High-rise parking garage with AGVs: how many robots and lifts are needed?
Enter the size and peak-hour volume — the tool simulates the whole peak hour second by second and finds the minimum number of AGVs per floor, lifts and handover cabins so customers do not wait longer than the target.
What the model calculates, and what it doesn't
Simulates second by second one peak hour, then keeps running until all jobs are done. Retrieval: the AGV on that floor goes to the slot, lifts the car, carries it to the lift lobby and waits for the lift; the lift takes the car to ground level and waits for a free cabin. Parking: customers queue outside the gate, enter the cabin and leave the car; the lift takes the car up to its floor and waits for an AGV to collect it. Each step holds its resource until the next step accepts the car — so a shortage of cabins also leaves lifts and AGVs waiting, just like in a real garage.
The solver starts from the lower bound set by capacity and widens gradually; each configuration is run twice at random and the worse result is used. The first line of the results shows the physical lower bound: the car retrieval time when nobody has to wait — a target below this cannot be met even with more equipment.
Not calculated: AGV battery charging, equipment breakdowns, oversized vehicles, electric vehicles needing on-site charging, morning and afternoon peaks falling within the same hour, ramps for self-driving vehicles.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to pick up a car in the AGV garage?
It depends on the floor size, AGV speed and lift. With floors of about 30–45 m per side and a speed of 1–1.5 m/s, when nobody is waiting, 90% of retrievals take about 2–3 minutes; at peak hours, queuing time is added. The tool prints both figures.
Add AGVs or add lifts?
It depends on the bottleneck. Lifts are shared by all floors, so they are often the bottleneck in tall buildings; AGVs are the bottleneck when each floor is large with many slots. The feasible-options table shows whether trading one lift for several AGVs pays off.
Is the handover cabin important?
Yes. A customer spends about a minute in the cabin collecting the car; without enough cabins, the lift has to hold the car and wait, which in turn makes AGVs wait for the lift. This is a common mistake when drawings give all the area to parking and shrink the handover lobby.
Have real project parameters? Send them to CGD and get feedback on the design scope
This simulation stops at the principle. For a specific project, CGD builds the model on real operating data and floor plan drawings.
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