Editing Robot (section)

==== Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) ====
[[File:ADAM Intelligent AGV.jpg|thumb|An intelligent AGV drops-off goods without needing lines or beacons in the workspace.]]

Mobile robots, following markers or wires in the floor, or using vision<ref name="seegrid">{{cite web|url=http://www.smartcaddy.net|title=Smart Caddy|publisher=Seegrid|access-date=13 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011044450/http://www.smartcaddy.net/|archive-date=11 October 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> or lasers, are used to transport goods around large facilities, such as warehouses, container ports, or hospitals.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.agvsystems.com/basics/vehicle.htm|title=The Basics of Automated Guided Vehicles|publisher=Savant Automation, AGV Systems|access-date=13 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008135856/http://www.agvsystems.com/basics/vehicle.htm|archive-date=8 October 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===== Early AGV-style robots =====
Limited to tasks that could be accurately defined and had to be performed the same way every time. Very little feedback or intelligence was required, and the robots needed only the most basic [[wikt:exteroceptors|exteroceptors]] (sensors). The limitations of these AGVs are that their paths are not easily altered and they cannot alter their paths if obstacles block them. If one AGV breaks down, it may stop the entire operation.

===== Interim AGV technologies =====
Developed to deploy triangulation from beacons or bar code grids for scanning on the floor or ceiling. In most factories, triangulation systems tend to require moderate to high maintenance, such as daily cleaning of all beacons or bar codes. Also, if a tall pallet or large vehicle blocks beacons or a bar code is marred, AGVs may become lost. Often such AGVs are designed to be used in human-free environments.

===== Intelligent AGVs (i-AGVs) =====
Such as SmartLoader,<ref>{{cite web|title=Automatic Trailer Loading Vehicle - SmartLoader|url=http://www.jervisbwebb.com/Products/automatic_trailer_loading.aspx?pid=190&qs=1_3_|access-date=2 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523015511/http://www.jervisbwebb.com/Products/automatic_trailer_loading.aspx?pid=190&qs=1_3_|archive-date=23 May 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> SpeciMinder,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ccsrobotics.com/products/speciminder.html |title=SpeciMinder |publisher=CSS Robotics |access-date=25 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090701131848/http://www.ccsrobotics.com/products/speciminder.html |archive-date=1 July 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> ADAM,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rmtrobotics.com/tire_agv.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060517153330/http://rmtrobotics.com/tire_agv.html |archive-date=17 May 2006 |title=ADAM robot |publisher=RMT Robotics |access-date=25 September 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Tug<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aethon.com/can_do_tug.html |title=Can Do |publisher=Aethon |access-date=25 September 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080803173353/http://www.aethon.com/can_do_tug.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 3 August 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Eskorta,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fennecfoxtech.com |title=Eskorta robot |publisher=Fennec Fox Technologies |access-date=25 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111206082746/http://www.fennecfoxtech.com/ |archive-date=6 December 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and MT 400 with Motivity<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mobilerobots.com/AGV.html |title=Delivery Robots & AGVs |publisher=Mobile Robots |access-date=25 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100226202710/http://www.mobilerobots.com/AGV.html|archive-date=26 February 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> are designed for people-friendly workspaces. They navigate by recognizing natural features. [[3D scanner]]s or other means of sensing the environment in two or three dimensions help to eliminate cumulative [[observational error|errors]] in [[dead reckoning|dead-reckoning]] calculations of the AGV's current position. Some AGVs can create maps of their environment using scanning lasers with [[simultaneous localization and mapping]] (SLAM) and use those maps to navigate in real time with other [[path planning]] and obstacle avoidance algorithms. They are able to operate in complex environments and perform non-repetitive and non-sequential tasks such as transporting [[photomask]]s in a semiconductor lab, specimens in hospitals and goods in warehouses. For dynamic areas, such as warehouses full of pallets, AGVs require additional strategies using three-dimensional sensors such as [[time-of-flight camera|time-of-flight]] or [[computer stereo vision|stereovision]] cameras.