Apple met with officials at California’s Department of Motor Vehicles to discuss plans to test its self-driving Apple Car on public roads, according to a new report.
What does this mean? Quite possibly that we’re set to get a glimpse of the Apple car a lot sooner than most people figured.
According to The Guardian, the fact that Apple is already taking meetings with California officials means that whatever vehicle Cupertino is working on is almost ready for public view. That’s because getting a license to user-test autonomous cars on the road almost certainly follows the period of internal testing Apple would carry out first.
If Apple applies for the necessary road permits, it will have to reveal the make, model and vehicle identification number of the cars it plans to test — as well as sharing details about the automobiles’ autonomous features and abilities, and naming any test drivers it plans to use.
Apple senior legal counsel Mike Maletic had an hour-long meeting with officials August 17, according to the new report. He discussed Apple’s plans with DMV’s deputy director Bernard Soriano, chief of strategic planning Stephanie Dougherty and chief counsel Brian Soublet.
The DMV hasn’t confirmed any details, with the exception of admitting that, “the Apple meeting was to review [the] DMV’s autonomous vehicle regulations.”
Today’s report additionally suggests that Apple has already named an engineering program manager for the so-called Project Titan. The newspaper notes that high-level engineering execs “generally arrive on an Apple project once a product is ready to leave the lab, and coordinate the work of teams of hardware and software engineers.”
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
8 responses to “Apple Car is almost ready for public road tests”
Autonomous cars make me think of the Silicon Valley episode where Jared, AKA “OJ,” BKA “This guy f*cks” gets locked in a Hooli car and ends up getting trapped in a shipping container going overseas. That being said the kinds of people who are going to buy these things are the same unemployed tools that camp out weeks before an iPhone launch who spend all their resources just to have the latest iCrap (sorry Apple Crap). But who knows, being that they don’t have to operate it maybe they can lose their virginity at 35 in the backseat while it drives itself.
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Unemployed people don’t typically have the money to buy new cars, which do, after all, cost considerably more than an iPhone.
There have been many advantages listed to self-driving cars, but until now, I had not hear anyone touting the advantages of being able to make out in the back seat while the car drives itself. This clearly is a a marketing tactic that has been sorely neglected. Being in the back seat while the car takes you and your lover on a scenic road sounds like an excellent selling point. Sort of like a rolling bed and breakfast.
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Not having money doesn’t stop such pocket-protector wearing nerds from having their mom and dad from co-signing a car loan. And I know the mobile motel room concept is genius.
It’s unlikely does Apple has already developed a self driving car, but they are probably using an existing car to get experience with the software and hardware features. I can imagine the first Apple Car will be based on an existing car, but the next edition will be completely “self built”, although I don’t think Apple with enter the manufacturing business, they will probably partner.
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