• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy
    • Terms of use
  • Advertise
    • Advertising
    • Case studies
    • Design
    • Email marketing
    • Features list
    • Lead generation
    • Magazine
    • Press releases
    • Publishing
    • Sponsor an article
    • Webcasting
    • Webinars
    • White papers
    • Writing
  • Subscribe to Newsletter

Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

  • Home
  • News
  • Features
  • Editorial Sections A-Z
    • Agriculture
    • Aircraft
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Automation
    • Autonomous Vehicles
    • Business
    • Computing
    • Construction
    • Culture
    • Design
    • Drones
    • Economy
    • Energy
    • Engineering
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Humanoids
    • Industrial robots
    • Industry
    • Infrastructure
    • Investments
    • Logistics
    • Manufacturing
    • Marine
    • Material handling
    • Materials
    • Mining
    • Promoted
    • Research
    • Robotics
    • Science
    • Sensors
    • Service robots
    • Software
    • Space
    • Technology
    • Transportation
    • Warehouse robots
    • Wearables
  • Press releases
  • Events

General public rides in autonomous vehicles

June 25, 2018 by Anna

In cooperation with the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International and the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA), Perrone Robotics Inc. successfully conducted the first ever publicly-accessible autonomous vehicle demonstration rides in Tampa, Florida.

PRI brought one of their fully autonomous vehicles to the Tampa Selmon Expressway to give rides to the general public over three days in May.

The demonstrations were part of “SAE Demo Day” organized by SAE to let the public experience rides in an autonomous vehicle and to understand their perceptions and attitudes about autonomous driving. Riders were surveyed before taking a ride, and then surveyed immediately afterwards.

SAE is an international standards body defining many of the standards used in automotive applications today. Perrone Robotics’ CEO, Paul Perrone, previously chaired the On Road Automated Driving committee that defined the levels of autonomy (L1-L5) adopted by the automotive industry today.

Hailing the event as “a first-of-its-kind program that allows the public to experience travelling in a fully-automated (SAE Level 4) vehicle“, SAE and Perrone Robotics broke new ground by enabling the general public to experience advanced automated driving.

Florida State Sen. Jeffrey Brandes, who has been a champion of autonomous vehicle use and adoption offered broad support for the event speaking to executives and the media as well as taking his own ride along with them over the six-minute course.

“Public comfort and acceptance of self-driving vehicles is crucial for their success, both in the near-term of testing and the future of widespread use,” said Frank Menchaca, SAE International Chief Product Officer.

“This Demo Day brings the most important audience to the dialogue—the public.”

Perrone Robotics Chief Marketing Officer Dave Hofert said: “We are very pleased to support SAE International in this effort. Our company mission is to enable broad-based autonomous mobility of all kinds and we believe that public engagement will drive awareness and acceptance of these vehicles.

“Through this demo, people will experience autonomous driving and can better make informed decisions about how autonomy could fit into their lives.”

PRI deployed their Lincoln MKZ on the highway, one of the several different types of vehicles the company has outfitted with MAX®, the company’s patented robotics software platform.

PRI integrated the vehicle with third-party sensors, including radar, LiDAR and GPS. The public experienced driving under fully autonomous control of the vehicle as it travelled over 50 mph along a course approximately 3 miles in length.

During the approximately six-minute ride, several autonomous manoeuvres were demonstrated so that the public could get a realistic sense of the car’s technical capabilities and cutting-edge autonomous technology.

These manoeuvres included: pacing a lead car at a safe distance, passing that vehicle when stopped, driving a curvy highway and accelerating up to 50 MPH, then slowing and performing a u-turn on the highway, and finally detection of, and braking for, a “careless” pedestrian who walked in front of the car.

Over 100 demonstrations were given during the week, with approximately 300 people taking rides. SAE collected and compiled feedback from the public and hopes to use it in its research regarding the public’s perception and attitudes about autonomous driving.

The Selmon Expressway, where the rides took place, is designed as an automated, reversible expressway which can also act as a test bed for connected and autonomous trials. THEA operates this expressway, and they were able to shut down the reversible segment allowing free access to the PRI vehicle and enabling the atypical u-turn on the highway.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Share this:

  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket

Related stories you might also like…

Filed Under: News, Transportation Tagged With: perrone robotics

Primary Sidebar

Search this website

Latest articles

  • Enterprise Sales Courses That Help Close Bigger Deals
  • Mitsubishi Electric says its robots are ‘bridging skills gaps’ in automation technology
  • Pusan National University scientists develop ‘game-changing method’ to create safer, long-lasting lithium-ion batteries
  • Fraunhofer develops ‘resource-efficient’ measurement system for semiconductor wafer production
  • Tokyo University scientists discover key to ‘stable, high-performance, and long-life’ sodium-ion batteries
  • Swiss Steel develops ‘sustainable and easy-to-machine special steels’ for automotive industry
  • How to Calculate Diminished Value for Your Car After an Accident
  • Gartner predicts one in 20 supply chain managers will manage robots, not humans, by 2030
  • Moldova launches new incubator for robotics, digital agriculture, and foodtech
  • Pudu Robotics launches new industrial sweeper and vacuum

Secondary Sidebar

Copyright © 2025 · News Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT