An AMR, or autonomous mobile robot, is a wheeled robot that moves materials or tools around a building by planning its own route on a map and driving around obstacles. That is the practical difference from an AGV (automated guided vehicle), which follows a fixed path, such as tape, wire or a programmed virtual line, and stops and waits when something blocks it. Most new warehouse and factory “robots” you see moving totes, carts and shelves are AMRs.
AMR vs AGV in four questions
- **Who decides the route?** An AMR plans it, based on its map and current traffic. An AGV follows a route someone defined in advance.
- **What happens at an obstacle?** An AMR slows and goes around if there’s room. An AGV stops until the obstacle is removed. The Robot Report’s summary of the R15.08 standard uses exactly this difference.
- **What does installation take?** AGVs usually need guide tape, wires, magnets or reflectors, and changing a route means changing that infrastructure. AMRs mostly need a mapping run and software zones, though many sites still add markers at docks and chargers.
- **How do they sense the world?** Many AMRs use lidar and cameras, but the sensor doesn’t define the category. The R15.08 approach classifies robots by how they plan their path, not by whether they use lidar, vision or fiducial markers.
The line isn’t sharp. Some vendors sell “natural navigation” AGVs that localize like an AMR but still drive fixed lanes, and some AMRs are set to follow fixed routes for predictability. Ask a vendor what the robot does when its path is blocked; the answer tells you more than the label.
The main kinds of AMR
**Goods-to-person robots.** The robot brings shelves or bins to a worker standing at a station, so pickers don’t walk the aisles. Amazon’s drive units are the best-known example; our guide to Amazon’s warehouse robots shows where each one fits in the order flow.
**Collaborative picking robots.** A cart-sized robot drives to pick locations and a person puts items in its totes, so the walking is done by the robot. Locus Robotics built its business on this model; see Locus Origin, Vector and Array.
**Cart and tugger AMRs.** They move carts, roll cages or racks between production lines, kitting areas and docks. This is the common factory use.
**Autonomous forklifts and pallet movers.** Forklift-style robots that lift pallets. Note that in the US, many lift trucks fall under the industrial truck standard ANSI/ITSDF B56.5 rather than R15.08.
**Mobile manipulators.** An AMR base with a robot arm on top, used for machine tending, picking or inspection. The standards treat these as a separate class because the arm adds its own hazards.
**Outdoor and delivery AMRs.** Sidewalk delivery robots and campus haulers use the same ideas outdoors, with different rules for public spaces.
The safety standards that apply
In the US, industrial mobile robots are covered by the three-part ANSI/A3 R15.08 series, according to ANSI’s summary:
- **Part 1 (2020, reaffirmed in 2026):** requirements for the manufacturer building the robot.
- **Part 2 (2023):** requirements for the integrator putting robots into a system and application.
- **Part 3 (2026):** responsibilities of the user operating the robots in a specific site.
Internationally, driverless industrial trucks, which include many AGVs and AMRs, are covered by ISO 3691-4, and robot arms by ISO 10218. If you’re buying, ask which standards the robot is certified or tested to and who carries Part 2 integration responsibility at your site. Part 3 matters because some obligations, such as keeping marked zones and training staff, stay with you after the vendor leaves.
What to check before choosing an AMR
- **Payload and what it moves.** Totes, carts, shelves and pallets need different robots. Check the rated payload with the actual load, not the empty-top figure.
- **Floor and building.** Slopes, floor joints, doors, elevators and Wi-Fi coverage cause more failed projects than the robot itself.
- **Traffic with people and forklifts.** Ask how the robot behaves in crowded aisles and how speed limits are set per zone.
- **Fleet software and integration.** You’ll need a fleet manager and a link to your warehouse or manufacturing system. If you run robots from more than one vendor, ask whether they support an interface standard such as VDA 5050.
- **Charging.** Opportunity charging, battery swap or scheduled charging changes how many robots you need.
- **How you pay.** Many AMR vendors sell robots outright or as robots-as-a-service, a monthly fee that bundles hardware, software and support. Compare total cost over the contract, not the monthly figure alone.
AMRs need flat floors and loads they can carry or tow. Humanoids such as Agility’s Digit are being tested for the jobs AMRs can’t reach yet, like moving totes between conveyors and shelves built for people.