Supplier discovery
AMR vs AGV: The Questions Buyers Should Ask Before Choosing
By the GlobleMatch Editorial Team · Last updated 5 November 2026 · General information, not engineering or legal advice.
An AGV (automated guided vehicle) follows fixed guidance — magnetic tape, wires, reflectors or set virtual paths — and stops when something blocks the route. An AMR (autonomous mobile robot) builds a map, plans its own route and can steer around obstacles. AGVs suit stable, repetitive routes; AMRs suit layouts and volumes that change. The right choice depends on how often your floor changes, not on which term sounds newer.
The practical differences
| AGV | AMR | |
|---|---|---|
| Navigation | Follows predefined guidance or paths | Uses sensors and a map to plan routes |
| Obstacles | Typically stops and waits | Can re-route around them |
| Layout change | Re-laying guidance or re-programming paths | Usually a map and software update |
| Predictability | Very high — same path every time | High, but routes can vary with traffic |
| Typical loads | From carts to heavy pallets and tow trains | Totes, carts and, increasingly, pallets |
The line between the two is blurring: many vendors now sell vehicles that can run fixed paths or navigate freely, and “AMR” is sometimes used as a marketing label for vehicles that behave much like AGVs. Ask how the vehicle actually navigates and what it does when the path is blocked.
Safety standards to ask about
For driverless industrial trucks, including many AGVs, the international reference is ISO 3691-4. In North America, the ANSI/A3 R15.08 series covers industrial mobile robots: Part 1 sets requirements for the robot manufacturer, and Part 2 covers integration into a site. If a mobile robot carries a robot arm, the industrial robot standard ISO 10218 also comes into play. Ask each vendor which of these their product and installation conform to, and for the documents that show it.
Questions to ask every vendor
- How does the vehicle navigate, and what infrastructure does that need (reflectors, markers, Wi-Fi coverage)?
- What does it do when its path is blocked — stop, wait, re-route — and how is that configured?
- What floor conditions does it need: flatness, slopes, gaps, dock plates, wet areas?
- How does it integrate with our WMS or MES, and who builds that integration?
- How are traffic, charging and fleet size managed, and what software license does that need?
- What happens when we move a rack or add an aisle — who changes the map or paths, and what does it cost?
- Which safety standards does the product conform to, and who does the site risk assessment?
- For an overseas vendor: who services the fleet locally, and what spare parts are stocked in our country?
When each is the better fit
Choose AGVs when routes are fixed for years, loads are heavy, and predictability matters more than flexibility — for example, moving pallets between a production line and a fixed storage area. Choose AMRs when layouts change seasonally, people and vehicles share aisles, or you want to start small and add vehicles as volume grows. Many sites end up with both.
Related companies in the directory
Listed for discovery only — inclusion is not a recommendation for your application.
Destro AINot yet claimed
United States · Robot software & AI
A robot-agnostic AI intelligence layer that coordinates robots, people and enterprise systems across warehouse workflows — without selling robots of its own.
Looking for a supplier? Post a free sourcing request — a person reviews it and introduces up to three relevant suppliers with your consent.