AGV systems on the rebound

By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 6/1/2000

Automatic guided vehicle (AGV) systems "are making a rebound," says Tom Allen, a partner in the firm Allen Zeiler Technical Consulting. After the business declined in the late '80s, and then in the '90s, there's been a turnaround lately, Allen told an NA 2000 seminar.

Fifty-six systems were sold in 1998, the latest year for which data is available. They averaged 4.6 vehicles per systems.

"Don't get hung up on any one guidance technology," Allen urged prospective users of AGV systems. He particularly cautions against choosing a guidance method "just because it's the latest and greatest."

Allen also encouraged those considering an AGV system to pay for a computer simulation of the AGVs envisioned.