Apple is one of the first names when we speak about the advancements in electronic gadgets. And very rightly so. We all know how much we love the quality of Apple products, be it smartphones, PCs, or other technologies that are stuffed in automobiles (e.g. infotainment system drivers).
But little do we know that this tech giant is also making its way into the automobile world, big time. But this time around, not as part and parcel of the segment, but as an entire system that self-drives cars.
The automobile sector is slowly moving towards artificial intelligence where physical or machine-oriented products and technologies are slowly, but surely, getting replaced by the advent of artificial intelligence.
What the company said Apple’s Self-Driving Car
Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple has described this project as the mother of all projects. He has not shied away from announcing the company’s plans in the near future. In fact, on various occasions, he has even spoken openly on social media about Apple Self Drive Car, revealing the development of this technology.{ Apple Self Drive car }
For the company itself, this technology is the mother of all projects that it has handled so far. In saying that, the company believes that the development of this project could make it a top player in the automotive sector. The company is working very hard to make this project on the Apple Self Drive Car successful as it feels that autonomous technology is one of the core technologies in the company’s future plans.
Tim had further been open to speaking about what presently drives the auto industry. He feels that it’s not just the presence of autonomous technology that is on the verge of making a major breakthrough in the industry. Even other developments have proved to be big, like the introduction of shared and third-party mobility services (Uber). Uber and the likes have brought about a major overhaul in the way we see the process of daily commuters.
Apart from this, the advent of electric-only cars, which are successfully posing as a great alternative to ICE (internal combustion engine) cars. The CEO has even elaborated that driving an electric car is probably a great experience, let aside from autonomous cars. Hence, he feels that this experience should not be limited to electric cars.
Tim Cook was even being bullish while speaking about the development of electric vehicles and self-drive cars if the company ever plans to make one. He pointed out that the aspect of electric vehicles has been a successful venture for the likes of Tesla Inc., which doesn’t even rank among the top ten automakers by sales unit, but at the same time, named the fourth biggest automaker by market capitalization.
The plan
Initially, Apple had been planning to build its own car. But the plan had to be dropped as it wanted to dedicate more of its time and resources to making the idea of autonomous technology. The company has even hired around 1,000 new engineers to work on this project.
This step was taken by Bob Mansfield, who was chosen to lead the team Titan (the automobile team of Apple) in 2016. It was Mansfield itself who scrapped the idea of building its car to focus on making autonomous driving systems.
Though many would not be aware of it, Apple is a step ahead of where you might think it to be. Back in December 2016, the Director of the company’s product integrity, Steve Kenner, had written a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the USA showing the company’s interest in making its way into the autonomous car industry. The communication was not made public until a federal website published it on their website.
Apple is a wild card entry
According to many automobile experts and pundits, Apple’s entry into the field of the autonomous industry has not been anything less than a wild card in the relevant industry. Despite all of these assumptions and revelations, it is yet to be seen how the company approaches the future of this development, as in, whether it collaborates with another carmaker to commercialize the system or develop its own car in the future.
Interestingly, back in April this year, Apple became the 30th company to get a road testing permit in the state of California, US.