T o k y o , J a p a n -
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| Gacha robotbus. Photo: Sensible 4 |
The vehicle will be displayed to public in its premiere March 2019 in Helsinki. For this shuttle Sensible 4 provides the autonomous driving technology which ensures the vehicle with superior positioning, navigation and obstacle detection performance thus allowing autonomous driving throughout the year regardless of the environment and conditions. While MUJI provides the vehicle its famous design and user experience.
After launch, the Gacha shuttle bus will be driving and taking passengers in three Finnish cities as part of real-life traffic (also be seen MUJI store, opens Nov 2019 in Helsinki). Sensible 4 and MUJI are finalizing plans for the first Gacha fleet which is expected to roll out in 2020. The aim of the collaboration is to develop autonomous shuttle bus fleets for mainstream use and to provide real transportation services for the public already in 2021. Currently, Sensible 4 is looking for suitable industry partners whom would be interested in producing the buses as well as investors to accelerate the company growth.
Weather plays a critical role in opening the market for autonomous buses or robotaxis. Currently heavy rain, fog or snow are preventing autonomous vehicles from driving as the existing technologies are mostly being tested and developed in warm climate conditions. Meanwhile Sensible 4 has focused in technology test and validation under the arctic Lapland conditions giving the company a unique advantage over the other self-driving technologies. Naturally all autonomous vehicles need to be able to drive in various weather conditions, before they can be commercially deployed.
"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", says Harri Santamala, CEO of Sensible 4.
