• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • The Rearview Mirror: A Sports Car from a Company You've Never Heard Of
  • Analysts Predict Declining Tesla Sales in Q3
  • Overlanding is the New Hotness
  • New Vehicle Sales Increase in September
  • Are EVs Affordable? Only if You’re a Luxury Buyer
  • Honda Takes Wraps Off New All-Electric Prologue
  • Mercedes to Offer True Self-Driving in Late 2023
  • Biden Meets UAW Picketers, Offers Support
  • Ford Halts $3.5B MI Battery Plant; Fain Slams Company
  • An Electric Acura NSX Could Be Coming
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
      • Feeder
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2024 Buick Encore GX Sport Touring AWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQB 250+
    • A Week With: 2024 Mazda CX-90 Turbo S Premium Plus
    • A Week With: 2024 Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV
    • A Week With: The 2024 BMW i7 xDrive60
    • A Week With: 2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale Veloce AWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Toyota Camry XSE Hybrid
    • A Week With: 2024 Subaru Impreza RS
    • A Week With: 2023 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Desert Boss
    • First Drive: 2024 Polestar 2
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automakers > Apple’s Mysterious Autonomous Vehicle Program is Rapidly Expanding

        Apple’s Mysterious Autonomous Vehicle Program is Rapidly Expanding

        Records show permits for more than 55 self-driving cars.

        Paul A. Eisenstein
        Paul A. Eisenstein , Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
        May 16, 2018
        CEO Tim Cook has finally begun to offer some hints as to Apple's self-driving car program.

        While Apple has yet to say much about its long-rumored car program, some intriguing information has come out thanks to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the DMV revealing that the tech giant now has permits to test up to 55 self-driving vehicles in the state.

        That would actually give Apple the ability to test even more vehicles than Waymo, the Google spinoff that has been far more open about its own autonomous ambitions – though less than General Motors, its San Francisco-based Cruise Automotive now holding permits for 104 test vehicles.

        News You Can Trust!

        And the DMV report does not cover other states where Apple might be testing, notably Nevada and Arizona, the two Southwest states that have positioned themselves as particularly friendly to autonomous vehicle researchers. Waymo, for example, is known to be running large fleet tests that may run into the hundreds of vehicles in Arizona, including both autonomous models requiring human backup “operators” and the first of its completely driverless prototypes.

        Apple has a history of declining to comment about its future tech programs, and its interest in self-driving vehicles has been no exception. But it has been dropping increasingly clear hints, starting with CEO Tim Cook’s initial statement referring to the technology needed to make an autonomous vehicle work as “the mother of all AI.” He finally confirmed the company does have some sort of program under way last summer.

        (Apple offers first piece inside its self-driving car program. Click Here for the story.)

        A Fisker Emotion was spotted at Apple HQ in Silicon Valley last year. Could the tech firm be interested in using the EV as a platform for its autonomous system?

        It also helped when Apple last December applied to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a patent on a new “autonomous navigation system.” The technology, according to the application, is designed to operate “independently of any data received from any devices external to the vehicle and any navigation data stored locally to the vehicle prior to any monitoring of navigation.”

        The latest report from the California DMV indicates that Apple’s test fleet has more than doubled from January, when it had permits for 27 vehicles. None has yet been approved for operating entirely without a backup operator onboard. Apple also has received approval for 83 operators in California.

        But what exactly it hopes to bring to market has been far from certain. It’s been widely reported that the program, initially known as Project Titan, then scaled back sharply after hiring a number of automotive industry – as well as Tesla – veterans. Some reports suggested Apple had decided to cut back, even eliminate its auto project entirely.

        What now appears to be the case is that Apple has decided to follow a strategy closer to that of Waymo, rather than trying to compete directly with Tesla or General Motors:

        • Waymo is developing both autonomous hardware and software but will turn to partners for the vehicles it will use in its planned ride-sharing service, already locking up deals for Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan, as well as Jaguar’s new all-electric I-Pace;
        • Tesla CEO Musk this month announced that a fully hands-free version of its Autopilot technology will be ready to roll some time next year. It will power products like the current Models S, X and 3 and new vehicles to come, including the Tesla Semi Truck;
        • GM, meanwhile, also wants to launch a ride-sharing service but, at least initially, it will rely on modified versions of the Chevrolet Bolt EV designed from the start for ride-sharing duties.

        It is unclear if Apple will launch into the ride-sharing field or simply offer its technology to carmakers who don’t want to – or can’t come up with viable self-driving technology of their own.

        Apple has permits for more autonomous test vehicles in California than does Waymo.

        (Click Here to find out why is Apple checking out Fisker’s Emotion.)

        The autonomous race is on and virtually every automaker is working on some form of the technology, as are tech firms like Continental Teves and Aptiv, along with ride-sharing giant Uber and its chief competitor, Lyft.

        The push to bring autonomous technology to market has some major proponents, including a number of Congressional leaders working up bills to make it easier to test the technology on public roads. But there are also some critics who have been speaking out more loudly in the wake of recent crashes involving various forms of autonomous technology.

        That includes a handful of incidents involving Tesla vehicles, at least one fatality known to have occurred when a Model X was operating in semi-autonomous Autopilot mode. The first known fatality involving a fully autonomous vehicle occurred in March when a Volvo SUV operated by Uber struck and killed a pedestrian in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe.

        Uber temporarily suspended its test program following that crash. Arizona also came under fire as it does not require that companies operating in the state report on the number of incidents that have occurred involving its vehicles. California’s DMV-mandated “Vehicle Disengagement Report” not only covers crashes large and small, but also incidents where those backup operators were required to take over control of a vehicle.

        (To see more about Tim Cook admitting to a program, Click Here.)

        So far, Apple has not submitted one of those reports to the state but will need to start filing in the coming year.

        How to Care for Your Car

        Cheap Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice

        Best Extended Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice
        Recently Published

        The Rearview Mirror: A Sports Car from a Company You’ve Never Heard Of

        Sept. 30, 2023

        Analysts Predict Declining Tesla Sales in Q3

        Sept. 29, 2023

        Overlanding is the New Hotness

        Sept. 29, 2023

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2023
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: