Japan successfully tests self-driving bus.

The Shuttle Robot self-driving bus has successfully been tested on a 400-meter public road, carrying 6 passengers.

Self-driving cars are currently the most talked-about technology among manufacturers. A host of well-known names have joined the research and development of self-driving vehicles, including Toyota, Tesla, Google, and even Apple.

Shuttle Robot is a self-driving bus.

However, Japan is the country that has successfully tested many self-driving car models to serve its citizens, such as self-driving taxis and, most recently, self-driving buses.

Reportedly, the Shuttle Robot is the first electric-powered bus to successfully complete autonomous driving tests, traversing a 400-meter stretch along Lake Tazawa in Semboku, Akita Prefecture, a northern province of Japan.

The vehicle was traveling at 6 mph (10 km/h) and carrying 6 passengers, which is half its capacity, as the bus is designed to carry a maximum of 12 people.

Last July, the manufacturer of the Shuttle Robot, Japanese technology company DeNA, unveiled the vehicle. However, it wasn't until this test that the vehicle truly completed a self-driving test on a public road.

Inside the self-driving bus.

Following successful trials, DeNA plans to make the Shuttle Robot self-driving bus a significant part of public transportation in Japan, especially in sparsely populated areas, according to the Japan Times.

Not only in Japan, but similar self-driving car trials are also taking place in Australia and Finland, demonstrating the significant interest of manufacturers in this field.

According to VOV