New bidirectional pallet shuttles enter U.S. market

Italy's Smoov ASRV hopes to introduce its distinctive turquoise and silver pallet shuttles to the United States. The company made its first appearance in North America at MODEX 2012.

The pallet shuttles, which the company calls "intelligent vehicles," can move freely in two directions on rails within the racking, providing an unusual degree of flexibility, said marketing manager Elisabet Fasano. They are suitable for use in automated warehouses, linking buildings via an overhead "bridge," supporting robotic palletizers, integrating with automated storage and retrieval systems, and more.

The shuttles are battery powered; when the battery reaches a low level, the system sends out an alert to the operator and directs the vehicle to a recharging station.

The company is targeting the food and beverage industry and has 10 installations in Europe to date.