O'Grady's PowerPage

Tag: autonomous

  • After more than a decade, Apple Car project comes to an end

    After more than a decade, Apple Car project comes to an end

    After a decade-long effort, Apple has officially canceled its effort to build an electric car.

    Per Bloomberg, the move was announced internally by Apple COO Jeff Williams and Kevin Lynch, who had been leading the Apple Car project since 2021.

    “Apple’s most senior executives finalized the decision in recent weeks,” the report says. The project had reached a “make-or-break point” inside Apple, with Tim Cook also facing pressure from shareholders to make a decision.

    The article cited how over 2,000 people had been working on the Apple Car – or Project Titan – team. It’s also noted that some employees will move to Apple’s AI team led by John Giannandrea.

    Employees who weren’t shifted over to Apple’s AI effort might be able to “apply for jobs on other Apple teams,” but there “will be layoffs,” according to the article. It’s not explicitly clear how many lay-offs will happen.

    Apple is said to have made the disclosure internally on Tuesday. The decision was shared by Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams and Kevin Lynch, a vice president in charge of the effort, according to the people.

    Apple had been working on an electric car since 2014, complete with significant changes to its goals and design over the years. It had been reported that Apple was targeting a 2028 release date for the vehicle with a price tag of around $100,000. The company’s initial goal was to ship a fully autonomous car, without steering wheels or pedals. Those ambitions were dramatically scaled back in recent years.

    The Apple Car project was led by Doug Field. Field was hired away by Tesla in 2013 to help lead the production ramp for the Model 3. Field landed back at Apple in 2018 to help lead the Apple Car project, before departing for Ford in September 2021.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via 9to5Mac and Bloomberg

  • Rumor: Apple said to be in talks with potential LiDAR sensor providers for “Project Titan” self-driving car effort

    Even though it’s been a rough project, Apple’s self-driving car effort may have crossed a new milestone.

    Apple is reportedly in discussions with a number of component suppliers regarding LiDAR sensors that could be used in Apple’s self-driving cars.

    The company, which has already produced a variety of sensor test beds for its fleet of test vehicles, seems to be working on the next test bed generation.

    Per Reuters, Apple has been in talks with at least four different support of LiDAR sensors, which could be incorporated into the company’s trials. It’s thought that Apple is evaluating the offerings on the table, while simultaneously working on its own LiDAR hardware.

    The updated components at the center of the discussions are smaller and cheaper than the currently used versions, making them easier to mass produce, and to potentially hide within a vehicle to make the system as a whole less obvious to outside observers. Apple is said to demand a “revolutionary design” for the components, ones that depart greatly from existing designs. 

    Existing systems are expensive, costing an estimated $100,000 per car, and the bulkiness and use of mechanical components to sweep the lasers introduces issues with reliability. A non-mechanical alternative would in theory be more robust, while a smaller and cheaper component would likely help foster the use of self-driving system development. 

    It’s unknown as to what Apple’s ultimate goal for “Project Titan” is, and it’s thought that it could be either computer-aided navigation, or the production of an Apple-designed car.

    Apple recently laid off 190 people from Project Titan in February as part of a wide management shakeup, following after another 200 who were dismissed in January, but there are still people being brought aboard. In March, Apple hired a former Tesla engineer with a background in powertrain development, raising the possibility Apple’s car could be some form of electric vehicle. 

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via AppleInsider and Reuters

  • Doug Field leaves Tesla, returns to Apple to work on Project Titan effort

    He ventured out to work on the Tesla Model 3 and has now returned to work on Apple’s car project.

    Former VP of Mac hardware engineering Doug Field has returned to Apple after leaving the company in 2013.

    The rumor mill has stated that Field will work on Apple’s Project Titan. Field began his career at Ford as a development engineer, before moving on to Segway and then to Apple, and his return is already fueling speculation that Apple’s self-driving ambitions have been rejuvenated under the leadership of Mansfield.

    (more…)

  • Apple now has fleet of more than 50 autonomous cars in various stages of testing

    Apple apparently now has 55 vehicles and 83 drivers reported to test its autonomous vehicles on the road, or at least according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

    The company still has yet to apply for a separate driverless testing permit, which would allow the company to test autonomous vehicles without a person in the car. The California DMV has began issuing driverless permits in April of this year.

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  • Apple CEO Tim Cook confirms company’s efforts towards autonomous car systems

    Following years of Apple being characteristically tight-lipped as to whether it’s been working on an autonomous car project, CEO Tim Cook is finally ready to admit to the world that yes, Apple is working on a self-driving car system.

    In an interview with Bloomberg Television following the WWDC keynote, Cook described the autonomous driving system as “a core technology that we view as very important,” but stopped well short of saying Apple was actually building its own car. “We’ll see where it takes us,” he said.

    The project, which is said to have been dubbed “Project Titan”, shows that Apple seems to be serious about its effort in this field.

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