At the San Jose Mercury News, AGV Products has installed a new ten-vehicle AGV system, replacing its old AGV system in the process. The new AGV system features SICK Laser Bumpers™ as a standard safety component.

With this new system, rolls of paper are prepared at one of two "prep" stations. They are weighed before the brown wrapping is removed and once the wrapping and any white paper waste are removed, the rolls are then transported by the AGVs to rack storage (with over 900 locations) or directly to the press. Calls for a paper roll are made automatically from the press itself or initiated manually via a touch screen located at the reel stands.

San Jose Mercury News can scan each roll, get its net weight and account for every roll. If the newspaper receives rolls with transit or water damage, the system automatically pinpoints where specific damage may have occurred, thus creating the evidence trail needed to obtain credit from suppliers. Tracking software built into the system, meanwhile, automatically transmits newsprint inventory data to the newspaper's inventory system, allowing the paper to share information with its parent company, Knight Ridder, Inc.

The AGV system features automatic battery charging capability, where idle vehicles drive up to in-floor charging plates and recharge for maximum availability. As an added advantage the AGVs handle 50 and 55 inch rolls as well as partial rolls. SICK Laser Bumpers™ are standard equipment, creating a smaller operating space while keeping safety paramount by providing an "invisible" area of protection around the vehicle.

The Laser Bumper™ is a self-contained, non-contact, control-reliable proximity laser scanner. It creates three independent sensing fields: two programmable protective zones and a "surveyed area". The rotational optical system uses a Class 1 infrared laser and allows the user to define two protective zones (Safety and Warning Zones) to fit the irregular contours of a hazardous area. Three types of Laser Bumpers™ are available and they are all designed to meet the requirements of ANSI/ASME B56.5.