What is an AGV?
An AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) is a driverless transport vehicle that automatically moves pallets, bins or components along defined routes in factories, warehouses and distribution centres. The vehicle follows a physical or virtual path, receives its jobs from a central fleet manager and stops as soon as its safety sensors detect an obstacle or a person. Within industrial automation and Industry 4.0, the AGV links the digital planning in MES, ERP and WMS to the physical flow of goods on the shop floor.
Because an AGV drives, communicates wirelessly and moves among people, it touches IT, OT, functional safety and cybersecurity at the same time. That makes it a textbook example of OT convergence.
🧠 How does an AGV work?
An AGV system consists of vehicles, a central controller and the infrastructure they work with. The fleet manager (also called master control) assigns transport jobs, plans routes, handles right of way at intersections and sends vehicles to charging stations. The vehicle itself determines its position, drives the assigned route and continuously reports its status.
| Component | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle controller | Local driving and steering logic, often an embedded controller running an RTOS | Industrial PC, PLC or proprietary controller |
| Navigation sensors | Determine position and orientation | LiDAR, laser reflectors, magnetic sensors, cameras |
| Safety sensors | Detect people and obstacles | Safety laser scanners, bumpers, emergency stops |
| Drive train | Driving, steering and lifting | Motors and actuators with their own drives |
| Safety controller | Enforce safety functions independently of the standard logic | Safety PLC or safety controller |
| Energy | Power and charging | Lithium-ion or lead-acid battery with battery management |
| Communication | Link to the fleet manager | Wifi, sometimes 5G, with an on-board industrial switch |
| Fleet manager | Jobs, traffic control, integrations | Server in the OT network or an edge platform |
This technical architecture resembles that of a small machine. The chain of sensors, control and drives makes an AGV a cyber-physical system: a fault in software or the network has an immediate physical effect.
🧭 Which navigation methods do AGVs use?
The navigation method determines how flexible, accurate and expensive an installation is. Older systems follow a physical track; modern AGVs drive along virtual routes defined in software.
| Method | How it works | Characteristic | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magnetic tape or inductive wire | Vehicle follows a track in or on the floor | Simple and robust; changing a route means floor work | Fixed routes in production |
| Magnetic spots or RFID tags | Floor markers act as reference points | Accurate at fixed positions | Assembly lines, docking |
| Laser reflectors | A rotating laser measures angles to reflectors on walls | High accuracy; reflectors must stay visible | Production halls, warehouses |
| Natural navigation (SLAM) | LiDAR recognises walls and fixed objects on a map | No floor infrastructure; the map must stay current | Modern factories |
| Camera or QR navigation | Vision systems read codes or features of the surroundings | Flexible; sensitive to lighting and dirt | Light loads, warehouses |
With SLAM (Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping), the vehicle builds a map and locates itself in it at the same time. For object recognition, vendors increasingly use AI, machine learning and Vision AI. GPS plays no role indoors: the signal is unusable inside halls.
🔄 What is the difference between an AGV and an AMR?
An AGV and an AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robot) are often confused. The key difference is what the vehicle does at an obstacle: an AGV stops and waits, an AMR plans its own way around it.
| Property | AGV | AMR |
|---|---|---|
| Route | Fixed or virtually defined by the fleet manager | Planned by the robot between destinations |
| At an obstacle | Stops and waits | Swerves or takes another route |
| Infrastructure | Often markers, tape or reflectors | Usually marker-free (SLAM) |
| Predictability | High: every vehicle drives the same path | Lower: routes vary |
| Typical load | Heavy pallets, reels, assembly carriers | Bins, boxes, lighter loads |
| Use case | Repetitive high-throughput flows | Changing flows in shared spaces |
The line is blurring: many AGVs now use natural navigation, and the latest version of the VDA 5050 interface supports both classes. Safety and security requirements are largely the same.
🏭 How does an AGV integrate with MES, WMS and PLCs?
An AGV fleet only works when it is connected to the systems that decide what has to be moved and when. The fleet manager is the bridge between IT planning and OT execution.
| System | Role in the AGV chain |
|---|---|
| ERP | Supplies orders and logistics planning |
| MES | Determines production orders and when material must reach the line |
| WMS | Controls storage, order picking and location management in the warehouse |
| PLC | Controls transfer points, conveyors, doors, lifts and machines |
| SCADA | Shows the status of vehicles and installations to operators |
| OPC UA / Modbus TCP / ProfiNET / Ethernet IP | Links to controllers along the route |
| MQTT | Messaging between fleet manager and vehicles, and telemetry |
On its way, an AGV opens doors, calls lifts and checks in at a conveyor or robot cell. These handshakes run over Industrial Ethernet and I/O to the local controller and belong in the architecture design, not in one-off custom integrations.
What is VDA 5050?
VDA 5050 is an open communication interface between a fleet manager and mobile vehicles, developed by the German industry associations VDA and VDMA with technical supervision from KIT in Karlsruhe. Its aim is to let vehicles from different vendors run under one central controller. The interface uses MQTT (version 3.1.1 or later) with JSON messages on fixed topics:
| Topic | Direction | Content |
|---|---|---|
| order | Fleet manager to vehicle | Route as nodes and edges, with actions |
| instantActions | Fleet manager to vehicle | Immediate commands such as pause or cancel |
| state | Vehicle to fleet manager | Position, progress, battery, errors |
| factsheet | Vehicle to fleet manager | Vehicle properties and capabilities |
| connection | Broker or vehicle to fleet manager | Online, offline or connection broken |
| visualization | Vehicle to visualisation | Optional, position for display |
Version 3.0 appeared in 2026 and is the first to cater for freely navigating robots, for example with zones that carry traffic rules and with sharing of planned paths. The specification states explicitly that cybersecurity is out of scope: you have to arrange certificate management, TLS and access rights on the broker yourself.
📡 What network requirements does an AGV fleet have?
AGVs depend entirely on wireless communication. A vehicle that loses its connection stops or only finishes its current job, and a fleet that stops en masse halts production.
- Coverage and roaming - Wifi must cover the whole route, including corners, racking and outdoor areas; handovers between access points must be fast enough to stay within the vehicle’s timeout
- Latency and Jitter - status messages and emergency commands must arrive predictably and in real time
- QoS - AGV traffic gets priority over office and guest traffic
- Capacity - avoid network congestion from scanners, cameras and updates on the same network
- Separation - a dedicated SSID and VLAN for the fleet, with segmentation towards the office network
- Future options - private 5G and TSN offer more deterministic behaviour for large fleets
Have a site survey carried out along the actual routes before commissioning, with the racking fully loaded. Metal and liquids attenuate the signal heavily.
🔐 What cybersecurity risks do AGVs bring?
AGVs introduce new attack vectors into the OT network: they are mobile, wirelessly connected and often have a web interface for maintenance. The biggest impact lies with the fleet manager, because it controls the entire fleet.
| Risk | Possible consequence |
|---|---|
| Compromise of the fleet manager or MQTT broker | Whole fleet stops, or routes are sabotaged |
| Unencrypted or unauthenticated messages | Forged jobs, replay attacks |
| Wifi attacks and jamming | Loss of connection, vehicles stop |
| Spoofing of sensors or moved markers | Wrong positioning, unexpected stops |
| Vulnerable firmware or default passwords | Takeover of individual vehicles |
| Unsecured vendor access | Entry point into the production network |
| Rogue devices on the AGV network | Eavesdropping on and manipulation of traffic |
Crucially, the safety functions (personnel detection, emergency stop) must work locally on the vehicle, independently of the network and the fleet manager. An attacker may then be able to stop a fleet, but cannot simply make it drive into people.
Which measures are needed?
| Measure | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Network Segmentation | AGV network as its own zone under the zones and conduits model of IEC 62443, within levels 1-3 of the Purdue Model |
| Industrial Firewall | Only permitted connections between fleet manager, MES/WMS and vehicles |
| NAC and 802.1X | Only authorised vehicles on the network |
| TLS and certificates on MQTT | Encryption and mutual authentication |
| MFA and secure remote access | Vendor access through a controlled route, not through the vendor’s own VPN box |
| IDS and logging | Detect anomalous traffic and changes to routes or maps |
| Patch Management | Keep vehicle firmware and fleet software up to date |
| Application Whitelisting | Only approved software on the fleet server |
| Asset inventory | Every vehicle, scanner and access point accounted for |
A Zero Trust approach, in which every vehicle and every integration has to prove itself again and again, suits a mobile fleet well.
⚡ Which safety standards and laws apply to AGVs?
An AGV is a machine and therefore falls under European machinery legislation. The main frameworks:
| Standard or law | Subject |
|---|---|
| ISO 3691-4 | Safety requirements for driverless industrial trucks and their systems; the 2020 edition replaced EN 1525, the second edition followed in 2023 |
| ISO 12100 | General principles for machinery risk assessment |
| ISO 13849 | Safety-related control systems, expressed as a Performance Level |
| IEC 62061 | Functional safety of machinery control systems (SIL approach) |
| IEC 61508 | Basic functional safety standard for electronic systems |
| Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC | Current basis for CE marking |
| Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 | Replaces the directive from 20 January 2027, with requirements for autonomous mobile machinery and cybersecurity |
| Cyber Resilience Act | Security requirements for products with digital elements, fully applicable from 11 December 2027 |
ISO 3691-4 divides the environment into zones, such as the normal operating zone, restricted zones and fully confined zones, each with its own requirements for speed and personnel detection. Safety functions are given a required Performance Level under ISO 13849-1; for personnel detection in the direction of travel this is PL d. The Machinery Regulation introduces a supervisory function: a supervisor must be able to stop an autonomous mobile machine remotely, restart it or move it to a safe position.
🛠️ How do you introduce an AGV project safely?
- Map the flows - which goods, volumes and peak moments, and which routes cross pedestrians and forklifts?
- Choose AGV or AMR - fixed, heavy and predictable flows suit an AGV; changing flows suit an AMR
- Demand open interfaces - ask for VDA 5050 or OPC UA to limit vendor lock-in
- Carry out a risk assessment - for safety under ISO 12100 and ISO 3691-4, and for security under IEC 62443-3-2, treating the fleet manager as a critical system
- Design the network - site survey, dedicated zone, QoS and a controlled route for vendor access
- Put security requirements in the contract - TLS, no default passwords, patch policy, logging and components with IEC 62443-4-2 certification where possible
- Test in practice - connection loss, broker failure, emergency stop and roaming under full load
- Secure ongoing management - maps, routes and firmware under change management; changes in the hall often mean a new map
A Dutch distribution centre that has pallets driven from goods-in to the racking might, for example, place the fleet manager in the OT server zone, connect it to the WMS through a firewall and only let the vendor log in through a jump server with MFA.
📈 Benefits and challenges
Benefits:
- Consistent throughput - vehicles run across multiple shifts without fatigue
- Less damage and fewer accidents - predictable driving behaviour and speed limiting
- Traceability - every movement is logged and can be linked to orders
- Process improvement - less waiting and searching, which supports LEAN and Six Sigma programmes
Challenges:
- Integration - connecting to legacy systems and existing controllers often takes longer than deploying the vehicles
- Wireless dependency - poor Wifi design is a frequently cited cause of downtime
- Investment - vehicles, charging infrastructure, software and building modifications
- Changing surroundings - new racking or relocated machines require updated maps and routes
Combined with a digital twin and Industrial AI, routes and fleet size can be simulated in advance and optimised in operation. That makes the AGV a concrete building block of Smart Industry.
❓ Frequently asked questions
What does AGV stand for?
AGV stands for Automated Guided Vehicle. An AGV is a driverless transport vehicle that carries goods along defined routes. The word autonomous is normally used for the AMR, the Autonomous Mobile Robot.
What is the difference between an AGV and an AMR?
An AGV follows a defined route and stops at an obstacle until the path is clear. An AMR plans its own route and drives around obstacles. AGVs are therefore more predictable and suited to heavy, repetitive flows, while AMRs are more flexible in shared spaces.
Which standard covers AGV safety?
The main product standard for AGVs is ISO 3691-4 for driverless industrial trucks, with a second edition published in 2023. ISO 12100 for risk assessment and ISO 13849 for safety functions also apply. Legally, an AGV falls under the Machinery Directive and, from 20 January 2027, under the Machinery Regulation.
What is VDA 5050?
VDA 5050 is an open standard for communication between a fleet manager and AGVs or AMRs from different vendors. It uses MQTT with JSON messages for jobs, status and vehicle properties. Security is outside the scope of VDA 5050, so you must set up TLS and access control on the MQTT broker yourself.
Can an AGV be hacked?
An AGV can be attacked through Wifi, vulnerable firmware, default passwords or a compromised fleet manager. The biggest risk is the whole fleet stopping, which directly hits production or logistics. Network segmentation, encrypted communication, access control and local safety functions limit that risk.
Does the Cyber Resilience Act apply to AGVs?
An AGV with software and a network connection is a product with digital elements and therefore falls under the Cyber Resilience Act. Manufacturers must report actively exploited vulnerabilities from 11 September 2026 and meet all security requirements from 11 December 2027. In addition, the Machinery Regulation requires protection of control systems against corruption from 20 January 2027.
📌 In summary
An AGV is a driverless transport vehicle that carries goods along defined routes, controlled by a fleet manager connected to MES, WMS and PLCs. Because AGVs communicate wirelessly and drive among people, they need functional safety under ISO 3691-4 and ISO 13849 as well as OT security under IEC 62443: a dedicated network zone, encrypted communication and safety functions that keep working without the network.