O'Grady's PowerPage

Tag: Bob Mansfield

  • Lexus RX450s SUV spotted using Apple’s self-driving technology on California highways

    Less than two weeks after snagging permission to test it test its autonomous-car technology in California, Apple appears to be testing its software on California’s public roads.

    A white Lexus RX450h SUV was seen emerging from an Apple facility, complete with a battery of attached sensors. The sensors included Velodyne Lidar Inc.’s top-of-the-range 64-channel lidar, at least two radar and a series of cameras. The sensors appear to be products bought off the shelf from suppliers, rather than custom-made, according to an industry expert who saw the photos.

    An Apple spokesman declined to comment.

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  • California DMV grants Apple permit to test self-driving cars on public streets

    Apple’s self-driving car project is another step closer to completion.

    The company has been granted a permit that enables it to test autonomous vehicles on public roads in the state of California, according to the California DMV website.

    Apple was added to the list of permit holders that are allowed to participate in the Autonomous Vehicle Tester Program in California on Friday, joining companies like Google, Tesla, BMW, Honda, Ford, Nissan, and more.

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  • Apple hires former QNX staff, begins efforts in Canada towards Project Titan

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    Apple has both taken the long view of its Project Titan automative effort and settled it in Canada.

    Apple apparently has “dozens” of software engineers working out of an office outside of Ottawa, Ontario—just a five minute walk from BlackBerry’s QNX division, which provides automotive software. In fact, about two dozen of Apple’s engineers reportedly came directly from QNX.

    The hires include former QNX CEO Dan Dodge and Derrick Keefe, a software engineer with decades of experience under his belt.

    While QNX doesn’t currently product autonomous driving software, it is on the company’s list of goals. QNX has already reached a deal with AdasWorks to integrate AdasWorks’ software into QNX’s operating system, which already powers systems like BMW ConnectedDrive, Ford Sync3, Buick Intellilink, and others, in more than 60 million vehicles.

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  • Rumor: Apple looking into acquisition, strategic investment of McLaren for car project

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    If you’ve ever drooled a bit over a parked McLaren on the street, then you’ve got something in common with Apple.

    The current rumor has it that Apple has approached British supercar-maker McLaren to discuss an acquisition or a strategic investment in the firm. The talks are said to have been in progress for several months.

    McLaren is best known for its Formula One racing team and also has a fast-growing road cars division that started up less than a year ago. The company has also received accolades for its million-dollar P1 hybrid hypercar and its line of supercars. McLaren also has a large consulting division and a technologies group that acts as a parts supplier to other carmakers and race teams.

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  • Rumor: Apple hires Dan Dodge to head up car project, may be shifting focus towards autonomous driving systems

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    Apple could still be working on a car project, but could be taken it in a new direction.

    Bob Mansfield, the Apple executive who led up efforts on the iMac, iPad, MacBook Air and Apple Watch, has apparently been put in charge of Apple’s car project. Mansfield’s first action has been to hire former BlackBerry developer Dan Dodge, who arrives at Apple with an extensive operating system development background.

    Mansfield apparently tapped Dodge to work on autonomous driving software for Apple’s car division, code-named Project Titan, signaling that the company is pivoting from building its own car to making the tech that will power the next generation of cars. Or, more likely, Apple is covering all of its bases and seeing whether hardware, software, or a combination of both will succeed.

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