Apple is aiming to have its self-driven Apple car on the road sometime in 2019. This follows a recent report by the Wall Street Journal that Cupertino will finally be joining the likes of Tesla, Google and other car manufacturers in developing self-driven cars.
Even though the WSJ mentioned unnamed sources in the report, the news comes at a point when the internet is being bombarded with rumors that Apple is secretly developing a high-tech motor that will carry its iconic brand. This is an amazing move by the company that has seen huge success in the technology world, especially with computers and mobile devices. However, no word has come from this California-based tech giant.
Project Titan hires more employees to speed up the production process
Codenamed Project Titan, the leaders of the production process of the Apple car have had a green light shed on their efforts. According to the WSJ, the project has now tripled its number of workers, which now stands at about 1,800 people. This is a huge team, and if the rumors are correct, we might see this automobile on the roads just as expected – 2019.
Even if Apple is showing some interest in manufacturing self-driving cars, the first version will still require control from motorists before they can ‘learn.’ It is, for this reason, we believe the car will heavily be based on artificial intelligence; a feature that will enhance its learning process as far as self-driving is concerned.
Apple may work with partner in developing the electric car
Apple has constantly been luring more and more employees from car making company Tesla, something that is thought to be aimed at boosting the prospects of Project Titan. However, this might not be enough as there are also other suggestions that the company may look for a partner to work with on this project.
Last week, Apple met with the DMV (California Department of Motor Vehicle) in a meeting to discuss the rules regarding self-driving car tests. Apple is new on the road and as such, it is striving to get familiar with the autonomous vehicle regulations before embarking on developing the new electric car.
Apple to face stiff competition from other autonomous car makers
As noted earlier, Apple will be joining the likes of Tesla and Google in developing self-driving cars. In fact, Google has been pursuing the autonomous vehicle technology for some time and as of now; the company is already testing some of these creations in Silicon Valley and other places.
A few weeks ago, Toyota revealed that it had plans to invest up to $50 million into AI-based cars. This is a strong indicator that this Japanese automaker could also be joining the race for supremacy with respect to autonomous vehicle technology. However, the car maker has not mentioned anything to do with this self-driven car technology, just yet.
