Design and Development of an Automated Guided Vehicle

Abstract

AGVS are specifically used in operation with focus on field of distinct manufacturing in industries, where transportation of material is purposefully repeated. AGVs im- portance is proved in a very little time period as it quickly and safely moves material through operations. Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) are used in industries like FMCG, Textile, Paper, Cement, Chemical and pharmaceutical. The control system manages the operations performed by the vehicle. Control system design includes the design of a Printed Circuit Board (PCB), its simulation and fabrication. Pro- gramming is done on the controller on the PCB which has the proper instructions to be followed by the vehicle for navigation, transportation and detection of exter- nal objects. The vehicle is designed in such a way that it is versatile and can be easily re-programmed whenever required and can also adapt itself to the real-time applications. It is a combined circuitry of Controller, sensors, Direct Current (DC) electrical motor. The AGV moves from one point to other point using the DC elec- trical motor with a driver or controller that control the speed of the motor. Sensors are used to detect their path (guided wires, strips) as a route in carrying the loads and also for detecting objects nearby to avoid collisions. Hence these robots work autonomously to transfer work pieces between various assembly lines in a plant.