Fahrerloses Transportsystem (FTS)
Also: FTS, Fahrerlose Transportsysteme, Fahrerloses Transportfahrzeug, FTF, Automated Guided Vehicle System, AGVS, Fahrerloses Transport-System
AI-generated
An Automated Guided Vehicle system (AGV system) is a system of automated industrial vehicles that transport goods independently within buildings or on company premises, without any manual vehicle operation.
Key facts
- An AGV system combines automated vehicles, a central controller, navigation technology, and a safety concept into an integrated material transport system.
- The choice of navigation technology — from magnetic tape to laser to SLAM — is the primary determinant of investment requirements and future flexibility.
- Integration with WMS, ERP, and Material Flow Controllers is in practice often the most demanding and most critical part of an AGV system implementation.
- AGV systems and AMRs differ primarily in their infrastructure dependency and ability to dynamically avoid obstacles; the boundary between the two concepts is increasingly blurring.
- Operating costs, service contracts, and software licenses are key TCO factors that should be evaluated early in the tendering and vendor selection process.
What is an Automated Guided Vehicle System?
An Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) system consists of a fleet of automated transport vehicles that convey materials, load carriers, or containers autonomously from one station to the next — without any driver intervention. The vehicles, often referred to as Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), represent only one component of the overall system. Equally integral are a central control system that distributes tasks and calculates routes, the navigation technology, defined handover and buffer stations, and a coordinated safety concept compliant with applicable standards.
AGV systems are typically deployed in production logistics, warehousing and distribution, and hospital logistics — wherever repetitive transport tasks arise between fixed points and a reliable, documentable material flow is required.
How does an AGV system work in practice?
Depending on the system generation and vendor, vehicles navigate in different ways: older installations use physical guidance such as magnetic tape or inductive loops embedded in the floor. More modern systems rely on laser-based contour navigation, natural environmental features (SLAM — Simultaneous Localization and Mapping), or optical codes such as QR markers on the floor. The choice of navigation method significantly influences how complex it is to later modify travel paths and how flexibly the system can adapt to layout changes.
The central controller communicates with vehicles in real time, manages vehicle states, prioritizes transport orders, and coordinates intersection points. For operation in mixed traffic — alongside forklifts or pedestrians — safety scanners, emergency stop functions, and defined right-of-way rules are mandatory. Integration with higher-level systems such as Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) or Material Flow Controllers (MFC) is achieved via standardized interfaces, although implementing these can involve considerable integration effort in practice.
What matters when selecting a system?
When deciding on an AGV system, you should carefully weigh several dimensions:
- Degree of standardization of transport tasks: AGV systems work most efficiently with clearly defined, recurring routes and uniform load carriers. Highly variable tasks increase the control overhead.
- Infrastructure requirements: Depending on the navigation technology, floor markings, reflectors, or other structural prerequisites may be required, which drive investment and conversion costs.
- Integration: Connectivity to WMS, ERP, and MFC is often the most critical success factor. Clarify early on which interfaces the vendor provides out of the box and which must be developed individually.
- Availability and maintenance: Fleet downtime in ongoing operations has a direct impact on material flow. Service contracts, spare parts supply, and remote diagnostics capabilities are key TCO drivers.
- Scalability: Can the fleet be expanded or reduced as needs change, and how does this affect licensing and control overhead?
The distinction between AGV systems and Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) is increasingly blurred in practice: AMRs frequently navigate without fixed infrastructure and can independently avoid obstacles, whereas classic AGV systems are more reliant on defined travel paths. Which concept is the better fit depends on the specific task, the operating environment, and the requirements for reliability and adaptability.
Related terms
- AGV
AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) refers to driverless transport vehicles that automatically move goods in warehouses and production environments. They follow predefined or sensor-controlled routes without a human driver.
- AMR
AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robot) is a driverless, self-navigating transport robot that moves goods within a warehouse without any fixed installed infrastructure. It orientates itself independently using sensors and digital maps, and dynamically avoids obstacles.
- Automatiklager
An automated warehouse is a fully or partially automated storage system in which the receipt, retrieval, transport and management of storage units are carried out without manual intervention, using conveyor technology, storage and retrieval machines, and a higher-level control software.
- Automatisches Kleinteilelager (AKL)
The Automated Small Parts Warehouse (AKL) is a fully automated storage system for totes, trays and small parts, in which storage and retrieval operations are performed without manual intervention by stacker cranes or shuttle systems.
- Automatisierung
Automation refers to the use of technologies and systems to execute processes fully or partially without human intervention. In intralogistics, the spectrum ranges from simple conveyor systems to fully automated high-bay warehouses with autonomous vehicles.
- Business Case Automatisierung
The Business Case Automation evaluates, from an economic and operational perspective, whether an investment in warehouse or intralogistics automation is justified. It summarizes costs, benefits, risks, and assumptions in a structured way, forming the basis for management approval decisions.
- Materialfluss
Material flow refers to the totality of all physical movements of goods and materials within a facility or between locations. It encompasses every transport step from goods receipt to dispatch and forms the operational foundation for warehouse, production, and distribution logistics.