An AGV series passed the appraisal inspection by the Ministry of Science and Technology Sunday.

There are nine AGVs working skillfully at Shenyang Gold-Cup Auto-Making Company in northeast China's Liaoning Province.

They can assemble the engine, rear axle, and fuel tank of a car in less than four minutes.

The AGV was developed by the Shenyang Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), which is known as the "cradle of Chinese robots."

The CAS institute has spent nearly 10 years researching and developing the AGV. It has developed five models totaling 61 robots.

The first industrial robot controller was developed in 1990. China first used an AGV in a soft production line in 1992.

So far, the AGVs have been diligent "workers" in automobile plants and warehouse in Shanghai and Liuzhou cities.

The expert panel, which has appraised the AGV optimistically, also adopted a set of standards for AGV production today. The standards were believed to serve as a good foundation for the industrialization of the AGV and the intellectual property rights of which, belongs to China.

(Xinhua 11/19/2000)