What if apple designed a car

The iPhone, however, is actually a very good way to think about Apple's venture into building a self-driving vehicle. When it was introduced, Apple had no experience building mobile phones. We've learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone. PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They're not going to just walk in. As we all know now, Colligan was embarrassingly wrong--the iPhone is maybe the most successful product ever sold --but he wasn't the only one.

From the outside, building a smartphone made very little sense for a company whose most popular product at the time was a small music player with a click wheel. The problem is that people couldn't think past the preconceived notions of what they thought a smartphone was.

It didn't help that the company's first attempt was a partnership with Motorola that resulted in the Rokr, also known as the "iTunes Phone. Mostly, it was just bad.

It's impossible to know what you don't know. It's also difficult to really understand something you haven't seen or experienced. Apple laid off people on the Titan team in January, but in June, it acquired a struggling autonomous-driving startup, renewing hopes that Titan was still going.

While there were reports throughout that indicated Apple has revived plans to produce its own cars — the rumor blog Apple Insider has dutifully cataloged patents filed by the company for everything from motors to self-tinting windows — a December report by Reuters was a definitive sign. The report said that Apple will use its own self-driving technology and build its own cars, marrying the two phases of Project Titan into one product.

And, according to Reuters , Apple is hoping to bring something new to the table with a battery design that will make electric car batteries cheaper and last longer.

We may be seeing some of the technology Apple hopes to incorporate into Project Titan now; the iPhone 12 Pros and iPad Pros come with LiDAR sensors, which self-driving cars use to map out their surroundings and detect nearby objects. The auto industry has continued to slowly push into the electric and autonomous car markets. He refused to take the meeting. But there does appear to at least be a path.

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Please consider making a contribution to Vox today to help us keep our work free for all. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. In February , the California DMV received approval from the California Office of Administrative Law to set regulations in place to allow companies to test remotely operated autonomous vehicles on public roads.

From April 2, the DMV's public testing framework allows for self-driving cars to go on the road without a driver behind the wheel, instead of requiring human "remote" drivers.

The remote drivers would monitor the vehicle using a communications link, ready to take control of the car from the onboard systems in the event of an emergency. The first sightings of a vehicle used by Apple for its self-driving car test surfaced in late April , spotted departing an Apple facility. The initial tests, as anticipated in DMV records, involved adding extra equipment to a pre-existing vehicle.

The images confirmed the use of a Lexus RXh, colored in white, with a number of extra items bolted onto the car.

Cameras in protective housings surround the car's exterior, providing the self-driving system with a degree view of its surroundings. While the testing documents advised of the use of a Logitech steering wheel and pedal system, the test vehicle itself did not appear to use the items at all. This suggested the extra wheel was just for evaluation purposes, or that Apple has managed to get its self-driving technology working with Lexus' onboard systems, leaving the steering wheel free to be used by the test driver.

A road user spotted what could be an updated version of Apple's self-driving testbed on August 25 the same year. The vehicle was reportedly parked outside of an Apple office in Sunnyvale, California. It appeared from the photographs that Apple is using the Lexus RXh, a newer model of the edition vehicle previously used for testing. A change in the positioning of the equipment to fit entirely on the roof of the vehicle was spotted at the time, with upgrades and a new look also applied to the testbed.

Though difficult to specify what equipment is being used, it seemed that Apple used a Puck LiDAR sensor from Velodyne, a channel unit that can log , points per second at a range of up to meters. A total of 14 Pucks appeared to be mounted to the car, with four facing forward, two behind, and two at each corner. Other equipment on the vehicle included various cameras, a GPS unit with an antenna, radio communications equipment, and a distance measuring system. Aside from the central sensor array, five yellow-capped sensors were visible, which could have been compact radar arrays to assist the main sensing system.

Efforts are being stepped up with regards to sensors, with an April report indicating the company is in talks with component suppliers making parts that could be used in self-driving systems. Apple has reportedly talked to multiple LiDAR sensor suppliers and is apparently evaluating technology on offer while simultaneously working on its own LiDAR hardware. While this research is more for testing at the moment, the talks could also relate to future manufacturing efforts, including making smaller components that could shrink down the overall collection of sensors to a more manageable size, possibly to one that could be more easily integrated into the "Apple Car's" design.

A patent, granted in late , detailed how the front windshield would include a notch to make room for sensors. A June report from Bloomberg claims Apple partnered with rental car provider Hertz in order to test out its self-driving vehicle systems.

While such systems would have a commercial use for rental cars, such as vehicles automatically driving back to a rental outlet and saving customers from driving them there themselves, it appears the partnership was mostly for testing purposes only. According to the report, Apple apparently leased a "small fleet of cars" from Hertz subsidiary Donlen for the driving trials, with the Lexus RXh SUV specifically chosen due to the model already being used by Apple for the project.

A later report from CNBC claimed Apple is leasing just six vehicles from Donlen, a small number, but one that would effectively double the number of vehicles Apple was testing on public roads at the time. It was unclear if the vehicles will be used just by Apple's nominated drivers only, or if Hertz customers could be able to rent the vehicles in question with the driving system installed, but the relative silence suggests members of the public were not involved.

In August , the New York Times reported Apple was working with an established automaker on a self-driving shuttle testbed. In this case, Apple is said to be providing autonomous driving technology, while the car manufacturer handles the commercial vehicle fleet.

It is unknown when the vehicles will hit the road but it is likely to be a welcome addition for employees working at the Apple Park campus. The next year, it was claimed Apple was working with Volkswagen on the project, with the automaker providing T6 Transporter vans. The vehicles would be outfitted with specialized dashboards and seats, with further modifications to on-board computers, sensors, and an electric battery.

Apple's first reported accident involving a self-driving vehicle took place on August 31, The low-speed accident involved the car being rear-ended by a Nissan Leaf, which was traveling at just 15 miles per hour.

Despite the low speed, both vehicles received "moderate" damage, and there were no serious injuries. As with other Apple products, the company has been keen to make a large number of patent applications in relation to the in-development car and driving systems. In recent years, more of these patents have surfaced, firmly cementing Apple's interest in the field, though stopping short of guaranteeing Apple will actually produce an "Apple Car.

An initial example of Apple's work on autonomous vehicles, a patent application surfaced in December detailing a method of "Collision Avoidance of Arbitrary Polygonal Obstacles. Able to work in two-dimensional and three-dimensional space, the patent application outlines systems and methods to traverse an environment, without prior knowledge of obstacles.

This also takes into account convex and concave objects, moving and stationary obstacles, and other things that can affect movement through an area. For vehicle systems, this would effectively allow a car to traverse a landscape, including moving obstacles and other barriers to movement. In July , Apple proposed the self-driving system could modify its behavior depending on the stress level of the car's occupants, using internal sensors to measure a variety of data points.

If stress is detected, the system could switch to a slower speed or could take corners at a slower rate. A "confidence" system could help reduce the required resources to process the mountain of data from onboard sensors, cutting down what needs to be processed if it believes there isn't a need to do so beyond a minimum level.

Aside from saving resources, this may help speed up decision-making processes. The use of VR and AR has also been an important element, including using a projection system on the windscreen to show an AR view of the road, including elements out of the user's vision, such as the intended path the self-driving system wants to take. The use of headsets for AR or VR hasn't been discounted, with Apple even suggesting how to minimize car sickness while using the devices.

Self-driving vehicles need to tell other road users what their intentions are, something that Apple believes could be enhanced. A sign on the back or sides of a vehicle could explicitly tell other road users what the "Apple Car's" next move will be. This could also take the form of a light strip on the perimeter of the vehicle, which could potentially function as a large brake light or indicator.

Inter-car communications could provide enhanced situational awareness , such as by one self-driving car system alerting others to their position. Skid recovery systems may help keep the car under control in hazardous conditions.

While the self-driving system would be intended to take the car owner from place to place, Apple may already have plans to use it for taxi systems. It has envisioned the possibility of summoning a self-driving hire car via an iPhone, which could also provide access to the vehicle and facilitate payment. Apple devices could play another key role in autonomous car features by displaying alerts to those within the vehicle.

If the "Apple Car" is self-driving, then passengers may not be fully aware of the environment outside the vehicle. Alerts to pay attention if anything unusual is sensed outside the vehicle could mitigate some disasters. The sensor system may have more than just uses for driving, as Apple suggests it could be used to take pictures of points of interest.

This could range from scenery on a route to the scene of a car accident, facilitating easier reporting to insurers. Due to the system's construction, there is the potential of allowing other drivers to take control of a car via the self-driving mechanism.

One proposal has a remote operator, such as a driver trained for emergency transit situations, guiding a self-driving vehicle to a hospital. Apple has also looked into how to hide the plethora of sensors within the bodywork.

A patent for a specialized airbag system was filed and would protect passengers who may be facing each other in a self-driving vehicle. The use of LiDAR and other sensors will be used for more informed decision-making. Increasing the number of data points will increase the accuracy of a decision.

Apple's patent applications also cover the design of elements of vehicles. While this can include more pedestrian areas, such as power train systems, this also steps into redesigning essential concepts in vehicular design, rethinking basic elements in unusual ways. The sunroof of an "Apple Car" could be set to slide a large glass panel, but in such a way that it remains central despite the car framework and tracks diverting away in non-parallel lines.

A multi-segmented sunroof with independent sliding and lifting sections has also been proposed. A headlight system could highlight road hazards for drivers, such as by using an "illuminated indicator" shown next to an obstacle, or specifically illuminating sections of the road. An anti-glare system for the windscreen could protect drivers from bright lights by dimming or blocking out parts of the glass while leaving the rest transparent.

Continuing the theme of lights, Apple has suggested alternative ways to illuminate the inside of a car. These have ranged from fiber optic systems to an interior lighting system using bandpass filters to offer privacy, by making it hard for onlookers to see into a vehicle.

TrueTone technology borrowed from other Apple hardware could also be employed to ensure there is even internal lighting inside of the car. The seats and seatbelts have received particular attention from Apple, such as the use of a smart seatbelt that could control CarPlay devices.

Illuminated seats could inform users of how to adjust them for comfort or simply to buckle up. Even the doors have been worked over, including versions with wide openings that remove the center pillar, sliding doors , and the use of force-feedback hinges. Magna did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

To turn a profit, automotive contract manufacturers often ask for volumes that could pose a challenge even to Apple, which would be a newcomer to the automotive market. Trip Miller, managing partner at Apple investor Gullane Capital Partners, said it could be tough for Apple to produce large volumes of cars out of the gate.

Hal Eddins, chief economist at Apple shareholder Capital Investment Counsel, said Apple has a history of higher margins than most automakers.