Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) get talked about a lot, and not all of it is accurate. Some warehouse managers picture robots taking over the floor. Others picture a six-month install and a price tag to match. Neither one matches what an autonomous pallet truck actually does on a shift.
Here are the three myths we hear most often, and what's really true.
Myth 1: AMRs replace workers
An AMR takes the runs nobody wants. Receiving to staging. End of line to the dock. The same route across the building, all shift long. That work is repetitive, it ties up a trained operator, and it's hard to staff.
When an AMR handles those runs, your people move to work that needs judgment. Picking, quality checks, loading trucks, solving problems on the floor. The robot moves the pallet. Your team decides what happens next.
For most operations, the problem isn't too many people. It's not enough of them. Labor is tight and overtime adds up. An AMR helps you cover transport work you can't staff, without asking your best operators to spend their shift driving the same loop.
The AP44 autonomous pallet truck is built around the people working next to it. Operators send it on missions from the onboard touchscreen, let it run fully autonomous, or take over in manual mode and drive it like a conventional pallet truck. Red curtain lights, a blue spotlight, and an automatic horn let everyone nearby know it's coming. Run it your way.
Myth 2: AMRs are a hassle to implement
Traditional automation often starts with construction. Floor wires, magnetic tape, reflectors, QR codes, and a long IT project before a single pallet moves.
Big Joe Autonomous Solutions skips that step. No infrastructure changes. No floor wires, reflectors, or QR codes. The AP44 runs on your existing Wi-Fi.
A Big Joe team member handles mapping and setup on site, and the truck sets up in days, not months. It can run on its own from the start, or connect to your WMS or ERP when you're ready. Because it works in your current layout, you don't have to reorganize the building to get going.
Myth 3: AMRs are too expensive
Cost matters. But the price of the truck is only part of the math. The other part is what it costs to keep moving pallets the way you do today. Labor hours on repetitive transport. Overtime. Operators stretched across too many tasks.
The AP44 runs on a maintenance-free 24V lithium-ion battery with wireless charging, so there's no watering, swapping, or battery room to budget for.
If the upfront cost is the hurdle, Big Joe Financial Services offers financing on Big Joe equipment, including autonomous solutions.
Where automation fits
Many of the operations we work with start by moving their fleet to electric forklifts. Once the fleet runs on lithium-ion, automating repetitive transport is a natural next step. (If you're still weighing the switch to electric, start with Debunking the Biggest Myths About Electric Forklifts.)
The autonomous lineup keeps growing, too. Big Joe introduced four new autonomous vehicles at Automate 2026. For more on how we think about automation, listen to Approachable Warehouse Automation from Big Joe on The New Warehouse Podcast.
See it on your floor
The best way to judge an AMR is to watch it work your actual routes. Approachable Automation that Simply Works. Schedule a Demo today.
Originally published Sept. 2023 · Updated November 2026
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