Battery Life Cycle Management for Automatic Guided Vehicle Systems

Abstract

Battery management for automatic guided vehicle (AGV) systems is important to reduce costs and increase the efficiency of the AGV systems. Valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) batteries, which are generally used in AGVs, should be charged at appropriate time intervals, to avoid the deterioration of batteries and to extend their lives. On the other hand, frequent charging affects the efficiency of AGVs. The cost of chargers, which determines the charging time of the batteries, should also be taken into account. It is not easy to select a proper battery management strategy that considers all these factors. To solve these problems, a battery management simulation is developed for evaluating battery related costs under various AGV operation modes and for designing battery management strategies. To verify its effectiveness, the simulation is applied to a body in white at the finishing line of an automobile manufacturing plant.