Design and development of intelligent handling system for components in small and medium scale industries

Methodical material handling is essential in any production industry to minimize congestion and non-productive time of machines due to non-availability or accumulation of materials at various workstations. The material handling system must be defined and composed to accomplish the customer requirements. This calls for adapting automation in material movement devices. Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) suit when different materials or components are being relocated across various workstations and at entry and at dispatch points. Recent advances in AGV technology have offered enhancements in vehicle guidance and navigation, vehicle intelligence and control and overall safety. This paper focuses on development of an AGV for handling variety of components in small and medium scale industries with application of artificial intelligence to train it to handle the predictable situations and circumstances in the environment with an appropriate case study.