What are the key technologies of AGVs ? Many customers, after contacting numerous AGV manufacturers, still don't understand. Even 70% of those working in the AGV industry can't give a clear answer.
Before listing all the key technologies of AGVs , let's first list what we consider to be the two most crucial technologies:
The first key technology: Positioning and Navigation
First, an AGV needs to know "where I am," which is the positioning problem. Then, it needs to know "where I want to go," which is the scheduling problem. Next, it needs to know "how to get there," which is the navigation problem.
It must be said that there are differences between the AGC system and the AGV system. If you don't understand, you can search for the differences between the two on Baidu.
Positioning and navigation are often complementary and solved together. For indoor positioning and navigation, traditional positioning methods mainly include magnetic strips and magnetic tapes (mostly used in AGC applications). The advantages and limitations of these methods are obvious: the advantage is that the movement path is controllable and the safety is higher, while the disadvantage is that the path is relatively limited. This is typical of AGC applications and is also the most widely used type at present.
More flexible positioning solutions, such as laser reflectors, magnetic nails, and QR codes, utilize pre-defined features for location, much like a lighthouse in the ocean. When the AGV sees the lighthouse, it knows its location. A typical example of using QR codes is Amazon's Kiva.
A more flexible approach is SLAM. Relatively speaking, laser SLAM is quite mature, backed by Omron's Adept, making it quite reliable. Another example is visual SLAM, which should better solve the problems of localization and map building in the future. By pre-building a map of the environment and then matching it with the environmental features obtained from the current sensors, the current location can be obtained, eliminating the need for manually setting and finding road signs, and making it more universally applicable.
Another approach is to use positioning methods similar to GPS, such as Wi-Fi, iBeacons, and UWB. As for inertial navigation and natural navigation, they are mostly used for auxiliary positioning and are integrated with the aforementioned navigation methods.
Magnetic nails are a commonly used method for outdoor positioning, such as AGVs used for transshipment at ports and docks. Qingdao Port, which was quite popular some time ago, used magnetic nails.
Another type that does not require construction is differential GPS, which uses a standard GPS position reference station to correct the position of the AGV. Positioning accuracy and latency may be issues that need to be addressed, and its practical application is extremely rare.
The second key technology: scheduling
Many traditional AGV manufacturers may shy away from scheduling due to weaknesses in software and algorithms. The scheduling system needs to handle task scheduling, path planning (yes, it may be handled in the scheduling system), traffic management, alarm information management, etc., for each AGV. As the number of AGVs increases and the path complexity increases, the communication latency and processing speed of the scheduling system will be challenged.
The breakthroughs for AGVs lie in two aspects: technological breakthroughs, as mentioned above, and application breakthroughs.
There are several promising breakthroughs in the application side. One is warehousing and logistics. Everyone has seen Amazon's Kiva, and JD.com, Tmall, and Vipshop are also following suit. However, there is another market: Taobao warehouses. Taobao warehouses may not be very large; a medium-sized Taobao warehouse may only be a few thousand square meters. However, the outbound and sorting volume of Taobao warehouses is relatively large, so the demand for sorting AGVs is very high. This is also the main reason why Fetch was able to receive investment from SoftBank.
Another breakthrough point should be mobile robotic arms. Some companies have been actively exploring this market since last year. Of course, mobile robotic arms are not simply about placing a robotic arm on an AGV; there are many technical challenges involved. The potential of mobile arms is vast. In factory applications, a single robotic arm can move between multiple workstations. If the cycle time is low, it can significantly reduce robot usage, and customer demand in this area is quite evident. However, we currently face the energy issue. The power supply for the AGV and the robotic arm typically lasts 1-3 hours, and barely up to 3 hours if the frequency is very low. Another issue is the significant difference between the AGV's positioning accuracy and the robotic arm's grasping accuracy (one is ±5-10mm, the other ±1mm), which can currently only be corrected using auxiliary positioning mechanisms.
The third breakthrough is the application of human-machine collaboration. Robotic arms have made great strides in human-machine collaboration, while the AGV industry lags behind and has not kept up with the pace of robotics. However, because AGVs have a large range of movement, the requirements for human-machine collaboration are even higher. Simply adding some safety sensors is not enough to improve efficiency and enable rapid movement while ensuring safety.
To quantify these key technologies, they can be broken down as follows:
1. Navigation technology
From the initial magnetic stripe navigation to the current laser navigation, GPS-assisted navigation, and inertial navigation, the technology has been developing continuously. Each navigation technology has its own advantages and disadvantages. Currently, various navigation devices and sensors need to be installed separately and processed and debugged individually. There is no perfect integrated solution, which is a key technical point.
2. Management System
This is the most crucial aspect besides hardware. Domestic management systems generally have low concurrency, mostly focusing on AGV traffic control, task allocation, and external equipment coordination, lacking elements of smart logistics such as big data analysis and equipment health management. The people of Teruo are on the path of research and innovation in management systems.
3. Power source
Currently, the most commonly used power source is lead-acid batteries, which have slow charging speeds, limited capacity, and short working hours. Lithium batteries are also used, offering fast charging but at a higher price. Supercapacitors are also available, but overall, their battery life is not ideal. There are also continuous power supply models that use direct AC power, but these face challenges in grid infrastructure development and have poor versatility. Teruo Robotics' current solution is: on-demand charging, reducing the time spent recharging.
4. Stability
The domestic AGV market has developed rapidly in the past two years. The gaps in navigation algorithms, sensors, and scheduling systems are gradually narrowing. However, stability still requires continuous product iteration and technological accumulation to improve. Teruo Robotics' system architecture and quality management system ensure that we stay ahead of the competition.
5. Cost control
Terro Robotics starts with product systems and structural design, optimizes systems, implements process innovation and improvement to enhance product performance and ensure product quality; at the same time, it effectively controls costs to provide customers with products that offer the best value for money.
