A three-month trial period of free public demonstration rides on an autonomous vehicle neighborhood use (AVNU) shuttle has completed successfully in Virginia following the collaboration of Perrone Robotics, Inc. (PRI) with Albemarle County.
The AVNU shuttle is classified as a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) and has perception and guidance capabilities provided by PRI. AVNU drove fully autonomously with a safety monitor on public roads within Crozet, navigating vehicle, bike and pedestrian traffic through intersections and roundabouts. AVNU is based on a Polaris GEM e6 vehicle retrofitted with PRI's TONY (TO Navigate You) autonomous transit kit that is available to be applied to a wide range of transit vehicles.
"We're thrilled to have fielded the first open road autonomous shuttle here in Virginia, giving members of the public safe and smooth rides with zero incidents and zero safety interventions through complex intersections and traffic," said Paul Perrone, CEO and founder of PRI. "Through our partnership with the county, we were able to demonstrate autonomous transport to enhance the mobility and utility of riders is viable now in a typical American community. We have automated over 29 different types of vehicles and operated them for over 33,500 autonomous miles over the past 16 years in the U.S. and UK."
The AVNU shuttle took riders around the Old Trail residential development in Crozet and from Old Trail to downtown Crozet as well as from downtown Crozet into a different neighborhood and adjoining park. These shuttles traveled public roads with pedestrian, cyclist and traffic at varying times of the day. AVNU was first tested by PRI in simulation, then on the company's test track and finally on public roads.
"We were very pleased to observe this pilot of the next generation of transportation – autonomous neighborhood shuttles – right here in Albemarle County, Virginia," said Albemarle County Economic Development Director Roger Johnson. "The last-mile AVNU shuttle showed us how citizens that cannot drive, whether elderly or young, embraced the concept of an autonomous vehicle moving them safely to shops or restaurants. We can see how more of these shuttles would alleviate common parking issues and how using EVs is also great for reducing noise and pollution. We look forward to Perrone Robotics' growth in this space and fully expect their success to continue."
PRI says feedback from riders has been positive and that many riders appreciated the service which took them to dining, shopping and other local services. Looking forward, PRI and the county will identify new trial areas, evaluate retrofitting larger transit vehicles and seek to increase the number of operational units, enabling regular service and offering a more dynamic mobility for the benefit of county residents.
