AI Chief John Giannandrea Takes Over Apple Car Project
Apple is continuing work on developing some kind of autonomous vehicle product, and the project is under new leadership. Apple artificial intelligence lead John Giannandrea is now overseeing Apple Car development as prior lead Bob Mansfield has retired, reports Bloomberg.
One of the self-driving vehicles Apple uses to test its autonomous driving software
It's been quite some time since we heard news about the Apple Car, but Project Titan as the car development is known is now in the hands of Giannandrea, though day to day operations continue to be overseen by Doug Field.
Field was reporting to Bob Mansfield, who came out of retirement in 2016 to handle the Apple Car project. Mansfield first retired in June 2012, but ultimately remained at Apple as an advisor. Prior to being led by Mansfield, Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering Dan Riccio was overseeing work on the Apple Car.
Giannandrea is Apple's senior vice president of AI and machine learning, and Project Titan's hundreds of engineers are now under his watch. Giannandrea also heads up Siri development and Apple's work on machine learning.
Apple has been working on some kind of self-driving car technology since 2014, but development has been stymied by technical and leadership challenges. Apple was originally working on a full car, but focus seems to have shifted to an in-car autonomous driving system. Apple continues to have dozens of self-driving test vehicles out on the road.
Back in 2017, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that Apple is working on autonomous driving software. "We're focusing on autonomous systems. It's a core technology that we view as very important. We sort of see it as the mother of all AI projects. It's probably one of the most difficult AI projects actually to work on," he said.
Related Stories
The first Apple Car that's released will not be designed to operate with a driver, according to a report from CNBC that cites multiple unnamed sources with knowledge of Apple's plans. "These will be autonomous, electric vehicles designed to operate without a driver and focused on the last mile," said one of the people.
CNBC speculates that the initial Apple Cars could be designed for food...
Though there haven't been many rumors about the Apple Car in recent months, work on the project is still ongoing. Following news from Bloomberg yesterday about a change in leadership, DigiTimes today shared alleged details on Apple Car development in Cupertino. One of the self-driving Lexus SUVs that Apple uses to test its autonomous driving software Apple is said to be in "preliminary...
Amid rumors that Apple is working on an Apple-branded car that will come out in the next decade, BMW Chief Financial Officer Nicolas Peter today told Bloomberg that he's not concerned about the threat of an Apple vehicle.
"I sleep very peacefully," said Peter when Bloomberg asked for his opinion on Apple entering the car market. "Competition is a wonderful thing - it helps motivate the...
Hyundai intends to transition the company's Apple Car involvement to its Kia brand as part of an internal arrangement that could see production move to the U.S., according to a new report today.
On Sunday, Korea IT News reported that Apple and Hyundai are seeking a partnership agreement for the upcoming Apple Car by March, and that the electric vehicles could be made at a Georgia factory...
Wednesday February 17, 2021 12:44 pm PST by
Juli CloverBenjamin Lyon, who was heading up a sensor team working on the Apple Car, recently departed Apple to join space startup Astra as the company's chief engineer. Lyon shared the news in an interview with TechCrunch, where he said that he moved on to Astra because he was interested in Astra's vision as it works on small satellite deployment. "I think the Astra vision is this magical combination ...
Rumors about Apple's work on an autonomous car have picked up in recent weeks, but the project is still in the early stages and it will be years before an Apple Car launches, according to a new report from Bloomberg.
Sources with knowledge of Apple's product plans told Bloomberg that it will take Apple "at least half a decade" to launch an autonomous electric vehicle.
Apple has a small...
Sunday February 14, 2021 8:49 am PST by
Sami FathiApple is widely rumored to be working on a self-driving car, internally codenamed "Project Titan." Apple reportedly began work on the project in 2014, and years later, the rumor mill is in full swing speculating on when Apple will debut its self-driving technology. Speculation has become so rampant that potential competitors to an Apple Car are already weighing its potential threat to the overall ...
Apple will collaborate with Hyundai on its first Apple Car model, and if things go well, Apple could work with General Motors and European manufacturer PSA for subsequent models or in other markets, according to noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
In his latest TF Securities investor note, seen by MacRumors, Kuo corroborates recent reports of a potential Apple Car partnership with Hyundai and...
Popular Stories
Continuing the tradition set with the iPhone 13 Pro, only the highest-end iPhone 14 models will feature Apple's ProMotion display technology, according to a respected display analyst.
Ross Young, who on multiple occasions has detailed accurate information about Apple's future products, said in a tweet that ProMotion will not be expanded to the entire iPhone 14 lineup and will remain...
A bug in WebKit's implementation of a JavaScript API called IndexedDB can reveal your recent browsing history and even your identity, according to a blog post shared on Friday by browser fingerprinting service FingerprintJS.
In a nutshell, the bug allows any website that uses IndexedDB to access the names of IndexedDB databases generated by other websites during a user's browsing session....
Apple is planning to release a fifth-generation iPad Air with similar features as the sixth-generation iPad mini, including an A15 Bionic chip, 12-megapixel Ultra Wide front camera with Center Stage support, 5G for cellular models, and Quad-LED True Tone flash, according to Japanese blog Mac Otakara.
Citing reliables sources in China, the report claims that the new iPad Air could be...
Much has been said about what consumers could see from Apple in 2022, but the company is also working on a handful of rumored products that aren't expected to be unveiled for at least another 12 months, and in some cases a lot longer. Of course, that's assuming they get released at all. Apple works on many potential products some of which ultimately never see the light of day. With that in...
Apple's second-generation AirPods Pro could arrive alongside a new series of accessories, recent leaked images suggest.
Alleged leaked photos of the next-generation AirPods Pro obtained by MacRumors showed a charging case with a metal loop on the side for attaching a strap. Apple has not used this design for any of its other AirPod models and it is unclear why it would be added in this...
Netflix today updated the prices for its streaming plans, and all of its offerings are now more expensive. The Basic plan is now priced at $9.99 per month, the Standard plan is priced at $15.49 per month, and the Premium plan is priced at $19.99 per month.
The Basic plan is $1 more expensive, up from $8.99 per month. This plan allows users to watch on just one screen at a time, and it limits ...
A Tesla Model 3 owner has resorted to a workaround to implement Apple CarPlay in his vehicle, amid no sign of official support from Tesla (via Tesla North).
Apple CarPlay and Apple Music support are among the most-requested Tesla features, but with no indication that Tesla is willing to implement Apple CarPlay in its vehicles, Polish developer Michał Gapiński took matters into his own...
Hole-punch? Pill? Hole-punch and pill? Rumors about what the front camera system on the iPhone 14 Pro will look like are evolving rapidly, and it now appears we might be getting a novel but potentially controversial design later this year.
Other major stories this week included some confusion and controversy about iCloud Private Relay being disabled for some T-Mobile customers, increasing...
Top Rated Comments
Will the Apple Car use the Digital Crown as a steering wheel? "Made 100% of recycled aluminum and powered by Siri"
Hey Siri - turn left.
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that."
"HEY SIRI, EMERGENCY STOP!"
"Your car is not connected to the internet."
Or your phone or watch catches it and fails to pass it off to the car. "I'm sorry, I can only do that in Apple Car."
Electric vehicles have been around for quite a while, the most notable ones being the Ford EV1 (modeled after the Probe) and Toyota's RAV4 EV way back from the Nineties.
Note that almost all of the companies researching autonomous driving start in gasoline-powered vehicles.
This includes Google/Waymo and Apple who have both used the Chrysler Pacifica minivan for autonomous driving research.
There are probably thirty companies with autonomous driving research teams in the north Santa Clara County area, so of which are the major auto manufacturers and a bunch of startups including ones that have been acquired by larger companies (driveAI is one notable acquired startup).
There are tons of test vehicles on the local roads, some of which are clearly marked by the developing company, plenty of others are in stealth mode.
Note that this seems to include motorcycle manufacturers. There was a Ducati office in a nondescript Silicon Valley office park very close to where I live. This was not a sales office.