Perrone's TONY AV Kit brings automated mobility to "METRO Shuttle of the Future"

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Nov. 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Perrone Robotics, Inc. ("Perrone"), the industry's leading autonomous vehicle (AV) kit and turnkey AV solutions provider, has contracted with Houston METRO as the awardee in provisioning autonomy for the "METRO Shuttle of the Future".

Perrone will be outfitting the Zeus 400, a mid-size body-on-chassis shuttle bus from Phoenix Motorcars. The Zeus 400 is compliant with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), Buy America compliant, as well as compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This award is part of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Accelerating Innovative Mobility (AIM) grant which was granted last year. The bus will provide autonomous shuttle service to Texas Southern University, Houston's Third Ward, and the University of Houston.

Perrone is joined on this project by STV and Transcend Engineers & Planners. Both groups bring unique and substantial experience to the project. STV's 100-year design and planning history and forward looking technology vision lies with the ability to provide operational based solutions that connect the public to opportunities. Transcend has extensive experience in Traffic & ITS systems and how new technology interacts with established transit systems. These strong partners are critical in the success of the project and bringing roadworthy AV vehicles to the Texas roads.

"We believe that the industry needs more vehicles that are roadworthy and road ready" said Nicholas Pilipowskyj, VP of Business Operations for Perrone. "Autonomous vehicles should be tested and held to the same standards as the ones we can buy off the lot. Having a vehicle that is safe and reliable, to supplement existing services, is key to having the public widely accept autonomous vehicles operating with them on public roads."

Perrone's vehicle agnostic TONY AV Kit is modular and facilitates rapid integration into existing vehicle platforms. This ability to outfit a pre-existing vehicle was a key point for the selection committee at Houston METRO. "Houston METRO, an organization known for driving transit towards innovation while maintaining the highest level of safety, is a natural partner for us. The TONY AV kit's rapid integration capability, uniquely certifiable path to safety and cyber-security, combined with a rich history of proven and comprehensive autonomy, positions us for fleet level autonomous transit operations today." said Paul Perrone, founder/CEO of Perrone Robotics. "We are looking forward to this visionary deployment with Houston METRO in Texas, and to providing safe and efficient mobility for all of Houston METRO's partners and the Houston community."

About Perrone Robotics, Inc.

Perrone is a leading provider of fully automated vehicle systems. The company delivers mobility excellence via TONY® (short for "TO Navigate You"), a vehicle independent retrofit kit for use in the automated transit of people and goods in geo-fenced and localized operations. TONY embeds inside any vehicle type or model, for any job application to provide a complete "artificial driver" solution that brings full autonomy in a safety certifiable framework. Proven, piloted, and in commercial production, Perrone automated systems help commercial, municipal, and governmental customers increase transportation efficiencies, enhance safety, and accelerate zero-emission electric vehicle deployment. The company also offers a portfolio of existing turnkey automated shuttles and vehicles pre-integrated with the TONY AV-Retrofit kit.

About STV

Founded more than 100 years ago, STV is a leader in providing engineering, architectural, planning, environmental and program management and construction management services for transportation systems, infrastructure, buildings, energy, water and other facilities. The firm is ranked 35th on Engineering News-Record's Top 500 Design Firms list, 33rd on the Top 100 Construction Management/PM-for-Fee Firms list and 10th in transportation. For more information, visit the firm's website at www.stvinc.com.

About Transcend Engineers and Planners

Transcend Engineers and Planners is a Traffic Engineering & Transportation Planning firm based in Houston that focuses on providing traffic, planning, tolls and ITS related services to public agencies including DOTs, Transit agencies, Counties and Cities.