Top 03 most common Autonomous Mobile Robot Applications Across the Industries

AMR robot is currently the most advanced technology allowing industry to operate autonomously, with minimum human interactions. So what is the most used for AMR across the industry at the moment? Let’s together with Phenikaa-X discover the Top 03 most Autonomous Mobile Robot applications and learn how these technology can change the world.

1. Introduction to AMR

Autonomous Mobile Robots are advanced robots designed to operate autonomously with minimal human intervention, thanks to all the modern technologies like AI, IoT, SLAM, LiDAR,… installed in them. Their ability to adapt to changing conditions and perform tasks with precision makes them a cornerstone of modern automation, enhancing efficiency and reducing operational costs.

With these advanced capabilities, AMRs are increasingly adopted across diverse industrial sectors. In manufacturing, AMRs transport components between workstations, streamlining production processes. In warehousing, they optimize inventory management and goods handling, boosting operational efficiency. In the service sector, AMRs enhance customer experiences by delivering items or assisting in tasks like cleaning and logistics.

You can learn more about AMR in the following article: What is AMR Robot? The Smart Automation Revolutionizing Industries, written and shared by Phenikaa-X’s engineer.

2. Autonomous mobile Robots Applications

Currently, autonomous mobile robot applications can be seen clearly in 03 different fields: Warehousing, manufacturing and services. Here are the detail: 

2.1. Warehousing and Logistics

AMR streamline warehouse automation by performing critical tasks that optimize logistics operations, ensuring efficient handling of goods in dynamic environments.

• Real-Time Stock Auditing: AMR can scan and update inventory data instantly, ensuring accurate stock counts and minimizing discrepancies.
• Dynamic Order Sorting: AMR with special cart system attached can help workers sort and group orders by destination or priority, transporting items to packing stations via optimized routes, speeding up fulfillment processes.
• Cross-Docking Coordination: The Robot can move incoming goods directly to outbound loading zones, bypassing storage. This will help reduce handling time and accelerate supply chain throughput.
• Heavy Load Pallet Stacking: AMR lift and stack pallets in optimized configurations, maximizing vertical storage space and reducing manual labor for heavy lifting.

In warehousing and logistics, AMRs operate most closely aligned with their original purpose: transporting products, palette and cargo between different areas within warehouses and facilities. This technology not only replaces human labor but also enhances workers’ productivity in warehouses by eliminating the need for long-distance travel, ensuring personnel operate at optimal efficiency and minimizing time lost to movement.

The United States and China are the first two countries in the world to implement AMRs in warehousing and logistics operations. According to some reports, operational costs for warehouses utilizing AMRs have decreased by up to 30% compared to the previous year. Modern warehouses also achieve higher efficiency compared to traditional warehouses.

2.2. Manufacturing

AMRs support flexible automation in manufacturing by executing precise tasks that enhance production efficiency and align with Industry 4.0’s smart factory goals.

• Component Delivery to Assembly Lines: AMRs transport specific components, such as circuit boards or raw materials, to precise assembly stations based on production schedules, ensuring timely deliveries.
• Tool and Fixture Transport: AMRs carry specialized tools or fixtures to multiple workstations, adapting to changing production needs and reducing downtime spent searching for equipment.
• Automated Visual Inspections: AMRs with high-resolution cameras perform detailed inspections of products, detecting defects like scratches or misalignments to ensure quality.
• Data-Driven Process Monitoring: AMRs collect and transmit real-time production data, such as machine status or output rates, to central systems via IoT, enabling predictive maintenance.

AMR has revolutionized manufacturing by enabling flexible, data-driven production environments. They reduce production delays, improve quality control, and support scalable operations, contributing to a 17.6% CAGR in the manufacturing AMR market. Globally, automotive and electronics manufacturing hubs, particularly in Germany and Japan, have adopted AMRs to transport components and monitor processes, integrating them with smart factory systems to enhance productivity and reduce costs.

2.3. Service Sector

Autonomous mobile Robot application in services is still new, but shown a lot of potential. By automating specialized tasks in healthcare, hospitality, retail, and urban logistics, AMR improving efficiency and customer satisfaction, help business become more attractive to the customer.

• Medication Delivery in Hospitals: Healthcare AMRs navigate hospital corridors to deliver medications or supplies to specific wards, following secure routes to ensure timely and contactless transport.
• Interactive Guest Assistance in Hospitality: AMRs act as mobile concierges, guiding guests to rooms or providing information via touchscreens, enhancing guest experiences.
• Autonomous Floor Cleaning: AMRs with scrubbing or vacuuming systems clean large public spaces, using sensor-based navigation to maintain hygiene in high-traffic areas.
• Urban Parcel Delivery: AMRs navigate sidewalks to deliver small packages in urban areas, using GPS for precise, eco-friendly last-mile delivery.

AMRs have significantly improved service sector operations by enhancing customer experiences, reducing labor demands, and ensuring hygiene. Their contactless delivery and cleaning capabilities have been critical in healthcare and hospitality, particularly post-pandemic, while urban delivery AMRs support sustainable logistics. 

In Vietnam, PhenikaaMec Hospital is one of the first hospitals to implement service AMRs in its operations. These robots assist in guiding patients to various hospital areas, delivering water and medications, contributing to reduced workload during peak hours, and enhancing the quality of patient services.

3. Why does the industry use AMR?

From all the AMR applications shown above, it’s clear that this technology can deliver transformative benefits that make them a strategic investment across industries. Here are some of the benefits that autonomous mobile robot applications can offer to the business owner: 

• Enhanced Efficiency and Productivity: AMRs automate repetitive tasks like material transport and inventory management, allowing workers to focus on high-value activities.
• Cost Reduction: By streamlining workflows and reducing reliance on manual labor, AMRs cut operational costs significantly. Studies show AMRs can reduce warehouse labor costs by up to 30%, making them a cost-effective solution for industries facing rising labor expenses.
• Improved Safety: Equipped with advanced sensors and AI, AMRs navigate safely in human-robot collaborative environments, avoiding collisions and minimizing workplace accidents.
• Flexibility and Scalability: AMRs adapt to changing layouts and tasks without requiring costly infrastructure changes, unlike fixed automation systems.
• Sustainability: Energy-efficient AMR Energy-efficient  support 24/7 operations with minimal environmental impact. Their precise operations, such as targeted spraying in agriculture, also reduce resource waste, contributing to sustainable practices.

There are also more benefits you can have just from implementing AMR into your business. For more detail, you should also check Top 10 AMR Advantages Across Different Industrial Fields.

4. Autonomous Mobile Robot Applications Expected in the Future

Emerging autonomous mobile robot applications are set to expand AMR adoption into new sectors, driven by advancements in AI, 5G connectivity, and industry-specific demands. Below are three key future applications, each supported by reasons indicating their likelihood based on technological trends and market needs, without reference to specific entities.

• Construction: AMRs could perform tasks like autonomous bricklaying, material transport across uneven terrain, or site surveying with laser-based mapping. The construction industry’s need to address labor shortages and accelerate project timelines, combined with advancements in robotic manipulation and terrain-adaptive navigation, makes this application likely. 
• Scientific Research: AMRs could assist in research by autonomously collecting environmental samples, monitoring lab conditions, or transporting sensitive equipment. Equipped with sensors for air quality, temperature, or radiation, AMRs could navigate research facilities or remote field sites to gather data with minimal human intervention. 
• Waste Collection and Cleaning: AMRs could autonomously collect and sort recyclables or clean public spaces in urban areas, using sensors to identify waste types and navigate crowded environments. These robots would optimize waste management routes and perform tasks like street sweeping or litter collection, promoting sustainability.
• Operating in Smart city: In smart city models, AMRs can be utilized for tasks such as transporting goods, delivering items, and navigating buildings using elevators, thereby replacing human delivery personnel.

However, AMRs cannot completely replace humans in all tasks. They serve as an effective solution that enhances work quality and efficiency in production facilities, handling heavy load transportation tasks that may pose dangers or risks of accidents. Major global corporations have gradually shifted to the Human-AMR Collaboration model to maximize the efficiency benefits that AMRs provide.

Conclusion