Decision guide · consideration
Estimate AMR fleet throughput from the route, not the speed rating
Translate shift demand, route time, endpoint work, traffic, charging and recovery into a testable fleet-capacity hypothesis.
Start with missions, not robots
A fleet estimate begins with required load movements in each time window. Divide that demand by units per mission, then compare it with measured mission capacity. A top speed cannot represent stops, crossings, transfer handshakes, queueing, charging or recovery.
Build the cycle from observable states
Separate loaded travel, unload, empty return, pickup and expected traffic delay. Keep charging and unplanned unavailability visible rather than hiding them inside a single utilisation percentage. This makes the estimate testable during a pilot.
Use a range before a commitment
Calculate a nominal fleet, then add an explicit capacity reserve for peak demand and uncertainty. The reserve is a commercial assumption, not free capacity: the pilot should show whether it is sufficient and which constraint dominates.
Structured requirement
What the buyer brief must carry.
Task: Move a defined load between named pickup and drop-off points during an agreed operating window.
Industry: Warehousing and intralogistics
Environment
- Shared or controlled indoor routes
- Fixed transfer points
- Known shift and peak windows
Constraints
- Loaded and empty travel distance
- Endpoint queue and transfer time
- Traffic delay and right-of-way
- Charging, faults, recovery and planned downtime
- Peak demand rather than average demand
Robot approaches
- Autonomous mobile robot
- Automated guided vehicle
- Automated forklift or pallet mover
- Fixed conveyor where the flow is stable enough
Provider evidence to request
- Evidence for the named load and transfer method
- Mission logs with timestamps and state transitions
- Traffic, door, lift and WMS interface scope
- Recovery process and local support boundary
Integration boundary
- WMS or WES mission creation
- Door, lift, conveyor and call-point handshakes
- Fleet control and traffic policy
- Event export for acceptance evidence
Evidence to retain
- Observed cycle-time distribution, not one best run
- Completed missions by hour and demand window
- Interventions, blocked missions and recovery duration
- Charging and unavailable time classified by reason
Installed-cost inputs
- Configured vehicles and load-handling equipment
- Software, fleet management and integration
- Site works, controls and commissioning
- Support, spares, charging and internal operating effort
Pilot measures
- Demand met by time window
- P50 and P90 mission cycle time
- Interventions per 100 missions
- Recovery time and excluded downtime states
- Load integrity at every transfer
Geography boundary: The method is geography-neutral; safety, employment, electrical and operating requirements must be checked for the actual site jurisdiction.
Sources and boundaries
Mobile Robotics Systems Research and Standard Test Methods
NIST describes measurement methods and environmental factors for mobile-robot performance. It does not validate a particular commercial product or RobotAtom estimate.
Source date 2024-08-16 · Reviewed 2026-08-24ISO 3691-4:2023 — Driverless industrial trucks and their systems
The public ISO abstract identifies the standard's scope and the importance of the operating zone. It is not a compliance assessment, and the full standard must be obtained and applied by competent parties where relevant.
Source date 2023-06-01 · Reviewed 2026-08-24Page boundary: This page produces a planning hypothesis. It does not size a production fleet, validate traffic safety, confirm integration scope or replace a site study and controlled trial.
Continue with your task
Turn the route and load into a reviewable requirement.
Describe one material-movement problem. RobotAtom will structure the constraints, possible approaches, provider-comparison criteria and pilot measures before any provider shortlist.