Proper Integration of AGV/AMR Systems: A Design Model for the Loading/Unloading Points

Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) and Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) are flexible and reliable options for material handling automation. The integration level with the production/logistic systems is crucial for performance and investment costs. Proper design of loading/unloading points is essential as they impact the number, level of automation, sorting/buffering level, and vehicle requirements. This paper presents an innovative approach combining virtual-interactive simulation and mathematical modeling to optimize loading/unloading points for maximum operational and economic performance. This approach simulates different scenarios and identifies the best loading/unloading points configurations optimizing the whole system’s performance. A numerical analysis is reported to demonstrate the practical implications.