Perrone Robotics and NEORide, a council of governments representing more than 30 US transit agencies, have announced a vehicle-agnostic kit services agreement to retrofit six 35ft Gillig buses in Ohio with Perrone‘s Tony ADAS retrofit kit. The project is funded through the US Department of Transportation’s Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grant program.
The project channels US$1.98m in federal funding to install, test, operate and evaluate Perrone’s Tony ADAS kit, equipping fleets with collision avoidance, lane-keeping and other safety enhancements.
The upgraded buses will be deployed by three NEORide members: Butler County Regional Transit Authority (BCRTA), Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA) and Western Reserve Transit Authority (WRTA).
Safety and Efficiency
The Tony ADAS kit integrates with existing buses, combining advanced sensors with Perrone’s MAX autonomy software to provide forward collision avoidance and automated emergency braking (AEB), adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance, blind spot detection and side-impact alerts. It also includes the intersection management support, pedestrian protection and data logging.
Under this program, each bus will be outfitted with forward collision avoidance, lane-keeping assistance, adaptive cruise control, advanced warnings, and a data logging platform with expandable modules for future features.
Paul Perrone, founder and CEO of Perrone Robotics, said, “Tony allows transit systems to leap from legacy to leading-edge safety in weeks, not years. This SMART Grant proves we can deliver collision avoidance, lane keeping and more today, without requiring agencies to purchase new fleets. We’re proud to partner with NEORide, BCRTA, SARTA and WRTA to help make Ohio’s buses among the safest on the road.”
Project timeline and industry impact
Over the course of the project, Perrone will integrate and commission all six buses, train agency staff and deliver performance data to USDOT evaluators. The partners have said that the initiative lays the foundation for broader adoption of Tony ADAS retrofits by additional NEORide members and transit agencies nationwide.
Katherine Conrad, executive director, NEORide, said, “Our mission is to bring innovative, cost-effective mobility solutions to the communities we serve. By pooling federal resources, three transit agencies are deploying life-saving ADAS technology at the cost of a retrofit — setting a national standard for modernizing fleets and demonstrating the power of regional collaboration.”
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