Survey on Air Levitation Conveyors with Possible Scalability Properties

Re-configurability and scalability are important properties of smart non-contact conveyors. The paper studies smart conveyors. It concentrates on levitation methods, it makes a comprehensive survey on levitation technologies that are currently most active. A conclusion is made that air levitation is well suited to smart conveyors. Furthermore, an overview of the movement mechanisms on air levitation platforms is presented, the various advantages of these technologies are reviewed here and associated scalability properties are detailed. This provides a reference for selecting a reliable movement mechanism for future smart conveyors.