In the future, robotics could be programmed to load beverage delivery trucks.

Experts note that the interest and adoption of AGVs rapidly is accelerating in the face of a diminished labor pool and the fact that robotic lift trucks are designed to handle repetitive tasks while allowing labor to be redeployed to more value-added tasks.

Although automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and automated guided carts (AGCs) have been in the market for more than 40 years, a renewed interest has emerged in “true robotic systems” that consistently and predictably transport loads of materials to places that might otherwise be serviced by manually driven forklift trucks, conveyors or manual cart transport, experts say. “Interest is soaring,” says Laura McConney, marketing coordinator at JBT Corp., Chalfont, Pa. “Customers no longer wonder whether they should install AGVs. They know they need them and just want to develop the best implementation plan. Customers are well beyond considering beta site testing and have moved onto enterprise-wide deployments.

As speed and efficiency become increasingly important in warehouse operations, the use of automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and other autonomous vehicles continue to proliferate.

Last year, sales of automated guided vehicles (AGVs) were the highest since pre-Recession years, according to the Automatic Guided Vehicle Systems (AGVS) Industry Group of the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA).