Tech Briefs Magazine - October 2023 - 18

Autonomous Mobile Robots
Tech Briefs: AGVs have been in the
market for a long time. How are AMRs
different and changing the impact of
automation?
Kevin Dumas: AGV technology traditionally
required some sort of physical
guidance embedded in the floor, like
tape strips or magnets, that the AGV always
follows. AMRs are a smart technology
that has a " planned " route, but that
route can be changed by " re-mapping "
and changing the assignment. AMRs are
also adaptable or flexible, as they can recognize
unplanned or unanticipated obstacles
and navigate around them. This is
something AGVs cannot do. Typical tasks
for AMRs include tugging racks of material
in a tow-behind approach, picking
racks of materials or products, restocking
of critical production operations, and
then simple tasks such as trash removal.
Steve Branch: While AGVs have been
used for many years, they typically follow
pre-determined routes and lack
the flexibility - and autonomy - that
AMRs offer. Long, pre-determined AGV
routes lead to inefficiencies and poor
asset utilization. For example, if an AGV
encounters an obstacle, it typically waits
until the obstacle is cleared. AMRs, on
the other hand, autonomously navigate
around obstacles or plan alternate paths
to the destination. AMRs are more flexible
and adaptable - and safer - to
navigate dynamically changing environments
independently and safely work
alongside humans.
Jay Judkowitz: A lot of our peers like to
market AGVs vs. AMRs, but OTTO Motors
sees it more as a continuum. Historically,
AGVs were very good at following
physical guides and staying on a perfect
path, much like a train stays on the tracks.
If you look at an AGV deployment, you
can see ruts in the concrete from the repeated
driving on the exact same path.
AGVs are predictable and not smart individually.
The intelligence to drive at
scale had to come from the fleet manager
which works like an air traffic controller,
telling the robots exactly what path to
take, when to slow down and yield, etc.
This works really well in a predictable environment
that is homogeneous without
pedestrians or manually driven traffic doing
work in the same space.
AMRs have taken the other extreme.
Like offroading ATVs, they can go wherever,
whenever. They have an endpoint
in mind and will get there any way they
can. They can take any path they fit in,
no matter how surprising. They won't
quit. They can avoid local obstacles and
replan globally if completely blocked. It's
great for deployments when the job definitions
or facility layouts can change. Because
of the lack of physical guides and
the robots' ability to figure out paths on
their own, reprogramming is trivial. But
the unpredictability can lead to behavior
that surprises bystanders and the fact that
every robot makes its own decisions without
an air traffic controller equivalent
can make traffic backups a problem.
But, like I said, there is a convergence
happening. AGVs are doing more " virtual
line following " and eliminating the
need for physical infrastructure. Some
AGVs will do local obstacle avoidance.
Some AMRs do virtual line following
rather than ATV-like free form roaming.
Also, the gap between the two is closing
in the management and standards space.
Historical AGV standards like VDA5050
are starting to include AMR concepts so
that there can eventually be capable unified
management across the two mobile
robotic technologies.
Ed Volcic: AGVs have been in the market
for a long time and are typically used
for repetitive tasks such as transporting
materials from one location to another
using methods like tape or magnetic
guidance to follow specific paths. AMRs
are different in that they are more flexible
and can adapt to changes in their environment
without requiring significant
modifications to their programming
or infrastructure. AMRs are typically
equipped with advanced sensors, such
as laser scanners and LiDAR, and algorithms
that allow them to navigate complex
environments and avoid obstacles
in real-time.
The impact of AMRs on automation
is significant as they have the potential
to transform the way that materials are
transported and processed. With their
ability to operate autonomously and
collaborate with humans, AMRs can
also improve productivity and safety in
the workplace. AMRs can also be paired
with one or more articulated robots on
top of them. This allows a single articulated
arm to tend to different stations,
e.g., CNC machines, 3D printers, semiconductor
automated material transport
and machine tending etc., thus significantly
reducing costs.
Joseph Alphonse: AGVs have been on
the market and implemented in manufacturing
since the early 1970s. These
systems involve a vehicle which is set on
a fixed track to conduct logistic missions.
This track is typically a magnetic strip
or QR codes which define a fixed path.
When the vehicle is presented with an
obstacle, the vehicle must wait until the
path is clear before it can resume operation.
AMRs are not fixed to a set path and
have the autonomy to navigate around
obstacles. The technology in AMRs allow
for a much more flexible and adaptive
environment where pickup and drop off
locations can be quickly modified, and
vehicles are much more efficient in executing
their missions by continuing their
travel regardless of changes in the work
environment.
Image: Otto Motors
18
Tech Briefs: What are some of the new
technologies being introduced to facilitate
easy implementation and safety of
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