Egemin Automation Inc. manufacturer of Automatic Guided Vehicle Systems (AGVS) is introducing an innovative AGV designed for facilities utilizing or considering man-aboard tuggers. The latest vehicle design to come from Egemin, this vehicle features SICK's Laser Bumper™; as a standard safety component.

Man-aboard tuggers, a fixture within many manufacturing facilities today, require an operator to stay with the vehicle at all times. Egemin's Automated Towing Vehicle removes these constraints by offering the added value of operating in either manual or automatic mode. The operator is able to input tasks or jobs, check maintenance and alarms through a touch screen graphical display unit onboard. Utilizing an automatic tugger elevates productivity as the worker is removed during material transportation thus allowing an operator to perform other value-added functions at the work cell. In addition to increased productivity, higher throughput can be achieved with a tugger vehicle because it can tow more than one load behind it.

Offered with either 10,000 or 35,000-pound capacity the Tugger vehicle comes available with laser, inertial, or wire guidance navigation options, or as a combination of two or more navigation options. A standard feature included in the Automated Tugger is Egemin's Graphical Display Unit (GDU), an intuitive touch screen that gives the user the ultimate interface flexibility with the ability to display large amounts of text and graphics. The GDU allows full access to all of the vehicle's features including vehicle status, active jobs, alarms, and maintenance. A second feature coming standard on the Automated Tugger is a SICK Laser Bumper™;. A Laser Sensor based obstacle detection system programmed into the vehicle, alerts the vehicle to slow down and stop per ANSI requirements. A SICK Laser Bumper™; is mounted on the front of each vehicle. As a vehicle travels along the virtual guidepath, the SICK sensor will detect any obstacle in front of the vehicle. When approximately five feet from the obstacle, the vehicle will decelerate to a slower speed. If the obstacle is detected within approximately three feet of the vehicle, the vehicle will apply its brake, so that the vehicle stops before contact is made. The vehicle will resume automatic operation approximately three seconds after the obstacle is removed.

"The unmanned ATV is useful in distribution operations, such as unloading a truck and moving materials to rack storage, as well as in replenishment operations," says Yves Gazin Director of Marketing and Technical Services. A typical application for this off-the-shelf product consists of a regular loop with an assigned set of stops where operators can add or remove trailers before releasing the vehicle to its next stop. The list of stops is configurable at any time. "In the design phase of the Automated Tugger careful consideration was made to address two pivotal issues; creating a vehicle "standard product" solution for a wide variety of applications and lowering the threshold to move from a manual operation to an automatic one," says Gazin.