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Battery charging

Battery charging

AGVs utilize a number of battery charging options. Each option is dependent on the users preference.

Battery swap

"Battery swap technology"^{[19] requires an operator to manually remove the discharged battery from the AGV and place a fully charged battery in its place after approximately 8 – 12 hours (about one shift) of AGVs operation. 5 – 10 minutes is required to perform this with each AGV in the fleet.}

Automatic and opportunity charging

Automatic battery swap is an alte

Automatic battery swap is an alternative to manual battery swap. It might require an additional piece of automation machinery, an automatic battery changer, to the overall AGV system. AGVs will pull up to the battery swap station and have their batteries automatically replaced with fully charged batteries. The automatic battery changer then places the removed batteries into a charging slot for automatic recharging. The automatic battery changer keeps track of the batteries in the system and pulls them only when they are fully charged.

Other versions of automatic battery swap allow AGVs to change each other's batteries.

While a battery swap system reduces the manpower required to swap batteries, recent developments in battery charging technology allow batteries to be charged more quickly and efficiently potentially eliminating the need to swap batteries.

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See also