Glossary · Robotics
Autonomous mobile robot (AMR)
Also known as: AMR, Industrial mobile robot
German: Autonomer mobiler Roboter (AMR)
In intralogistics and manufacturing, an autonomous mobile robot (AMR) is a driverless robot that localizes itself with on-board sensors and plans its own route on a map, so it can avoid obstacles without fixed guidance. An AMR can carry loads or a manipulator.
- Robotics
- Standards
In one sentence
An AMR is a mobile robot that navigates with on-board sensors and a map, planning its own path around obstacles instead of following fixed routes.
Example
An AMR with a top-mounted roller conveyor collects totes from an assembly line and drives around a parked forklift on its way to the warehouse.
How it applies
- Engineering: AMRs combine localization (typically lidar and cameras), path planning and fleet management. Safety still depends on rated protective devices such as a Safety laser scanner; navigation software alone is not a safety function.
- Operation: Because routes change dynamically, people in shared areas cannot predict every path. Traffic rules, speed limits and marked zones matter more than with fixed-route vehicles.
- Documentation: The documentation team should describe how the map is created and changed, who may edit zones and speed limits, what happens after a map change, and how the robot behaves when it loses localization. Where navigation uses machine learning, check whether the function counts as an AI-enabled machine function.
AMR vs. AGV
An Automated guided vehicle (AGV) follows predefined paths; an AMR plans its own path. Many sources treat AMRs as a subtype of driverless vehicles, and ANSI/A3 R15.08 covers industrial mobile robots including those with a manipulator.