Autonomous and Self-Driving Vehicle News: Perrone& Realtime Robotics

While IIHS warns the government to regulate autonomous vehicles, Perrone Robotics celebrated National Autonomous Vehicle Day and Realtime Robotics announced a major investment in the company.

Perrone Robotics

In celebration of National Autonomous Vehicle Day, Perrone Robotics proudly highlights its leadership in autonomous driving, with an impressive and growing footprint of deployments across the United States. Perrone’s TONY AV and ADAS kits are setting new standards in automation for transit safety and efficiency.

Perrone Deployments:

Detroit’s Autonomous Ford E-Transit Vans: Leading the charge, Detroit’s ‘Connect’ program fields a fleet of Ford E-Transit vans equipped with Perrone’s TONY AV kits, currently operating a 10-mile shuttle route throughout downtown Detroit. With dozens more Ford E-Transit vans either in use or being prepared for this and other deployments, this turnkey AV product is catching on throughout the industry as a proven autonomy and ADAS transit solution.

Houston METRO and CapMetro: In Texas, Perrone Robotics has retrofitted a body-on-chassis electric shuttle bus platform for Houston METRO, ensuring compliance with FMVSS, ADA, and Buy America standards. Additionally, CapMetro’s bus yard management program is being prepared for Perrone’s bus-based TONY AV technology, streamlining operations and enhancing efficiency in the yard.

University of Alabama Collaboration: Under an FTA grant, Perrone collaborates with the University of Alabama to develop ADAS for large transit buses, including both battery-electric and diesel buses. This project involves intensive virtual simulations and real-world testing to bring advanced safety features to Crimson Ride buses.

CALSTART and Ohio: In Ohio, Perrone Robotics partners with CALSTART to retrofit transit buses with autonomous technology under the U.S. DOT SMART Grants Program. This collaboration aims to bring advanced autonomy to public transit, enhancing safety and operational efficiency across Ohio’s transit systems.

Pennsylvania, Virginia, Hawaii, New Jersey, Florida, and More: Perrone’s technology has also been deployed at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Virginia with Virginia Tech and the UVA Foundation, Hawaii with Sustainability Partners, New Jersey with the state’s first public road autonomous shuttle at Newark Airport, and Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s first FMVSS and ADA compliant zero emissions transit van. Each deployment underscores Perrone’s commitment to safety and innovation in diverse environments.

Proven Versatility: Perrone’s patented TONY Kit demonstrates unmatched versatility, working seamlessly in passenger vans, 40-foot buses, body-on-chassis mini-buses, cargo vans, and more. This adaptability is evidenced by the diverse range of applications and vehicles currently benefiting from Perrone’s technology for both fully automated and ADAS solutions.

“Perrone Robotics’ TONY kits are transforming transit and transportation across the country,” said Paul Perrone, Founder and CEO. “Our vehicle-agnostic solutions have seen significant growth and are making practical and meaningful strides in enhancing public transit safety and efficiency.”

Mitsubishi Invests in Realtime Robotics

Realtime Robotics, the leader in collision-free autonomous motion planning for industrial robots, today announced that it has secured a strategic investment from Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. This is the lead investment in Realtime Robotics’ recently opened Series B round. Mitsubishi Electric was also a participant in the Series A round, and will be adding a senior representative to Realtime’s Board of Directors.

The funds will be used to support the refinement and scalability of the company’s revolutionary robot workcell optimization and runtime solutions, which significantly help engineers and manufacturers reduce costs and increase productivity.

Realtime Robotics’ unique and innovative collision-free path planning technology provides solutions across the lifecycle of robotic workcells. In iterative design stages, the award-winning multirobot optimization software rapidly generates and evaluates hundreds of thousands of possible solutions to identify the shortest cycle time. Deployment and production are further simplified by runtime control, enabling multiple robots to work closer together, while simultaneously reacting to dynamic changes. Finally, when the workcell needs to be retooled, the complex robot control is effortlessly reprogrammed for optimal cycle time from the first iteration.

Customers, including automotive manufacturers BMW and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, as well as integrators Valiant TMS and Schaeffler Group, report improved cycle times, reduced downtime, and increased throughput as a result of working with Realtime.

By increasing its stake, Mitsubishi Electric plans to further integrate Realtime’s cutting-edge motion planning technology into 3D simulators and other software to optimize manufacturing through the power of digital twins. Later, Mitsubishi Electric expects to incorporate Realtime’s technology into factory automation (FA) control system devices, such as programmable logic controllers (PLCs), servo motors and computer numerical controllers (CNCs), to ensure uninterrupted plant operations by responding to needs for expanded automation capabilities, streamlined plant operations for improved efficiency, and fast responses to unexpected events.

“For years, industrial robot programming has remained a rigid, costly and labor-intensive process. Realtime is helping manufacturers realize the next wave of efficiency improvements necessary to get the most out of their new and existing automation applications,” said Peter Howard, CEO of Realtime Robotics. “Our optimization and runtime technologies constitute a powerful Artificial Intelligence (AI) that operates much like the human brain’s motor cortex, efficiently managing multiple actions at the same time. Think of several cooks in a crowded kitchen being able to seamlessly work around each other to produce meals without error or collision. That’s the power of our technology.”

Realtime’s interfaces with leading simulation software brands and industry standard controllers help customers and partners access its powerful optimization and runtime solutions through their preferred method. “We will utilize these funds to accelerate the development of additional interfaces, driving toward full industry-wide accessibility in an increasingly user-friendly and efficient manner,” added Howard. “Mitsubishi Electric understands manufacturers’ need to improve efficiency and productivity in the face of rising costs and diversifying customer needs. We’re thrilled to work closely with them to expand the use of our unique motion-planning technology.”

To learn more about how Realtime Robotics’ can help your organization improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your industrial automation efforts, please visit: https://rtr.ai/.