Apparatus for controlled motion of independent movers along a path comprising: a track that forms a path (P) for movers; a plurality of movers movably mounted on the track for moving along said path, said movers comprising a driven member that is oriented to be contacted by at least one drive element at any position along the path; a plurality of drive elements arranged along the track, said drive elements each comprising a surface that is oriented to contact the driven member of said movers, wherein said drive elements are configured to sequentially engage the driven member of a plurality of said movers to provide controlled motion of said movers independently around said track, wherein the drive elements are each driven by a rotary motor ; and a programmable computer control system in communication with the rotary motors for controlling the motion of the rotary motors, wherein at least one driven member comprises a gear rack joined to one of said movers; wherein at least one drive element comprises at least one of a pinion gear and a timing belt that has a plurality of teeth thereon; characterized in that said belt is in the configuration of an endless loop located inside the track , wherein said belt is arranged to be supported in the endless loop configuration by at least one of a plurality of backup rollers or a guide rail that allow the belt to drive the driven members following the path for the movers . the closed loop path has a race track configuration having two linear sides, two curvilinear portions at the ends, and transitions between each of the linear sides and the curvilinear ends, wherein the transitions and curvilinear portions at the ends of the track form a spline curve, and the portions of the belt that drive the movers along the spline curves are supported by a plurality of backup rollers configured to allow the belt to drive the movers around the spline curve due to engagement of the timing belt teeth and the rack teeth. a track that forms a path (P) for movers; a plurality of movers movably mounted on the track for moving along said path, said movers comprising a driven member that is oriented to be contacted by at least one drive element at any position along the path; a plurality of drive elements arranged along the track, said drive elements each comprising a surface that is oriented to contact the driven member of said movers, wherein said drive elements are configured to sequentially engage the driven member of a plurality of said movers to provide controlled motion of said movers independently around said track, wherein the drive elements are each driven by a rotary motor ; and a programmable computer control system in communication with the rotary motors for controlling the motion of the rotary motors, wherein at least one driven member comprises a gear rack joined to one of said movers; wherein at least one drive element comprises at least one of a pinion gear and a timing belt that has a plurality of teeth thereon; characterized in that said belt is in the configuration of an endless loop located inside the track , wherein said belt is arranged to be supported in the endless loop configuration by at least one of a plurality of backup rollers or a guide rail that allow the belt to drive the driven members following the path for the movers . the closed loop path has a race track configuration having two linear sides, two curvilinear portions at the ends, and transitions between each of the linear sides and the curvilinear ends, wherein the transitions and curvilinear portions at the ends of the track form a spline curve, and the portions of the belt that drive the movers along the spline curves are supported by a plurality of backup rollers configured to allow the belt to drive the movers around the spline curve due to engagement of the timing belt teeth and the rack teeth. <EOS>