CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., May 30, 2025 -- On this official National Autonomous Vehicle (AV) Day, May 31, Perrone Robotics proudly celebrates the progress made in delivering trusted, safe, feature-rich, and operationally-ready autonomous vehicle (AV) solutions across the widest array of platforms and applications in the industry. Through its patented TONY® AV Kit and its TONY® ADAS Kit, Perrone is bringing automation to the real world, today.
From downtown transit systems to university campuses, bus yards, corporate fleets, security patrols, and defense operations, Perrone's modular and vehicle-agnostic technology is empowering customers to automate diverse vehicle platforms, including transit vans, 40-foot buses, police cruisers, off-road UTVs, and neighborhood electric vehicles.
A Year of Proven Deployments
In the past year alone, Perrone's TONY® AV Kit has been outfitted and operating across:
- Ford E-Transit vans – across multiple geographies for daily autonomous operations
- Gillig diesel buses – retrofitted for advanced driver assistance
- New Flyer battery electric buses – for fully automated yard operations
- Ford Explorers – for autonomous law enforcement research
- Polaris Ranger XP 1000 – for military-grade, off-road autonomous utility
- WAEV GEM LSVs – for low-speed community mobility
- Body-on-Chassis minibus & Dodge van EV conversions – customized for public transit
Customer Voices: Proof in Practice
"The City of Detroit is committed to advancing real-world applications of autonomous mobility to improve transportation access and efficiency. Through our Connect AV pilot, we deployed the nation's first fleet of autonomous Ford E-Transit vans, powered by Perrone's TONY AV platform. This initiative provides critical insights into how scalable autonomy can enhance first- and last-mile connectivity in urban transit networks,"
— Tim Slusser, Chief of Mobility Innovation, City of Detroit
"Our NEORide partnership with Perrone is retrofitting an entire fleet of diesel buses for ADAS functionality. The impact on safety and operational efficiency is substantial."
— Katherine Conrad, Executive Director, NeoRide
"The TONY AV Kit retrofit on our electric body-on-chassis minibus marked a major innovation milestone. This was the first time in the U.S. that an EV of this class and configuration was outfitted with a full autonomous vehicle system, showcasing what's now possible in modernizing and future-proofing transit fleets."
— Kim Williams, JD, Chief Innovation Officer, Houston METRO
"Faculty at The University of Alabama closely collaborate with the campus transit service Crimson Ride, which has the largest ridership in the state of Alabama. We are deploying Perrone's ADAS Kits on our existing buses, and the TONY AV Kit to Ford E-transit vans, bringing real-world safety features and AV readiness to our campus fleet. Also, together with PRI, we are developing end-to-end Software- and Hardware-in the Loop (SiL/Hil) simulation tools to improve ADAS performance."
— Dr. Bharat Balasubramania, Executive Director Center for Advanced Vehicle Technologies - University of Alabama College of Engineering & Chief Mobility Research and Development Officer, Alabama Transportation Institute
"Our work with Perrone Robotics and the special police edition Ford Explorer is opening entirely new frontiers in law enforcement automation. Their TONY AV Kit brings real promise for next-generation officer assistance."
— Sean Malinowski, Ph.D., Managing Partner, The Policing Lab
"Partnering with Perrone Robotics has enabled our community to experience autonomous mobility across the diverse landscape of North Fork Research Park in Charlottesville, Virginia. Spanning over 500 acres and home to a wide range of tech companies, research labs, and government agencies, including Perrone itself, the operation on premises of transit vans, buses, and specialty autonomous vehicle
— Deborah van Eersel, UVA Foundation, Chief Administrative Officer
"For over five years, Perrone has been automating our GEM neighborhood EVs with their TONY AV Kit. They have shown what's possible for low-speed, community-focused automated operations."
— Paul Vitrano, co-founder, Waev Inc., manufacturer of GEM
Celebrating Real-World Progress on AV Day
As the industry marks National AV Day on May 31, Perrone Robotics applauds its visionary customers; across public transit, campus mobility, bus yards, defense, security, and utility operations; for pushing automation out of the lab and onto the road. Each project represents real deployments, not future talk.
With over 20 years of experience and its patented MAX® software platform and TONY® retrofit kit at the core, Perrone Robotics is uniquely positioned to deliver safe, scalable, and proven autonomy; whether as full AV or as ADAS.
"While AV timelines slip and there are frequent projections about what's coming tomorrow accompanied by tightly controlled & limited demos, Perrone delivers today. Autonomy isn't a press release for us. It's a product. It's deployed. It's working."
— Paul Perrone, Founder/CEO, Perrone Robotics
On this National AV Day, Perrone Robotics invites new customers, agencies, and OEMs to join the movement. Let's build the future of mobility; not with projections, but with delivery and performance.
About Perrone Robotics
Perrone Robotics is a leading innovator in autonomous vehicle technology, specializing in advanced autonomous vehicle systems for transit, commercial, and government applications. With its patented TONY AV & ADAS Kits and MAX software platforms, Perrone Robotics delivers reliable, scalable, and versatile autonomous solutions designed to transform transportation and mobility.
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