In this image, Wayne Hamilton shows off two of the four “automated guided vehicles” that run Nintendo of America’s distribution center in North Bend, Washington. Hamilton was Nintendo’s director of distribution. The vehicles automatically move pallets of game cartridges through the facility using electronic paths embedded in the floor and carry them to the automated storage and retrieval shelves (visible in the background). The automation helped Nintendo ship orders to stores more quickly and efficiently and at the time, this was one of the most advanced automation systems in the US.

Caption information source: “Robots Right at Home at Nintendo,” by Jim Erickson, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, December 24, 1992.