Understanding the Impacts of Autonomous Vehicles in Logistics

When it comes to freight transport and material handling in logistics, two of the most discussed technological topics revolve around how to maximize the current efficiency factors of automated transport outside a company's grounds, and the use of autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) on factory floors. If the first vehicles with some degree of automation were already commercialized in the second half of the past century, they still have, more than ever, a warm seat in the technological theatre of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. A new set of attractive features pushes automated transport and AGVs to the front stage in achieving the new revolution's requirements of mass customization and shorter time to market. To understand, the automation of means of transport is set in its historical context and its opportunities and challenges discussed within and beyond company grounds. At the end of the section, concrete applications of those technologies are presented.