While automakers are scrambling to prepare self-driving cars for public roads, another type of autonomous vehicle has been racking up the miles indoors. For more than half a century, factories have been deploying a range of automated guided vehicles (AGVs) to move heavy or bulky materials around the facility. These mobile robots traditionally follow a path marked out on the floor. Some use a wire under the floor to transmit a radio signal to a sensor installed in the bottom of the AGV. Others employ magnetic or coloured tape to set the guide path.

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