Avnet: Enabling a new era of AMR industrial automation and working together to create an intelligent future

In the era of Industry 4.0, manufacturing is undergoing a profound transformation, with automation and intelligentization becoming key components of factory development. However, while traditional automation solutions, such as automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and overhead cranes, have achieved automation in some production processes, they suffer from numerous limitations. They often rely on fixed tracks or magnetic navigation for guidance, making them difficult to adapt to changing production environments and lacking flexibility. This not only consumes valuable factory space, but also requires significant capital investment and high maintenance costs for track installation or magnetic navigation systems.

In recent years, with advances in sensor technology and significant increases in computing power, the emergence of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) has brought new possibilities to manufacturing automation. AMRs, mobile robots based on autonomous navigation technology, are capable of autonomously completing tasks such as material handling and cargo sorting without human intervention. As a more flexible, adaptable, and intelligent automation solution, AMRs are gradually becoming a focus of the industrial community.

In industrial automation, AMRs can autonomously plan routes based on production needs, enabling functions such as material handling, production line integration, material storage, and material handling. Compared to traditional fixed automation equipment such as AGVs and overhead cranes, AMRs offer greater flexibility and scalability, eliminating the need for physical tracks. This significantly reduces floor space and investment and operating costs.

Not only that, with the help of multiple AMRs (some advanced factories may have deployed hundreds of AMRs), this greatly saves the cost of hiring manpower, and it can work uninterruptedly 24 hours a day, and the cost of making mistakes is also low.

Many factories are using AMRs to improve worker safety by performing tasks that are harsh, dangerous, harmful, or impossible for human workers. For example, they can be used to clean and disinfect areas to improve health and safety, transport infectious laboratory specimens in hospitals, lift heavy objects in industrial settings, or work in extreme conditions that humans are unable to withstand and are unsuitable for.

Since AMR does not require fixed guide rails or magnetic navigation and can be flexibly deployed and expanded, AMR is not only limited to the manufacturing industry, but can also play an important role in warehousing and logistics, medical care, agriculture and other fields . It will have a wider range of application scenarios in the future.

The core of AMR's ability to achieve the above functions lies in these "black technologies":

The emergence of automated mobile robots (AMRs) has revolutionized industrial production, logistics and warehousing, public services, and other fields. However, designing AMRs is no easy task, as it involves the interplay of numerous technologies and business challenges, requiring a holistic and integrated approach. Furthermore, the industry has high expectations and demand for AMRs. AMRs must not only make autonomous decisions but also complete complex tasks and multiple commands with greater intelligence and efficiency. It's foreseeable that AMRs are moving towards greater complexity, posing a significant challenge for designers.

As a leading global distributor of electronic components, Avnet provides a wide range of hardware components for AMR design, including antennas, connectors, sensors, memory, and processors. Avnet also offers testing and certification services, as well as cloud and edge computing platforms, to ensure seamless integration of AMRs with diverse ecosystems and applications.

By collaborating closely with leading industry suppliers, Avnet is able to provide AMR designers with the latest products and technologies. Avnet's factory-trained engineers have extensive experience and expertise, providing design support for AMR designers. Avnet offers a rich library of reference designs to help AMR designers quickly jumpstart their projects.