Automated guided vehicle

An automated guided vehicle (AGV) is a driverless horizontal-transport unit that moves containers between the quay crane and the yard stacking cranes in an automated terminal, following a transponder grid or differential GNSS path under central traffic control. ECT Delta on the Maasvlakte ran the first large AGV fleet from 1993; APMT Maasvlakte II and Long Beach LBCT operate later generations, including battery-electric and lift-AGV variants that can self-deposit a box on a rack. A diesel-electric or battery AGV carries one 40-foot or two 20-foot units, runs at roughly six meters per second, and removes the yard tractor and driver from the seaside loop. Lift-AGVs decouple the AGV from STS and ASC cycle times.