Automated Guided Vehicles for Small Manufacturing Enterprises: A Review

Automated guided vehicle systems (AGVS) are the prominent one in modern material handling systems used in small manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) due to their exciting features and benefits. This article pinpoints the need of AGVS in SMEs by describing the material handling selection in SMEs and enlightening recent technological developments and approaches of the AGVS. Additionally, it summarizes the analytical and simulation-based tools utilized in design problems of AGVS along with the influence of material handling management and key hurdles of AGVS. The current study provides a limelight towards making smart automated guided vehicles (AGVs) with the simplified and proper routing system and favorable materials and more importantly reducing the cost and increasing the flexibility.