The paper (http://news.crown.com/uk/2013/the-state-of-forklift-automation/) reviews the current state of the technology and outlines the considerations to be addressed prior to adoption.

The paper outlines the key challenges associated with automated forklifts today, such as equipment durability, and distributed service responsibility. It also provides four attributes that can serve as the basis for evaluating a warehouse automation system: reliability, flexibility, scalability and safety. The paper concludes with six key questions every organisation should address when determining whether to move forward with the current generation of forklift automation technology or wait for the technology to evolve.