and software solutions. However, several factors must be taken into account when comparing the actual costs of both transport vehicles. Although the acquisition costs for an AMR fleet are very high, they do not usually require the costly infrastructure modifications that are often unavoidable with AGVs.

Subsequent adjustments to the environment can also be very costly and can be avoided with AMRs. In addition, more flexible fleets often require fewer vehicles. Whether the high acquisition costs of an AMR fleet are worthwhile compared to a lower product price plus potentially costly adjustments for an AGV fleet ultimately depends on the specific area of application and cannot be answered in general terms.

We can integrate various AGVs with integrated robots into your assembly systems, precisely tailored to the respective area of application. We implement both the electrical and mechanical integration of various robots, e.g., sensitive robots and lightweight robots, 6-axis robots, loading gantries, or pallet handling. The flexibility of robots as part of AGVs is particularly valuable in dynamic assembly processes. This is because the highly complex assembly systems used in modern manufacturing must be extremely precise and powerful, yet also scalable and flexible.

To achieve this, our assembly systems have a modular design. The individual stations make the entire system more flexible and allow changes in the production process to be implemented efficiently. Depending on requirements, the systems can be fully automated or, especially in complex systems, only partially automated. In this case, there are tasks that are performed by humans rather than machines. To ensure the internal process changeover between robot-assisted handling of workpieces and handling by humans is safe, the prescribed safety principles for human-robot collaboration must be observed.

With robots mounted on AGVs, we can implement innovative assembly systems in a functional way. This is because they enable us to design our modular assembly systems even more flexibly. Driverless transport vehicles travel along fixed tracks to transport assembly robots to the respective workpiece for processing. We use not only innovative and modern technology, but also innovative approaches and unconventional ideas to combine functionality with efficiency and precision. Like all our systems, our AGVs with integrated robots are highly customized and tailored to your needs. Our experienced experts at BÄR Automation will be happy to advise you in detail on the possibilities for integrating AGVs and robots into your manufacturing or logistics processes.