Automated Guided Vehicles, which essentially are driverless forklifts, have been used for many years in industrial and warehouse applications to carry lighter loads along preprogrammed pathways. But up until now, because they are battery-powered, they have been limited in the amount of weight they can carry and how long they can remain on the job before being recharged. Superior Controls — a construction vehicle manufacturer based in Plymouth, Michigan — has introduced a battery-free AGV that runs on inductive power transfer, according to the company’s website. Used widely in Europe, battery-free AGVs not only give the batteries more flexibility and extend their run life, but are also environmentally superior because they don’t require the eventual disposal of lead based batteries, as traditional battery-powered AGVs do, Rod Emery, the company’s vice president, wrote in a recent guest blog on the website DesignNews.