Glossary / Core technology
What is Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV)?
An AGV is a robot that follows a fixed, pre-defined path — usually marked by tape, wire or magnets — rather than navigating freely around obstacles.
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AGVs were the first generation of mobile warehouse and factory robots, and many are still in service moving pallets and parts along set routes. They rely on physical or magnetic markers embedded in or on the floor, and typically stop rather than reroute if something blocks the path.
The trade-off is predictability versus flexibility. AGVs are simple, robust and well suited to fixed, repetitive production lines where the layout rarely changes. They are less suited to public-facing environments like retail, hospitality or healthcare, where trolleys, furniture and people move constantly and rigid paths quickly become a liability.
Most operators evaluating a new robot for cleaning, delivery or general floor coverage today choose an AMR instead, precisely because it avoids the infrastructure cost and inflexibility of AGV guide paths.
Common questions
- Are AGVs still used today?
- Yes, particularly in manufacturing and warehousing with stable, repetitive layouts, but most new commercial and public-space deployments now use AMRs.
- Do AGVs require floor markings?
- Typically yes — tape, wire, or magnetic strips define the route, which adds installation cost and makes layout changes disruptive.
- Is an AGV cheaper than an AMR?
- The robot itself can be cheaper, but installation and any future path changes add cost that AMRs avoid by navigating dynamically.
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