FTS
Also: Fahrerloses Transportsystem, Fahrerlose Transportsysteme, FTF, Fahrerloses Transportfahrzeug, Fahrerlose Transportfahrzeuge, Fahrerloses Transport System
AI-generated
An Automated Guided Vehicle System (AGVS) is a complete system of automatically controlled vehicles, infrastructure, and control software that transports goods within a facility without human drivers.
Key facts
- An AGVS comprises vehicles, infrastructure, and a master controller as an integrated overall system – not just the individual vehicles.
- The navigation technology (track guidance, laser, contour) largely determines flexibility and reconfiguration effort when layouts change.
- The openness of the master controller toward WMS and ERP systems is a decisive selection criterion that vendors address in different ways.
- TCO analyses for AGVS must include maintenance, battery management, and integration costs – not just the capital investment.
What is an Automated Guided Vehicle System?
An Automated Guided Vehicle System (AGVS) refers to the entirety of all components that work together to automatically transport goods within a plant, warehouse, or production facility: the vehicles themselves (Automated Guided Vehicles, AGVs), the infrastructure for navigation and power supply, and a master controller that manages orders, plans routes, and coordinates the vehicle fleet. The term AGVS therefore describes the system as a whole – not individual vehicles.
In practice, AGVS are used primarily where regular, predictable transport flows occur between fixed points: for example, between goods receipt and buffer storage, between production and the warehouse, or within automated picking areas. Typical vehicle types range from underride tuggers and forklift AGVs to platform vehicles that navigate across entire facility floors.
Navigation and Control
Historically, AGVs followed physical guide paths such as inductive loops or magnetic strips embedded in the floor. Modern systems, by contrast, navigate using laser scanners (contour navigation), optical recognition of floor markers, or – in systems closely aligned with the AMR concept – real-time environment mapping. The choice of navigation technology has a significant impact on flexibility, reconfiguration effort, and capital costs.
The master controller handles tasks that go beyond pure vehicle control: it receives transport orders from upstream systems (ERP, WMS), assigns them to available AGVs, prevents collisions and deadlocks, and provides operational data for monitoring. Vendors differ considerably in how open their master controllers are to third-party systems – this is a key selection criterion.
What Matters When Selecting and Implementing a System
Before selecting a system, you should carefully analyze the transport matrix: what are the sources and destinations, what throughput is required, and what load weights and geometries are involved? This determines whether a simple track-guided system is sufficient or whether flexible navigation is necessary.
- Safety: AGVS must comply with applicable standards, including those for personnel safety in mixed-use areas. Vendors should transparently document CE conformity and the underlying safety concepts.
- Integration: The interface between the master controller and the WMS or ERP is often more complex than expected. Clarify early on which protocols are supported and who is responsible for integration.
- Scalability: Can the fleet be expanded at a later stage without fundamentally replacing the master controller? Vendor-specific answers to this question vary considerably in practice.
- TCO consideration: In addition to acquisition costs, maintenance, battery management, reconfiguration costs when layouts change, and master controller licensing fees all play a significant role.
AGVS and AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robots) are increasingly used interchangeably in the market. The difference lies primarily in the architecture: classic AGVS are more dependent on fixed infrastructure, whereas AMRs map and navigate autonomously. Whether a strict distinction is meaningful depends on the specific use case.
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.
- AKL
An Automated Small Parts Warehouse (AKL) is a fully mechanized storage system for bins, trays, or cartons that automates the goods-to-person process using aisle-captive storage and retrieval machines or shuttles.
- 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.
- 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.
- CapEx
CapEx (Capital Expenditures) refers to investment expenditures for long-term assets such as plant, machinery, or IT infrastructure. These expenditures are capitalized and depreciated over their useful life, rather than being recorded immediately as an expense.
- Digital Warehouse
Digital Warehouse refers to a warehouse in which processes, systems and decisions are consistently data-driven and system-guided. Typical building blocks include a warehouse management system, real-time visibility, IoT sensors, mobile data capture and automated optimization logic.