Apple's fleet of self-driving vehicles roaming the streets of California for testing now includes 69 vehicles and 92 drivers, according to information from the California Department of Motor Vehicles obtained by macReports.
This means that Apple has added one self-driving car and 16 drivers since May this year. Apple has been expanding its autonomous vehicle test since it was granted a permit from the California DMV in April 2017, enabling it to test its self-driving technology on public roads in the state. Beginning in early 2018, multiple sources reported on the number of vehicles in Apple's fleet, which steadily expanded throughout that year.
Each of Apple's testing vehicles is equipped with the company's in-development autonomous driving software, along with advanced LiDAR equipment and an array of cameras to detect the vehicle's surroundings. The actual cars are Lexus RX450h sports utility vehicles and must have safety drivers inside of them, since, unlike rival companies that are self-driving technology, Apple's permit still does not include driverless testing.
Apple's fleet of self-driving vehicles are reportedly gathering data for the company's long-rumored autonomous vehicle software. In June of 2017 Apple CEO Tim Cookconfirmed Apple's work on autonomous 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 to actually work on."
Earlier this year, it was revealed that Apple had more than doubled its self-driving mileage in 2020, reaching a total of 18,805 miles, up from the 7,544 miles the previous year. There were a total of 130 disengagements in 2020, up from 64 in 2019, but Apple's cars experienced a disengagement every 144.6 miles, which is a better metric than the previous year where there was a disengagement every 117.8 miles, indicating an improvement in the technology.
Tesla should open source all their 3D maps, AI data and self driving algorithms.
Their first mover advantage based on having already countless cars on the road gathering data is a de facto tax on the self driving space, thus stifling innovation.
can't be hard to beat tesla. their FSD has turned out to be garbage. elon's smokescreen is lifting away.
An issue with your thesis is that Tesla is the undisputed leader in FSD that's in the hands of non-employees right now.
There's Waymo's little 100 square mile beta, Tesla's national beta with 5K vehicles, and then nobody else.
Then there's widely released autonomy software. Tesla pretty handily leads there with 1M+ vehicles and I don't think anybody is even bothering to try saying they're in the same league as Tesla anymore (GM's Supercruise, Ford's Blue whatever, Nissan Pro-Pilot, and Audi Jam Assist)... they all used to say that they had something, and then it turned out that nobody could match Tesla's first iteration of Autopilot from 2014, nevermind what they're doing today.
Tesla should open source their proprietary software, which they’ve been working on for a decade? Is this a joke? They have a first mover advantage because they entered this space earlier and better and more decisively than any of their competitors. Now other companies get to play catch up. Next time maybe they’ll innovate sooner.
Kinda like sparking a multi-billion dollars app ecosystem in 2008, constantly providing the best hardware and OS updates afterwards to run apps on a pleasant&fast&safe spending-inducing platform and then asking an industry-standard 30% cut on the apps proceeds? I get it, now that I think about it.
An issue with your thesis is that Tesla is the undisputed leader in FSD that's in the hands of non-employees right now.
There's Waymo's little 100 square mile beta, Tesla's national beta with 5K vehicles, and then nobody else.
Then there's widely released autonomy software. Tesla pretty handily leads there with 1M+ vehicles and I don't think anybody is even bothering to try saying they're in the same league as Tesla anymore (GM's Supercruise, Ford's Blue whatever, Nissan Pro-Pilot, and Audi Jam Assist)... they all used to say that they had something, and then it turned out that nobody could match Tesla's first iteration of Autopilot from 2014, nevermind what they're doing today.
Tesla is claiming it's in a league all it's own. GM Super Cruise is most definitely as advanced as Tesla.
Tesla is level 2 autonomous, no matter what Elon says. The "full self driving" is a farce.
There are no level 4 or level 5 autonomous systems out there.
Tuesday February 9, 2021 12:24 pm PST by Juli Clover
The California DMV today released new disengagement and mileage reports for self-driving vehicles that are being tested in the state, giving us some insight into Apple's progression on its self-driving vehicle software.
Over the course of 2020, vehicles equipped with Apple's self-driving technology traveled a total of 18,805 miles in California, up from the 7,544 miles traveled in 2019....
Tuesday October 12, 2021 10:52 am PDT by Juli Clover
One of Apple's self-driving test vehicles was involved in a minor incident on September 27, according to a filing made with the California DMV [PDF].
The self-driving vehicle, which was operating in autonomous mode at the time, clipped a curb while going 13 miles per hour. There was no damage reported, but the car did require a realignment.A test vehicle, operating in autonomous mode in...
Wednesday September 1, 2021 12:37 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Two of Apple's self-driving cars operating in manual mode were involved in minor collisions in August, according to the California DMV.
The first incident [PDF] occurred in San Diego, California in the Hillcrest area on August 19. The Lexus RX 450h was stopped in traffic and was hit by a Hyundai. The accident was described as minor with no injuries.
The second accident [PDF] occurred on...
Former BMW senior executive and self-driving vehicle startup founder Ulrich Kranz has taken on a role at Apple working on the company's autonomous car project, reports Bloomberg.
Kranz founded Canoo, a self-driving car startup that he left earlier this year. Prior to creating Canoo, Kranz helped to develop the i3 and i8 vehicles at BMW, where he was employed for 30 years.
According to Bloo...
Friday February 19, 2021 8:31 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is in discussions with multiple suppliers of LiDAR sensors appropriate for a self-driving vehicle, according to Bloomberg. The report claims Apple is looking for sensors that would still be considered "cutting edge" four to five years from now.
As widely rumored, the report claims Apple has been working on a driverless vehicle project for several years. Apple is said to have...
Thursday September 2, 2021 4:33 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple is rumored to be in Asia visiting Toyota as it prepares to lay the supplier groundwork to mass produce a branded car by 2024, according to a new report by DigiTimes.
Apple representatives were said to have met with South Korea's SK Group and LG Electronics last month to discuss Apple Car development, and now Japan's Toyota is being touted as its next potential destination. Apple...
Apple is developing its electric vehicle independently without the assistance of another automaker and is currently selecting final parts suppliers, according to sources said to be familiar with Apple's plans speaking to Korea's Maeil Economic Daily.
In line with a previous report from Reuters, the report explains that the company has had its own automobile hardware research and development...
Thursday September 9, 2021 12:28 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple VP of technology Kevin Lynch is taking over the Apple Car project and will be replacing Doug Field, who is moving to Ford, reports Bloomberg.
Lynch first joined the Apple Car team in July, with reports suggesting he had been called on to help lead Apple Car development. Now that Field has left the company, Lynch will be taking over his role and will be in charge of the Apple Car. Lynch ...
Thursday August 19, 2021 2:23 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple supplier Foxconn is making a major push into electric vehicle manufacturing and has long been aiming to get into the vehicle market, according to a new profile of Foxconn's car ambitions that was shared by Nikkei.
"If we can make iPhones, why can't we make EVs?" Foxconn founder and former chairman Terry Gou said in an internal meeting. "It is an iPhone with four wheels."
Foxconn has ...
Apple is intensely researching all aspects of car engineering and manufacturing, but there are growing questions around what form Apple's vehicle project may take, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Peter Fintl, the director of technology and innovation for Capgemini Engineering Germany, explained that Apple's movement in vehicle supply...
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Top Rated Comments
OK, nothing to do with anything, just found it funny.
Their first mover advantage based on having already countless cars on the road gathering data is a de facto tax on the self driving space, thus stifling innovation.
There's Waymo's little 100 square mile beta, Tesla's national beta with 5K vehicles, and then nobody else.
Then there's widely released autonomy software. Tesla pretty handily leads there with 1M+ vehicles and I don't think anybody is even bothering to try saying they're in the same league as Tesla anymore (GM's Supercruise, Ford's Blue whatever, Nissan Pro-Pilot, and Audi Jam Assist)... they all used to say that they had something, and then it turned out that nobody could match Tesla's first iteration of Autopilot from 2014, nevermind what they're doing today.
GM Super Cruise is most definitely as advanced as Tesla.
Tesla is level 2 autonomous, no matter what Elon says. The "full self driving" is a farce.
There are no level 4 or level 5 autonomous systems out there.