A new paper published in PTI 70 – the automation edition – and written by industry guru Dr Yvo Saanen of TBA, explores the automated transportation methods available for automated terminals and seeks to answer one fundamental question: “What is the most cost-effective automated transportation system, with the today available technology?”
Read Dr Saanen’s Technical Paper in full here
In the article, Dr Saanen gives a qualitative and quantitative comparison and provides 10 considerations for comparing the most suitable automated transportation method.
The comparisons are made between an automated guided vehicle (AGV), an automated lift vehicle (ALV) and a Lift AGV.
“In our view, momentarily the battery driven Lift-AGV provides the best value for money and can present zero-emission at reasonable investments,” believes Dr Saanen. “The attractive performance of manual shuttle carriers in some terminals is no guarantee that an ALV will show the same high productivity.
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“As can be seen from our simulations, there is a substantial decrease in vehicle performance to be expected when modifying manual shuttle carrier system into an automated ALV system.”
Dr Saanen concludes: “From a total cost of ownership point of view the Lift-AGV may prove to be the most attractive concept. However some operators prefer simplicity and lower infrastructural investments that an AGV brings.”
