Project Titan - page 3

Google’s self-driving minivans are finally here

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Meet Waymo's self-driving minivan.
Meet Waymo's self-driving minivan.
Photo: Waymo

Waymo offered a first look at its fleet of hybrid Chrysler Pacifica minivans today, showing off vehicles that pack an array of sensors and software that enable autonomous operation.

The self-driving fleet of 100 minivans from Waymo (which is run by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) will hit the streets in early 2017.

Apple is hiring more automotive mapping experts

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Apple Maps reservation OpenTable
Apple is working to improve its mapping services.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s continuing to ramp up its automotive mapping experts by poaching employees from the German company Here, owned by Audi, BMW, and Daimler.

A new report claims that Apple has hired around a dozen employees over the past several months for software or mapping-related roles.

Apple’s secret car project is less secret than ever

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Avoidance collision in a self-driving car looks something like this.
Avoidance collision in a self-driving car looks something like this.
Document: Apple/U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

If there was doubt Apple is moving forward with development of a self-driving car program, events over the last week show Cupertino is indeed mapping out a course.

An Apple patent application for an autonomous vehicle collision-avoidance system published Thursday is the second public acknowledgment that Cupertino is very much in the game.

Apple’s first AR product may arrive by 2018

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hololens by microsoft
All Apple has to do is making something that looks less dorky than this.
Photo: Microsoft

Apple’s stalling autonomous car project caused the company to shift its attention to augmented reality, according to analyst Ming Chi Kuo, who says the company is racing ahead of the competition when it comes to AR.

In a new note to investors, the KGI Securities analyst says Apple’s decision to develop a self-driving platform instead of an entire electric car makes sense. The company will use augmented reality to provide an incredible experience, he predicts.

Apple squeezes Blackberry to build carOS

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Ford CarPlay
CarPlay has a new podcasts player.
Photo: Ford

The rotting corpse of Blackberry Ltd. may provide the extra juice needed to get Apple’s car project rolling.

Apple has reportedly poached key engineers from BlackBerry’s QNX team in Canada to help develop the operating system for its self-driving car. And the iPhone-maker has set up shop just five-minutes away from the QNX offices.

Faraday Future poaches Apple Car’s navigation engineer

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Faraday Future's concept car looks like a batmobile.
Faraday Future's concept car looks like a batmobile.
Photo: Faraday Future

Apple’s efforts to build a self-driving electric car hit another speed bump recently after the company lost its navigation engineer to electric car startup Faraday Future.

Computer vision and vehicle navigation specialist Bart Nabbe was working with Apple’s not-so-secret Project Titan team for nearly the last two years, but his LinkedIn profile now shows that he’s at Faraday Future serving as the director of strategic partnerships.

Apple Car may use hollow batteries to stay cool

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Charging the Apple Car.
Apple is making revolutionary batteries for its car.
Photo: Motor1

Apple might team up with “expert technologists in batteries” from South Korea to create hollow lithium-ion power cells that will fuel the upcoming Apple Car, according to a new report.

While the name of the South Korean company hasn’t been revealed due to a nondisclosure agreement with Apple, it’s supposedly comprised of just 20 people. The South Korean team reportedly joined Apple’s secretive Project Titan automotive effort earlier this year, and the battery innovations could help the Apple Car stand out from the competition.

How the Apple Car will make you money, and more fun about robot vehicles [Kahney’s Korner]

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Kahney's Korner podcast with robocar expert Paul Godsmark
Autonomous cars are going to change the world like nothing we've seen before. A fascinating interview with robocar expert Paul Godsmark.
Photo: Paul Godsmark/Stephen Smith

The old adage is that new cars depreciate the minute you buy them. However, the rumored Apple car might be the first vehicle to actually make you money after you drive it off the lot.

If Apple’s car is autonomous, it’ll earn its keep delivering people or goods when you’re not using it. So says Paul Godsmark, a robocar consultant and one of the leading experts on the upcoming autonomous vehicle revolution.

In this fascinating interview, Godsmark talks about the enormous changes that are coming up fast with self-driving vehicles, including Project Titan, the rumored Apple Car.

Buckle up! Everything is about to change dramatically — from the way we travel to the way we work.

Apple turns car ambitions toward self-driving system

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CarPlay
Your next car probably won't have an Apple logo.
Photo: Hyundai

As Apple’s “secret” electric car project gains momentum, the company continues to pick up top talent for their automotive experience.

Its latest hire is Dan Dodge, founder and former CEO of QNX, who was recently the head of BlackBerry’s automotive software team. The move comes after “Project Titan,” the codename for Apple Car, started to take a whole new direction.

Apple puts Bob Mansfield in driving seat for secret car project

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ipad-2-Keynote-088
This is what he looks like when he's driving it.
Photo: Apple

Bob Mansfield has been chosen to head up Apple’s “secret” electric car project three years after stepping down from his executive role, according to a new report.

Mansfield was previously in charge of Mac hardware at Apple and led development of products like the MacBook Air, iMac and iPad.

Apple’s secret electric car hits a speed bump

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apple car
A rendering of an Apple car with a different kind of bumper
Photo: Motor1

Drivers won’t be hitting the highways in Apple’s self-driving vehicle at all this decade.

Apple has reportedly pushed back the goal launch date of its secretive electric car project that has been in the works since 2014. Previous rumors claimed Project Titan is aiming for an unveiling in 2019, but it may have hit a speed bump.

Mystery vans likely making 3-D road maps for Apple’s self-driving car

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apple van
Mysterious unmarked vans roaming the Bay Area have been linked to Apple, and are likely generating detailed 3D maps for robot cars.
Photo: Business Insider/Stephen Smith

Some new data-gathering vehicles are roaming the streets of San Francisco. They’re unmarked, but are suspected to be Apple’s. They are laden with sensors, but what kind of data are they gathering, and what for?

Experts contacted by Cult of Mac say the mystery vans are next-generation mapping vehicles capable of capturing VR-style, 360-degree street photos. Plus, the vans use Lidar to create extraordinarily precise “point clouds,” a prerequisite for self-driving cars. Mesh those two databases together and you’ve laid the groundwork for an autonomous vehicle’s navigation system.

Is Apple behind the wheel of this mysterious high-tech van?

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This mystery van is likely making detailed 'point cloud' maps for autonomous vehicles.
Apple might be driving this mystery van.
Photo: Alexis OreskovicBusiness Insider

Apple has been busy working on its electric car project at secret facilities in Silicon Valley, but the tech that will make it totally autonomous might be hiding in plain sight throughout San Francisco.

During a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge, an eagle-eyed observer spotted what could be Apple’s latest self-driving car or mapping van, a vehicle that is armed with more sensors than ever.

Apple hires satnav expert to improve Maps app

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apple-maps-nearby-businesses
Apple's latest hire will make Maps better.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s often-ridiculed Maps app is getting some much-needed assistance, thanks to a recent new hire who helped invent the satellite navigation systems used by a bevy of automakers. 

Sinisa Durekovic, a software engineer who was the principle architect and engineer for Harman International Industries’ navigation systems, has reportedly joined Apple, and the company won’t say what he is working on.

Elon Musk thinks Apple Car will come too late

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Musk
Musk is confident Telsa will beat the Apple Car.
Photo: Recode/Facebook

Apple should have started development on the Apple Car a lot earlier than it did, according to Space X and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

The real-life comic-book superhero sat down for an interview at Code Conference and said that when it comes to autonomous cars, Google won’t be a competitor because they’re not a car company, however Apple will be.

Musk thinks it may be too late for Apple to be truly competitive though.

Apple is already working on charging stations for iCar

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Apple Car might be coming, but will it be special?
Apple Car might be coming, but will it be special?
Image: Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer

The Apple Car isn’t expected to hit the road until 2020 at the earliest, but Apple’s engineers are already laying the foundation for one of the most challenging aspect of electric vehicles: keeping them charged up.

Apple appears to be preparing the ground work for its charging infrastructure, according to a new report claiming the company is scooping up engineers that specialize in electric charing stations.

Apple revs up R&D spending amid iCar rumors

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Apple Car might be coming, but will it be special?
Apple Car might be coming, but will it be special?
Image: Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer

Apple may have reached peak iPhone this quarter after posting declining revenues for the first time since 2003, but rest assured the company is working on the next big thing. 

Tim Cook boasted about the amazingly innovative products coming down Apple’s pipeline, and the company’s latest spending figures show its throwing more money than ever at new ideas. 

Apple Car may already be in prototyping phase

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Apple Car might be coming, but will it be special?
Apple Car might be coming, but will it be special?
Image: Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer

Progress on the Apple Car is coming along faster than anticipated after Project Titan hit some speed bumps earlier this year.

Based on a batch of new hires, it appears that Apple Car parts may have already entered the prototyping phase at the company’s Product Realization Lab, where machinists and engineers produce and test product designs.

BMW and Daimler put the brakes on Apple Car deal

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Apple Car
Magna International Inc. is making cars for BMW.
Photo: BMW

Talks between Apple and German carmakers Daimler and BMW have fallen apart, after Apple sought to strike a deal with the companies for its electric car project. 

BMW and Apple have been rumored to be talking about a partnership for nearly a year now. Apple supposedly wanted to use BMW’s i3 carbon fiber body as the basis for its car but it appears that the company will have to go solo for now.