South Carolina Becoming Home for Automation, Innovation, and Vision Guided Vehicles

With more than 250 automotive companies in the state, from Lear, Kemet, Koyo, to Michelin, BMW, and Bridgestone (to name a few), it is little wonder that South Carolina is ranked #3 in automotive manufacturing strength for many reasons. South Carolina is one of leading locations for vision guided vehicles (VGV), driven in part to the increasing North American fork truck free (FTF) initiatives. Encouraging public-private partnerships, which serve as the foundation for research in South Carolina, world-class brands like BMW and Michelin are partnering with universities to bring collaboration to the next level. At facilities across the state, researchers driven by the needs of the automotive industry work with students, multi-disciplinary faculty members, and industry partners to determine the next generation automation technologies. The automotive sector often requires a proof-of-concept success story in one location before the technology solution is implemented enterprise-wide.