Self-driving Apple car may be 'almost ready for public view' following talks with California DMV - r
California laws and regulations for self-driving cars may force Apple's "Project Titan" out of the shadows and into the public view, and sooner than some may have expected, according to a new report.
BMW's i3 commuter car.
Last month, Apple's legal team met with the California Department of Motor Vehicles, documents obtained by The Guardian reveal. Among the people involved in the meeting were co-sponsors of the state's autonomous vehicle regulation project.
The meeting is noteworthy because if Apple intends to put a self-driving car on the open road --?something it would presumably need to test for a considerable amount of time before bringing a product to consumers -- it will need to disclose a great deal of information about its automobile, including make, model, and vehicle identification number.
Friday's report suggested that Apple's meeting with the California DMV could mean that the rumored product is "almost ready for public view." The report also revealed that a new engineering program manager has been assigned to the project, suggesting the vehicle is "ready to leave the lab."
Earlier this week, AppleInsider's own sources revealed that Apple has been ramping up hiring for "Project Titan" and, in the process, recruiting talent away from electric vehicle maker Tesla. Apple's hires are said to be so significant that they are negatively impacting Tesla's future product roadmap.
Sources also indicated to AppleInsider that eventual manufacturing of an "Apple Car" remains a significant roadblock for the company, and could necessitate a partnership with an established vehicle maker. Apple is also said to be looking at a new property it purchased in San Jose last month for $138 million for development and perhaps eventual assembly of "Project Titan."
Artist's (poor) rendering of an Apple garage.
Apple is said to be considering using BMW's i3 as the basis for its project, and the two companies have held talks about a potential partnership. The iPhone maker is said to have been particularly impressed that BMW "abandoned traditional approaches to car making" in developing the i3, and signaled that it intends to take a similarly fresh approach.
Rumors have persisted throughout 2015 suggesting that an "Apple Car" is the Cupertino company's next major new product category. It's been speculated that Apple is looking to develop a self-driving automobile to compete with other projects currently in the works from traditional automakers, as well as Tesla, Google, and even Uber.
AppleInsider exclusively reported earlier this year that the bulk of "Project Titan" development is underway at a secretive facility in Sunnyvale, Calif., known by the code-name "SG5." Evidence suggests that a shell company known as SixtyEight Research may be a cover for Apple to help conceal its true operations at the Sunnyvale garage.
BMW's i3 commuter car.
Last month, Apple's legal team met with the California Department of Motor Vehicles, documents obtained by The Guardian reveal. Among the people involved in the meeting were co-sponsors of the state's autonomous vehicle regulation project.
The meeting is noteworthy because if Apple intends to put a self-driving car on the open road --?something it would presumably need to test for a considerable amount of time before bringing a product to consumers -- it will need to disclose a great deal of information about its automobile, including make, model, and vehicle identification number.
Friday's report suggested that Apple's meeting with the California DMV could mean that the rumored product is "almost ready for public view." The report also revealed that a new engineering program manager has been assigned to the project, suggesting the vehicle is "ready to leave the lab."
Earlier this week, AppleInsider's own sources revealed that Apple has been ramping up hiring for "Project Titan" and, in the process, recruiting talent away from electric vehicle maker Tesla. Apple's hires are said to be so significant that they are negatively impacting Tesla's future product roadmap.
Sources also indicated to AppleInsider that eventual manufacturing of an "Apple Car" remains a significant roadblock for the company, and could necessitate a partnership with an established vehicle maker. Apple is also said to be looking at a new property it purchased in San Jose last month for $138 million for development and perhaps eventual assembly of "Project Titan."
Artist's (poor) rendering of an Apple garage.
Apple is said to be considering using BMW's i3 as the basis for its project, and the two companies have held talks about a potential partnership. The iPhone maker is said to have been particularly impressed that BMW "abandoned traditional approaches to car making" in developing the i3, and signaled that it intends to take a similarly fresh approach.
Rumors have persisted throughout 2015 suggesting that an "Apple Car" is the Cupertino company's next major new product category. It's been speculated that Apple is looking to develop a self-driving automobile to compete with other projects currently in the works from traditional automakers, as well as Tesla, Google, and even Uber.
AppleInsider exclusively reported earlier this year that the bulk of "Project Titan" development is underway at a secretive facility in Sunnyvale, Calif., known by the code-name "SG5." Evidence suggests that a shell company known as SixtyEight Research may be a cover for Apple to help conceal its true operations at the Sunnyvale garage.
Comments
Which would be much cooler, in a certain dangerous way.
I wonder whether Apple would cloak the car's exterior in the shell of a traditional car to hide it during road tests. I recall them doing a similar thing with next-gen phones and/or watches to let beta testers use them in the wild without public awareness.
"What is important for us is that the brain of the car, the operating system, is not iOS or Android or someone else but it's our brain." Zetsche added that "We do not plan to become the Foxconn of Apple." referring to the Chinese company that manufactures iPhones.
Anyone who thinks current car companies will give over their dashboard to Apple (or Google) is living in fantasy land.
I wonder whether Apple would cloak the car's exterior in the shell of a traditional car to hide it during road tests. I recall them doing a similar thing with next-gen phones and/or watches to let beta testers use them in the wild without public awareness.
Such as, possibly a BMW i3?
Oh that’s just great. Now we’ll have listen to all the self-styled faux automotive engineers trash the thing, declare it D.O.A. and solemnly announce “Steve would never have allowed this”, “Fire Tim Cook”, “Fire Jony”, “Apple is DOOMED™.”
If you are going to use someone's artwork don't label it poor. Do the job better instead or just don't put it in.
Or a dodge caravan.
Haha true!
I don't get it, maybe it's because I live in the centre of London, but aren't cars most valuable on distance between 10 miles and 300 miles? Below 10 miles, you prefer a cab or public transport, above that you prefer a train or plane.
Why the emphasis on self-driving in a town (take a bus or tube and you wont have to drive)? It'complex, unnecessary, and dangerous as MANY unforeseen things can happen. I think self-driving would be most beneficial on motorways and A-roads on those tree hour boring drives where nothing ever happens. And much easier to implement if only the governments would play ball and install some decent delineation markers on the motorways.
No doubt. Apple will need to build their own car. There are dozens of Chinese factories ready for this.
I actually agree with you.
Here's the thing. There's nothing about the self-driving nature of a vehicle that is integral to the design of its visual appearance or even most of its basic systems. In other words, self-driving capabilities can be grafted onto pretty much any vehicle, with changes to accelerator and brake control systems, steering, etc, all done under the hood. So there's no compelling reason Apple would need to use their vehicle design in the road testing of a self-driving system. In fact, Apple may not even have gone very far down the path to designing the rest of the car at this juncture. So what you see out there on the road and registered with the DMV as a self-driving vehicle may well be that pictured BMW i3 (well, not that exact one, but an i3 nevertheless) or a boring Dodge Caravan.
No doubt. Apple will need to build their own car. There are dozens of Chinese factories ready for this.
Or Mexican factories. That's where the German auto makers are building their cars destined for the North American market. Shipping an entire car from China to North America would negate most or all savings on assembly.
That's some good doubling down on secrecy!
I would have assumed they were barely started.
I don't get it, maybe it's because I live in the centre of London, but aren't cars most valuable on distance between 10 miles and 300 miles? Below 10 miles, you prefer a cab or public transport, above that you prefer a train or plane.
Why the emphasis on self-driving in a town (take a bus or tube and you wont have to drive)? It'complex, unnecessary, and dangerous as MANY unforeseen things can happen. I think self-driving would be most beneficial on motorways and A-roads on those tree hour boring drives where nothing ever happens. And much easier to implement if only the governments would play ball and install some decent delineation markers on the motorways.
It's probably because you live in London. In 'Merica, we value being able to own a car and drive whenever and wherever we want almost as much as we value guns, football, NASCAR and the incessant need and want to own anything and everything we possibly can. Plus, we simply don't have great (or even remotely good) public transportation systems, except for maybe in a few select areas.
Its not a self-driving car. This entire self-driving car illusion has swept over the blogosphere in a way that has deluded people into thinking its a real thing, with a real future.
Its not happening. Not this decade. Not in the next one either.
Its simply not safe to have a mix of driverless cars and driven cars on the road at the same time, and since most people have no interest in giving up driving their cars, its a total dead end in the real world. Sorry to burst your bubble, but its going to be nothing but a tech demo indefinitely.
So who thinks this is just about CarPlay now? Open your minds.
My mind is open to the idea that they are making an overpriced electric car.
In LA you can be forced to drive everywhere, and you can still hate NASCAR, American football, guns, lite beer and television. And hamburgers.