Lightning eMotors is equipping its zero-emission business automobiles with Perrone Robotics’ autonomous-vehicle retrofit kits
Zero-emission truck producer Lightning eMotors is partnering with Perrone Robotics to supply self-driving capabilities on a few of its electrical fleet automobiles.
Lightning vehicles outfitted with Perrone’s autonomous-vehicle (AV) know-how, TONY, may be ordered now. TONY (TO Navigate You) is a vehicle-independent, turnkey retrofit equipment that may be put in on any of the business passenger and cargo automobiles Lightning manufactures. TONY is constructed on Perrone’s patented MAX general-purpose robotics working system. All vehicles will probably be outfitted with Lidar and radar for redundancy, the businesses stated.
“We have been searching for companions who might ship autonomous capabilities to our prospects at the moment and sooner or later — and that’s what Perrone provides,” Lightning CEO Tim Reeser stated. “We provide maybe the widest vary of electrical business automobiles in North America, and now we now have an autonomous car resolution for our merchandise, starting from ambulances to campus shuttles and different business purposes.”
Lightning will first deploy Perrone’s AV know-how in two classes: Totally autonomous degree 4 automobiles and semi-autonomous degree 2 automobiles. The extent 4 automobiles are at present suited to geofenced environments with devoted routes, like school campuses, logistics yards, resorts and downtown enterprise districts. Stage 2 performance, like lane-keeping, adaptive cruise management and forward-collision avoidance, may be ordered by business prospects who want high-end visible and security options, comparable to transit firms.
“Our prospects are telling us they need this know-how, and now we will ship it,” Reeser stated. “Due to our partnership with Perrone, we stand alone as the one all-electric business car supplier that may supply class 3 – 7 medium-duty automobiles which might be absolutely autonomous and are licensed by the departments of transportation, native transit businesses and different business organizations.”
Perrone-Lightning AVs are already on the street. Philadelphia’s public-private financial improvement company, PIDC, made the primary buy of one of many automobiles, a self-driving, all-electric shuttle, to offer transportation to guests and workers of the 1,200-acre Philadelphia Navy Yard. Lightning and Perrone are in energetic discussions with a number of different potential prospects as effectively.
