For instance, AIUT's AMR (called AMR Formica) can transport loads ranging from 800 kg to 2 tons (depending on the model). The shape of the AMR robot and the vehicle's wide payload range are key features that meet the facility's needs. Moreover, they can easily fit into spaces inaccessible to most vehicles - including AGV, such as under a pallet. AMR? - key differences between automatically guided vehicles and autonomous mobile robots Structure and payload of automated transport vehiclesĪMR robots have a compact structure, making them much more maneuverable than, for example, a manually operated forklift.
Ongoing technological progress led to the development of natural navigation systems, enabling the continued dynamic growth of AMR robots.ĪGV vs. Its purpose was to transport items in hospitals, such as meal trays, medical supplies, test results, or mail. The first of them was HelpMate, released by the company Transitions Research Corporation. An example of this trend is the Swedish company Volvo, which, during that time, began transporting car bodies between workstations in the Kalmar factory using as many as 186 machines.Ī somewhat later invention are the AMR robots in healthcare, which began to appear on the market in the 1990s. In the subsequent years of the 20th century, AGV robots evolved and found increasingly broader applications. Path recognition was made possible in this case through an optical sensor. In Europe, the beginnings of self-propelled machines date back to 1956 when the EMI company from England developed a vehicle moving along a colored tape attached to the floor. These pioneering mobile transport robots, referred to by the inventor as vehicles without a steering wheel, followed a signal transmitted through wires embedded in the floor. The visionary behind them was Arthur Mac Barrett, who led the Barrett Electronics company, based in Northbrook, Illinois. Automated mobile robots - historical overviewĪGV robots first appeared in the 1950s, specifically in 1953 in the United States.