an asynchronous conveyor system with controlled smooth stopping and starting . the conveyer system defines a path with sections independently driven . the conveyed items may be independently accumulated on one or more path sections of the conveyor system . external sensors are distributed along different path sections of the conveyors system and are used to control the location and the flow of items in either direction . an idler wheel with a sensed rest position is also disclosed as an item sensing mechanism . the drive system for the conveyor system may be stepper motors , dc , ac , hysteresis motors or other such motors . in each case the motors are controlled to provide smooth transportation of the items . in another embodiment , servomotors are used and an internal sensed characteristic of the servo motor provides and indication of an item being on the conveyor path section associated with the servo . the operation then is similar to the use of an actual sensor . the logic controller for the conveyor system may be locally distributed or centrally located .