Visualize the Wireless Networks of Your AGV and AS/RS Systems
Automated material handling (AMH) systems are expected to keep booming in the coming years thanks to developing trends in e-commerce and smart factories. Among the AMH market segments, automated guided vehicles (AGV) have the highest potential for growth (CAGR 9.3%*) followed by automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) (CAGR 7.7%*), in the 4-year period from 2019 to 2024*.
AGV and AS/RS systems are considered “mission critical” assets. An unstable wireless signal could easily disrupt the operation of these systems. To ensure continuous operation, a reliable wireless solution with seamless Wi-Fi connectivity and easy network management is an absolute must.
*Source: Automated Materials Handling Market in Manufacturing-Forecast to 2024, MarketsandMarkets
Unlike wired connections, wireless connections are invisible and affected by a lot of different factors, making it difficult to spot abnormalities. Usually, an anomaly would only be discovered when the AGV or AS/RS system operations have already been affected. In addition, it's often hard to find and solve the root cause of wireless connection issues, causing unnecessary downtime. All these factors combined make troubleshooting and managing wireless connections very difficult.
AGVs and AS/RS shuttles are constantly on the move in a warehouse. The client devices that are mounted on mobile AGVs should be able to roam seamlessly between access points (AP), without downtime and support industrial protocol communication over wireless to enable interaction between the connected PLCs and the remote controller. In addition, Wi-Fi configurations are complicated, time-consuming, and prone to errors.
Designing AS/RS and AGV systems typically involves working with limited installation space. This means that the motors that drive the vehicles and shuttles often share the same power source as the communication devices. Hence, wireless devices mounted on AGV or AS/RS structures must tolerate interference from neighboring equipment. They should also be able to withstand the vibration from the constant movement of the vehicles that they are mounted on.
MXview Wireless gives you a clear view of your AGV and AS/RS systems' wireless network through the visual interface from which you can view the real-time network topology and the network status dashboard. Moreover, whenever there is an anomaly, the system will send out an alert automatically. You can also play back the roaming history to identify and solve the root cause and get your systems running normally again as quickly as possible.
To ensure continuous AGV operations, our AWK Series AP/bridge/clients feature Turbo Roaming technology to achieve millisecond-level handoffs. Moreover, the unique MAC Clone function can be enabled on all the AWK Series to support PROFINET communication over wireless networks. Some AWK Series also support the unique AeroMag technology which automatically performs basic wireless setup when adding new Wi-Fi devices to the network, reducing the time spent configuring Wi-Fi settings and preventing errors caused through manual input.
Feel interested to MAC Clone? Watch the video here:
The AWK Series wireless clients are small yet strong and come with built-in isolation for both power and antenna ports to protect against interference and noise. All AWK Series devices undergo rigorous testing to ensure suitability for environments with extreme vibration. Moreover, with a wide operating temperature range of -40 to 75°C, the AWK Series wireless products are deployable in cold-storage warehouses.
Promotion Period: April 12th ~ December 31st, 2021
You could enjoy one free year of MXview Wireless function after activating an add-on MXview License.