Perrone Robotics Inc., an autonomous vehicle (AV) kit and turnkey vehicle solutions provider, is expanding its autonomous vehicle capabilities by providing automated solutions with the team at Rampini Carlo S.p.A using Rampini’s electric buses.
The companies have agreed to integrate their product offerings to provide automated bus solutions for passenger transit applications. The automated vehicle solution will include the latest electric power options from Rampini in their 6-meter bus, as well as the full TONY (TO Navigate You) AV kit from Perrone.
The resulting solution will have the option of operating in any of three available modes: manual driving mode, manual operation with automated driver assistance (e.g. forward collision avoidance, blind spot detection, lane keeping, adaptive speed control, etc), and fully autonomous operation for defined maps and zones of operation. Such a solution will provide what is referred to as SAE Level 2, 3 and 4 automated driving options in the form factor of 6-meter buses.
Rampini’s buses offers features such as low floors, numerous seating configurations, electric power and more. Their platforms are fully homologated for operation in Europe and will be offered in the United States in conjunction with Perrone for pilot applications in 2023.
“We are grateful to Perrone for having chosen Rampini as a partner for the launch of this new project with the new 6-meter bus called SIXTRON,” says Fabio Magnoni, Rampini’s general manager. “A few years ago, we decided to focus on electric buses instead of diesel and the interest from customers across Europe was tremendous. Offering an electric bus means that we can provide fleet operators with a reliable and cost-effective solution with zero emissions.”
The partnership plans to incorporate Perrone’s modular and rapid integration AV Kit along with their patented software approach into the homologation certification that Rampini has already achieved.
“We are excited to be working with a company that shares our mission of moving mobility forward in a safe and immediately capable manner,” comments Paul Perrone. “The combination of Perrone’s AV kit with Rampini’s buses combine to meet the demand we see around the world for zero emissions transportation in safety certified platforms combined with an aesthetic eye for futuristic low floor passenger transit buses.”