Since the birth of the first AGV in 1953, after more than half a century of development and with the continuous upgrading and innovation of the manufacturing industry, mobile robots (AGVs/AMRs) have played an increasingly important role in the industrial manufacturing field due to their unique technological advantages. According to the "2020-2021 China Industrial Application Mobile Robot (AGV/AMR) Industry Development Research Report," in 2020, the Chinese market saw 41,000 new industrial application mobile robots added, a 22.75% increase compared to 2019, with market sales reaching 7.68 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 24.4%.
The successful partnership between Amazon and Kiva in 2012 led to widespread industry recognition of the significant benefits of large-scale AGV cluster deployment in improving overall logistics efficiency. From a system composition perspective, the control system, comprised of a central controller, onboard controller, and vehicle navigation system, acts as the "brain" of the system, playing a crucial role in overall planning. Thanks to the rise of LiDAR, modern AGV navigation has evolved from traditional magnetic strip and QR code navigation to SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) navigation, freeing vehicles from the constraints of fixed paths, enabling automatic obstacle avoidance, real-time map updates, and more flexible operation. Meanwhile, the vehicle drive unit, primarily composed of power modules and drive modules represented by lithium batteries and low-voltage servo motors, acts as the "legs" of the system, ensuring its efficient execution.
Over the past five years, China's AGV industry has transformed from one heavily reliant on imports to a high-tech industry with core technology R&D and deep integration across multiple scenarios. The Chinese market has also become one of the world's largest AGV robot user markets. Domestic low-voltage servo motor manufacturers, represented by MOONS, have become the preferred brand for AGV/AMR drive units thanks to their unique technology, diversified products, and comprehensive production capabilities. MOONS is a core member of the China Mobile Robot (AGV) Industry Alliance and an internationally renowned motion control manufacturer. The company possesses core technologies in motor manufacturing and control, has extensive experience in mobile robot applications, and maintains broad and in-depth technical cooperation with numerous global AGV/AMR equipment manufacturers and end-users in the logistics industry. Its motors and drive products are widely recognized by users both domestically and internationally.
After years of market research and technological accumulation, Mingzhi believes that to improve overall warehousing efficiency, AGV bodies are developing towards compactness and miniaturization. Traditional low-voltage servo products, without thorough technological innovation, will hinder AGV manufacturers' technological breakthroughs and innovations. In 2017, in response to the development needs of the AGV/AMR industry, Mingzhi developed the MDX series of integrated low-voltage servo motor product lines, pioneering the integrated design of low-voltage servo motors in China.
The integrated design combines the motor and drive into a single unit, eliminating the need for traditional wiring harnesses for power and signal feedback between the motor and drive. This reduces wiring workload by 50% and frees up more interior space in the vehicle. The MDX was warmly received by AGV manufacturers upon its launch, with both product development designers and application engineers responsible for on-site installation and commissioning praising its user-friendly design. The MDX is easy to use and supports multiple industrial communication protocols. In addition to the traditional RS232/485 protocol, it also supports industrial Ethernet communication such as CANopen, Modbus/TCP, and Ethernet/IP. Using digital signals instead of noisy analog signals provides better anti-interference capabilities and improved system scalability. In 2018 and 2019, the MDX consecutively won the Annual Innovative Product Award from MM (Modern Manufacturing) and China Transmission Network.
According to the "China E-commerce Development Report 2019-2020," China's total e-commerce transaction volume reached 34.81 trillion yuan in 2019, a year-on-year increase of 6.7%, with strong demand for AGVs remaining in the express delivery and e-commerce sectors. In the same year, the domestic AGV/AMR market size reached 6.175 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 45.2%. However, the continuous influx of capital has not only spurred the emergence of many excellent companies but also led to a mixed bag of quality and practices within the industry. How can the industry escape homogeneous competition and maintain healthy development? Faced with both challenges and opportunities, the steady development of the forklift AGV industry has become a driving force for industry transformation and upgrading, prompting many traditional forklift companies to begin their transformation strategies. By the end of 2019, more than 10 traditional forklift companies had entered the forklift AGV market.
In March 2019, Mingzhi Group announced the completion of its acquisition of the Swiss company Technosoft Motion. Technosoft is not only an important part of Mingzhi's global "Smart Micro Motion" strategy, but its high-power-density intelligent servo drive product line, iPOS, has also won over countless domestic and international manufacturing users with its Swiss-made, meticulous quality.
iPOS intelligent servo drive products have significant advantages:
1. High Power, Compact Size – Unlike fixed factory assembly lines equipped with dedicated electrical control cabinets, AGVs, even the larger members of the AGV family like unmanned forklifts, require multi-layered optimization of their internal space. Therefore, high-power, compact drive units are a crucial selection factor for unmanned forklifts. The iPOS series can provide a maximum continuous output current of 100A and a peak current of 120A, with a rated power of 8000W and a peak power of 9600W. Yet, the product's size is only about the size of a human hand, less than one-tenth the size of a traditional servo drive.
2. All in One – Built-in powerful motion controller and graphical programmable software EasyMotion Studio. Virtually any operating mode can be dynamically switched to another. This feature is particularly suitable for position/velocity control applications, where the target reference is provided by the internal trajectory generator using position/velocity trajectory planning mode, position/velocity profile mode, electronic gear, electronic cam, and stop mode. This makes strain control of the vehicle in complex environments more flexible and convenient.
3. Smooth Operation and Reduced Latency – The iPOS series supports multiple industrial bus communication protocols such as EtherCAT, CANopen, Ethernet, and TMLCAN, achieving high response and low latency. It supports calculation functions such as PVT, S-curve, electronic cam, and 3rd-order interpolation, reducing vibration and ensuring smooth vehicle operation even during vehicle start-stop, acceleration, and deceleration.
Most AGVs/AMRs are driven by independent motors. While this design theoretically makes vehicle control more flexible, in actual operation, a slight time difference occurs between the drive wheels, which we call synchronization error. Synchronization error can cause the vehicle to deviate from the planned path. To mitigate the interference of this inherent small error on the vehicle's ideal driving path, the onboard controller needs to collect feedback data from each motor in real time for correction. Minimizing synchronization error and achieving a perfect, ideal route is the lifelong pursuit of every technical engineer.
At CeMAT (Asia International Logistics Technology and Transportation Systems Exhibition) in November 2020, Mingzhi officially launched its MBDV two-in-one low-voltage servo drive product. The MBDV features a compact design, reducing its size by 36.8%, supports a wide voltage input of 20-60V, and is compatible with both full-signal A/B/Z & Hall type and communication type encoder servo motors. It can be adapted to low-voltage servo motors ranging from 100W to 750W. The MBDV is designed based on the development needs of AGV/AMR over the next 5 years and has a technological advantage over existing solutions.
The comparison shows that MBDV has made system-level optimizations compared to traditional solutions, and its synchronization performance is far superior to the general solutions currently on the market. This allows AGVs/AMRs to avoid detours, and the safety and stability of vehicles have reached new heights. It effectively improves the overall efficiency of on-site operations and enhances the overall competitiveness of domestic AGV manufacturers.
As a leading enterprise in the domestic control motor field, Mingzhi adheres to the principle of putting user needs first and prioritizing the healthy development of the industry. We continuously invest in technological innovation and strive to achieve shared value with our partners through excellent product quality.
