Muji Creates Autonomous Shuttle Bus Fit For Any Weather

Minimalist Japanese company Muji has joined forces with Finnish autonomous driving company Sensible 4 and together they created the Gacha bus.

Gacha is an autonomous shuttle bus that prides itself on the fact that it’s the first of its kind to function in all weather conditions.

The Gacha is equipped with four LIDAR emitters, eight radar ones, 360 degree camera coverage and GPS. It can also be controlled remotely through a 4G LTE antenna. According to the company, it has an excess of 62 miles per charge.

While Muji participated in the design, Sensible 4 provided the technology which included navigation and obstacle detection that is able to function in less than ideal weather conditions such as heavy rain, fog and snow.

Finland encounters such difficult weather conditions during its long winters so Sensible 4 put the vehicle to the test by heading to Lapland where it’s currently undergoing trial runs.

“We are developing these vehicles so that they can become part of daily transportation service chain. Autonomous vehicles can’t become mainstream until their technology has been insured to work in all climates”

– Harri Santamala, CEO of Sensible 4.

The vehicle will be displayed to the public in March 2019, in Helsinki.