CHARLOTTE, NC-The Material Handling Industry of America group is recording a dramatic increase in the use of driverless vehicles on the shop floor. In a study by the group's Automatic Guided Vehicles Systems section, 72 systems were reportedly either installed or expanded in the first 6 months of 2004, compared to 47 such efforts in the first half of 2003.
According to MHIA managing executive Dick Ward, the "vast majority" of the 2004 systems were new, as opposed to add-ons to existing systems, with 93 percent going to manufacturing. Applications included those in the automotive, aerospace, food, textile, paper, chemical, rubber and plastic, and public utilities sectors.