The term "automated guided vehicle" (AGV) is a general one that encompasses all transport systems capable of functioning without driver operation.

Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) help to reduce costs of manufacturing and increase efficiency in a manufacturing system.

AGVs can tow objects behind them in small trailers which they can autonomously hook up to. These trailers can be used to move raw materials into line to get them ready to be manufactured.

The AGV can also store objects on a bed. The objects can be placed on a set of motorized treads and then pushed off by reversing them. Some AGVs use forklifts to lift objects for storage. Transporting materials such as medicine in a hospital situation is also done.

Source:http://www.answers.com/topic/automated-guided-vehicle

Electric platform trucks are electric powered trucks with a large flat surface for holding objects to be transported.

Walkie Platform Truck

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_platform_truck

Order pickers are unlike any other type of forklift. The difference is the ability of the driver to be raised with the load so the driver does not climb in the racks. (9 Minutes)

Source:http://www.njm.com/VIDEOLIB/10fork.htm

The Walkie Stacker is a battery-powered alternative to hand trucks and manual pallet jacks. These motorized hand trucks are found in virtually every manufacturing and distribution operation performing loading, unloading, order picking, stacking, staging, and internal transportation duties.

The motorized vehicles allow the operator to deliver or store the load much faster than using manual equipment. At the same time, operator fatigue is reduced and the possibility of injury associated with manually moving heavy materials is virtually eliminated.

On the down side, the vehicles typically have lower travel and lift speeds, which may limit their productivity in demanding operations or those covering greater distances. Capacity is limited to about 8000 lb (4000 lb for higher lifts); however, specially designed and constructed versions can go much higher. Gradeability is also a concern for some equipment.

A hand truck is an L-shaped box-moving handcart with handles at one end, wheels at the base, with a small ledge to set objects on, flat against the floor when the hand-truck is upright. The objects to be moved are tilted forward, the ledge is inserted underneath them, and the objects allowed to tilt back and rest on the ledge. Then the truck and object are tilted backward until the weight is balanced over the large wheels, making otherwise bulky and heavy objects easier to move. A hand-truck is known as a trolley in the United Kingdom. Hand-trucks are sometimes used as baggage carts by porters in train stations. A dolly is comparable to a hand truck. It is a first class lever.

Two-Wheeled Hand Truck

A low mobile platform that rolls on casters, used for transporting heavy loads.