European AGVS community

The Association of German Engineers VDI has had the VDI Technical Committee “Automated Guided Vehicle Systems (AGVS)" since 1986. During this time, numerous VDI guidelines have been developed which have established themselves as authoritative technical regulations. Dr.-Ing. Günter Ullrich is a founding member and has been in charge of the growing circle since the mid-1990s.

All AGVS manufacturers organised in the VDI founded the Forum AGV in 2006 as a community of interests for the driverless transport systems sector. The group consists of more than twenty member companies from six European countries (Belgium, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland). Among the members are the well-known AGVS manufacturers, component manufacturers and planners.

The Forum AGV sees itself as a neutral contact point for (potential) customers and offers a meaningful, neutrally managed Internet presence.

We want to present ourselves at trade fairs and exhibitions and commit ourselves to a self-imposed code of honour in our dealings with each other and with customers. Ultimately, membership in the Forum AGV means a promise of quality.

The Forum AGV offers the potential FTS user on the one hand a construction kit with manufacturer-new consulting packages for holistic AGVS planning:

The technical basis is formed by the existing VDI guidelines, the FTS primer as well as specially developed, proven SW tools and documents, e.g. for the following tasks:

• Calculation of the size of FTF fleets
• Calculation of economic efficiency / cost comparisons / determination of ROI
• Meaningful specifications for a well-founded invitation to tender
• Performance of recognised acceptance tests, such as performance and availability tests
• Safety checks and inspections