The California-based PerceptIn announced a major move for its autonomous driving operations this week, with plans to shift its global headquarters to Fishers, Ind., and begin pilot tests early next year.
PerceptIn’s headquarters will be located at the Indiana IoT Lab. In anticipation of the 50 new, high wage jobs they hope to bring to the area by 2022, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation is offering PerceptIn up to $3,553,500 in performance-based, conditional tax credits. Those jobs will work with FishersPerceptIn vehicles capable of transporting six to eight passengers.
“We’re extremely excited to relocate our headquarters to Indiana,” Shaoshan Liu, CEO of PerceptIn, said. “Indiana’s commitment to growing and enhancing its technology sector, along with its business-friendly environment and collaborative industry partnerships, is why we chose to locate here. Additionally, we look forward to deploying our autonomous microtransit services in Fishers, and increasing our presence throughout the state, setting an example for the rest of the nation on utilizing advanced technologies to improve public transportation systems.”
The 2020 pilot program all this is centered on will transport passengers from Launch Fishers and the Indiana IoT Lab to downtown Fishers, every day between 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Routes will also expand depending on the results of the program. The vehicles utilized therein will be developed in partnership with Indiana-based LHP. They will be low-speed — they can’t exceed 20 MPH — electric vehicles that share some similarities with golf carts and open-air shuttles, capable of providing short, driverless trips. All trips will be monitored by technology ambassadors to ensure they meet safety measures.
”When we launched the Indiana IoT Lab in 2017, a company like PerceptIn is exactly who we had in mind to propel our city even further as a leading city for tech,” Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness said. “Fishers is a city made for entrepreneurs, and today we are happy to support the future of transportation technology through this pilot program and in support of our newest Fishers company, PerceptIn.”
The Indiana move was also helped along by the state’s Headquarters Relocation tax credit program.