Gacha: World’s first all-weather autonomous shuttle bus

Robosense, a leading LiDAR perception technology solution provider has unveiled a cold-resistant all-weather LiDAR for the world's first autonomous driving shuttle bus for all weather conditions, called Gacha. Along with Robosense, the autonomous vehicle has been designed in collaboration with the Finnish autonomous driving company Sensible 4 that has provided the software for positioning, navigation and obstacle detection and Muji, a Japanese retail giant that has provided its expertise in design and user experience.

The performance of critical sensors, such as LiDARs and cameras, are severely impacted under extreme weather conditions. Low temperatures, such as in Finland, at -30°C (-22°F), can incapacitate semiconductor components, while snow and icy roads cripple the image algorithms' ability. Under these circumstances, RoboSense claims that its new cold-resistant LiDAR is essential since it ‘sees’ a 3D world through emitting and receiving lasers pulses, with point cloud algorithms that accurately recognise obstacles, even in snow and ice.

Mark Qiu, COO, RoboSense said, “I'm pleased that our product has helped Sensible 4 and MUJI's jointly designed GACHA self-drivingbus solve perception problems in all weather conditions. All RoboSense multi-layer LiDAR products will soon operate in low temperatures under -40℃.”

Harri Santamala, CEO of Sensible 4 said, “The RoboSense LiDAR hardware and environment perception algorithms we use are reliable and stable, even at freezing temperatures of tens of celcius degrees below zero.”

RoboSense will join Sensible 4 on their first Gacha bus fleet public road deployment in April, as well as future projects in Finland and abroad.