First Automated Guided Vehicle
The first automated guided vehicle was a towing tractor modified by Arthur Barrett of Barrett Electronics around 1953 and sold as the Guide-O-Matic, which followed a guide wire instead of being steered by a driver.
What happened and why it matters
Barrett's driverless tow tractor began the line of automation that leads to the AGVs and autonomous mobile robots in today's warehouses. The first version followed a signal from an overhead wire, and later versions followed wires laid in a slot in the floor, towing carts along fixed routes without a driver. Sources date the invention to 1953 or 1954. Fixed-path AGVs became common in factories and distribution centers for moving pallets and carts. Autonomous mobile robots now navigate with sensors and maps instead of wires, which makes routes easier to change, but the goal is unchanged: cut the labor spent moving goods from place to place.
Related events
Laws and regulations
Sources
- Let's remember Mac Barrett, father of the AGV mmh.com
- SAE Mobilus 23AERP02_06 saemobilus.sae.org
- Automated guided vehicle en.wikipedia.org