Tugger AGV: Types, Features, Navigation, and Applications

A Tugger AGV is also commonly referred to as a Towing AGV. Its working principle is straightforward: the AGV provides the pulling force, while the load is carried on carts, trailers, or mobile racks behind it.

A single vehicle can tow one cart or connect several carts to form a tugger train. Production line replenishment, empty-cart return, and regular transport between the warehouse and workshop are all common tasks for this type of AGV.

Types of Tugger AGVs

Many Tugger AGVs look similar to conventional electric tow tractors, except that manual driving is replaced by automatic navigation.

A towing interface is installed at the rear of the vehicle. Once the carts are connected, the AGV can travel along a predefined route. In production environments, it is common for one vehicle to tow several material carts and deliver parts for different workstations to the production line in a single trip.

Some models use a lower-profile design, allowing the vehicle to move underneath a dedicated rack or trailer before coupling to it. This type of configuration is more compact and can be useful where station space is limited.

Besides the vehicle structure, the way the carts connect to the AGV also affects how the system is used.

Some projects still use manual cart coupling, while others use automatic hitches that allow the AGV to connect and release carts on its own at the station.

Features of Tugger AGVs

With a Tugger AGV, it is rarely enough to look only at the vehicle at the front.

Once two, four, or even more carts are connected behind it, the system operates as a complete train. A warehouse can prepare materials for several workstations at the same time, while the AGV travels along the production line, drops the corresponding carts at designated locations, and brings empty carts back.

This type of transport works particularly well when material flows follow relatively fixed routes.

For example, if an assembly line needs parts delivered from the warehouse to several workstations every day, the carts can be connected into a train and one Tugger AGV can complete the entire delivery cycle instead of having several AGVs make separate trips.

As the train gets longer, however, route design becomes more important.

The tractor may clear a turn without difficulty, but that does not mean the last trailer will follow the same path. Aisle width, turning radius, intersections, and line-side stopping positions all need to account for the actual tracking path of the carts behind the AGV.

Train length is not the only factor. Towing capacity cannot be judged simply by the number of carts. The weight of each cart, route gradients, transport distance, and the rated towing capacity of the vehicle also need to be considered.

Navigation Methods for Tugger AGVs

A Tugger AGV does not require a navigation technology specifically designed for towing.

The AGV at the front handles positioning and path control, while the carts behind it simply follow the vehicle. Magnetic guidance, laser navigation, QR code navigation, and SLAM can all be used with Tugger AGVs.

Magnetic guidance is still common for production logistics routes that remain unchanged for years. The vehicle follows a fixed path and runs the same loop repeatedly, making the system straightforward to operate.

Laser navigation can be used when a facility wants to avoid installing large amounts of floor-based guidance infrastructure. The vehicle determines its position by scanning reflectors or other positioning references, while route changes are mainly handled through map and path configuration.

SLAM or natural feature navigation relies more on sensors such as LiDAR to identify walls, columns, machinery, and other environmental features. When routes need to be adjusted later, there is generally no need to reinstall floor guidance infrastructure.

Once a Tugger AGV is operating in a real facility, the route of the entire train matters as much as the navigation of the tractor itself.

How the train moves through turns, whether the trailers cut into an adjacent aisle, and where the last cart ends up when the AGV stops can all be just as important as how accurately the front vehicle navigates.

Main Applications of Tugger AGVs

Tugger AGVs are commonly seen alongside production lines.

Parts can be loaded into different carts in the warehouse, and the AGV can tow the entire train to the production area before moving past each workstation along the route. Full carts are left at the required stations, while empty carts or returnable containers can remain connected and be taken back to the warehouse.

This is a typical line-side replenishment process.

When the vehicle continuously follows a fixed loop, it becomes a typical Milk Run delivery operation. Instead of handling only one task at a time, the AGV can complete deliveries and collections at several stations along the route.

WIP can be moved in the same way. Semi-finished products are placed on wheeled racks or carts and transported by the Tugger AGV from one process to the next or to a buffer area.

Returning empty carts is another common task. In many factories, the outbound trip carries full materials, while the return trip brings back empty containers, empty racks, and empty carts instead of sending the vehicle back with no load.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Tugger AGVs Compared with Other AGV Types

Tugger AGVs, Lifting AGVs, and Forklift AGVs can all move materials, but they handle loads in very different ways.

A Lifting AGV usually lifts a rack or load and carries it directly, while a Forklift AGV handles pallets with forks. A Tugger AGV leaves the load on wheeled carts and provides only the towing force.

This makes it well suited to multi-stop delivery.

If a production line has several replenishment points, multiple carts can be connected together and delivered along the route in a single trip. The longer the transport distance and the more stations involved, the more valuable the reduction in repeated trips can become.

Another practical advantage of towing is that existing manual carts can sometimes continue to be used.

As long as the wheels, dimensions, and towing interface are suitable for automated transport, there may be no need to replace every existing cart simply because an AGV is being introduced.

The more trailers that are added, the longer the overall train becomes. Narrow aisles, repeated sharp turns, complex intersections, and frequent reversing can all make route design more difficult.

A Tugger AGV is also not suitable for every pallet-handling task. When the job requires picking pallets directly from the floor, storing or retrieving pallets from racking, or handling loads at different heights, a Forklift AGV is usually the more direct solution.