Implementing an AGV System

Degree of Automation

How much automation you want is often different from how much automation is practical in your environment. It is easy to over-automate when the benefit to risk ratio is turning negative.

As a real world matter, it is always necessary to consider how the system’s users will interact with the system. Too little automation causes the users to do too much and the system benefit may be marginalized. However, too much automation may cost the users too much in flexibility.

A common misconception is that ‘automation increases flexibility’. In truth, the opposite is often the case. A highly automated system imposes a very narrow operational methodology limiting user flexibility. This is good if the process supported is highly repetitive and regular as is the case where an AGV links two or more other automated processes. In the case where the AGV system is intended to interface directly with users and conditions of use may vary, it is a good idea to keep the level of AGV automation to a more reasonable level. Doing so will allow the users to accommodate varying conditions without being locked in a rigid and maybe less efficient operational regimen.