The Pioneers of Autonomy: Perrone Robotics

Driving innovation in Robotics since 2003

Autonomous vehicles are just being implemented in the market today. But it was Perrone Robotics who was one of the pioneers to start the implementation on daily projects. 2003 was the starting step the company took and soon in 2005 it saw DARPA Grand Challenge which was a success followed by the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge. It has a number of patents on its product. Soon it started with commercial projects and Perrone Robotics became the company to create the first general purpose robotics software platform for autonomous vehicles and robots. It calls this platform MAX. The company makes the analogy that MAX is to Robots as Windows is to Computers or as Android is to Smartphones. MAX’s patented design provides a new & unique way to rapidly develop autonomous vehicles, is unparalleled in its comprehensiveness as a solution, and is designed with modularity in mind to adapt to different sensors, cars, and algorithms.

Perrone Robotics has since fielded MAX in a wide range of both showcase and commercial applications. From Neil Young’s electric vehicle conversion called LincVolt to drop-in autonomy kits that enable users to convert any car or truck into an autonomous vehicle in 30 minutes or less, MAX has been repeatedly vetted and refined over the years. In 2016, Intel Capital led its Series A round of investment which put the company on the transformative path to fully commercializing its technology. Perrone also established a new facility including an autonomous vehicle test track outside Charlottesville, Virginia and expanded its workforce of superheroes.

With the wind of a capital raise at its backs, the firm also grew its business and commercial engagements with a premier brand Automotive Oem, Tier 1 Auto supplier, fielding autonomous mining trucks with the Liebherr Corporation, as well as engagements with channel partners such as Wind River and a large PC manufacturer.

The MAX Platform

MAX embodies a layered software model (picture to left) — the base MAX platform contains services for collecting data from sensors, perception, fusing sensor data, decision-making, communications, and taking actions via controls. This is the core of the robotic “sense-plan-act” and can perform any kind of robotic function.

The MAX-UGV (Unmanned Guided Vehicle) layer provides path and movement planning services suitable for any kind of ground vehicle or robot. This layer includes 2-D path planning and routing services, support for different steering mechanisms such as skid steering or Ackerman steering and obstacle detection and avoidance.

The MAX-Auto layer provides automotive and transit manoeuvres such as intersection handling, parking, traffic light detection, and observation, merging on highways, roundabouts, following, and much more.

All of this capability is included within MAX as a reference platform that can be used as-is to deliver a robust mobile solution with minimal to no programming required. MAX is highly configurable using text-based configuration files which define how sensor data is ingested, how movements should be made, how controls should be talked to and much, much more.

Tony Autonomous Shuttles

TONY autonomous shuttle technology can be applied to a wide range of vehicle platforms – because TONY is built using Perrone Robotics’ MAX platform. MAX is Perrone Robotics’ patented, proven, adaptable, efficient, and scalable autonomous vehicle operating system. TONY shuttles can be hailed to autonomously arrive at the desired pickup location, and then can be directed to autonomously drive to a target drop-off location making intermediate stops along the way. TONY shuttles also offer a hybrid mode of operation enabling autonomous delivery of shuttles to operators and then allowing operators to take control once onboard.

The Visionary Leader

Paul Perrone | Founder & CEO

Paul Perrone is founder & CEO of Perrone Robotics. He is the inventor of “MAX”, the world’s first general-purpose robotics operating system for AVs & robotics (patented in 2006). He’s been an early pioneer in the space leading Perrone Robotics for over 15 years in the development of technology and business for robotics and AVs. His activities have included leading and fielding the development of fully autonomous vehicles for a 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge team and a 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge team, working with rocker Neil Young to automate his ’59 Lincoln Continental (“LincVolt”), fielding and integrating MAX technology with customers for commercial use, leading the Company’s Series A capital raise in 2016, and pushing the business and MAX technology further for use in AVs in the automotive, industrial, and broader robotics space. Apart from his commercial activities, Paul has also chaired the SAE On Road Autonomous Vehicle Standards Committee. He has 15+ years AV experience and 21+ years total hi-tech industry experience. He has a unique blend of experience in the development of business, operations, legal matters, and highly technical matters. Paul is also a published author and distinguished public speaker.

“Today, we continue to pave the road for autonomous (“self-driving”) vehicle applications and we’re only just getting started!”