Indeed, online purchases require individual picking packing and shipping, as opposed to the bulk transportation models of traditional brick & mortar retail. Not only are shipment volumes growing rapidly, but online retail also typically requires more logistical work per item than brick and mortar retail. The boom in e-commerce is compounding the major labor challenges faced by the global logistics industry. A combination of rising demand for e-commerce, emerging multichannel distribution channels, globalization of supply chain networks, increased adoption of micro-fulfillment centers, and expectations for faster deliveries among customers are leading many firms to invest in technologies that can augment operations and that are more resilient to disruption. A spur in automationĭespite widespread supply chain disruption and closures in recent months, innovation within the AGV and robotics sector has carved through unperturbed. The supply chain disruption of 2020 is only accelerating these kinds of investments and market growth. AGV firm Seegrid - which develops a pallet truck that can transport 8,000 pounds of goods and a tow tractor able to shift 10,000 pounds - just recently added a further $US27 million to its recent equity funding, closing off the round at US$52 million and taking its total to US$150 million, with a valuation said to be more than US$400 million. These advancements mean that AGVs became easily reprogrammable without the need for new cables, magnetic strips, reflectors, or infrastructural changes in the layout of the vehicle’s path.Īs technology advances, bringing greater flexibility, ease of use, and efficiency, industry leaders such as e-commerce and logistics giant Amazon are locked in competition for an AGV opportunity likely to become a US$2.74 billion market by 2023. These systems have existed in various forms for decades, but between 20, automated guided vehicles (AGVs) began using computer vision, localization, and mapping capabilities for navigation. AGVs are now a common sight in industrial settings, moving anything from pallets onto the back of a truck, to shifting shipping containers at logistics hubs. Given such demands, the logistics sector is a core focus of physical automation, and rapid advances in robotics, artificial intelligence, computer vision, and edge computing capabilities are all resulting in machines that can potentially think, see, hear, and move with much more fluency than human handlers.Īutomated guided vehicles (AGVs) are robots that traditionally operate by following marked lines or wires on the floor or navigate through the use of radio waves, cameras, magnets, or lasers.

Agv in robotics