Apple Car Project

Recently, apple launched its new headphones which were a new addition for many and a meme topic for some because of its high price (around Rs 60,000). Apple headphones were a surprise when it comes to all the apple lovers. Everyone admires Apple as the best brand when it comes to iphone and technical equipment because of its high quality camera, security and much more. There is good news for everyone, because in future you may be able to add an apple car also to your list when it comes to buying apple products. Yes, a secret vehicle project by American technology company Apple is believed to be in the works in Sunnyvale, California. Codenamed ‘Project Titan’, it is said to be an effort to develop autonomous driving systems that are currently being supervised by former Tesla employees and top automotive experts.

                  According to several reports in the past, Apple launched work on Project Titan back in 2014 and had close to 1,000 employees putting their heads together to devise an electric vehicle at a secret lab near the company’s Cupertino headquarters.

                However, as luck would have it, the project was marred by internal strife, leadership issues and a host of other challenges that put it on the backburner, leading to lay-offs of hundreds of employees. In 2016, the company put long-time executive Bob Mansfield to helm the project and he steered it towards autonomous driving software instead. Apple’s AI and machine learning Chief John Giannandrea took over the reins from Mansfield, who retired in 2020, fuelling speculation that the company is still working on a full-fledged car that may be launched in 2024. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, however, has suggested that it won’t be in production before 2025 or 2027, at the earliest.

                 Apple, which is reportedly looking for a manufacturing partner for its ‘self-driving’ vehicle, has had rounds of discussions with Hyundai and Kia Motors among other automobile manufacturers, and a deal is expected to be announced in March 2021. The IT giant is believed to be already developing next-level battery technology to extend the vehicle’s range and efficiency.

              In December 2020, we learned that Apple is indeed still working on a full car, and right now, plans to release a vehicle in three to six years. Reuters has said Apple is aiming for 2024, but Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes a car won’t launch until 2025 to 2027 at the earliest.

                Kuo has said that Apple’s initial vehicle chassis is likely to be modelled after Hyundai’s E-GMP electric vehicle (BEV) platform and the car could be marketed as a “very high-end” model. High-performance cars based on E-GMP platform have the ability to go from 0 to 60mph in less than 3.5 seconds, clocking a maximum speed of 160 mph. With the new charging systems, E-GMP vehicles can charge up to 80% battery in 18 minutes flat.

                     According to a report in PatentlyApple, Apple has been granted a new patent for its Project Titan, related to assisting driver visibility in inclement weather to minimise accident risk. The feature is also expected to help lower the risk of collision by employing software that involves radar systems, vision-based cameras, and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology.

                        Apple’s car team is said to be aiming to create a self-driving vehicle that would let a user input their destination and be driven there with “little or no other engagement.”

                      Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes the car will be Apple’s “next star product” with Apple able to offer “better integration of hardware, software and services” than potential competitors in the automotive market, with Apple-designed chips manufactured by TSMC. An EETimes analyst suggests the chip could be called the “C1” and could perhaps be based on the A12 Bionic processor.

                 Kuo has said that Apple’s initial vehicle chassis could be based on Hyundai’s E-GMP electric vehicle (BEV) platform. The Apple Car is likely to be marketed as a “very high-end” model or “significantly higher” than a standard electric vehicle.

                         In June of 2017, Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke publicly about Apple’s work on autonomous driving software, confirming the company’s work in a rare candid moment. Apple doesn’t often share details on what it’s working on, but when it comes to the car software, it’s harder to keep quiet because of regulations.

                 “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.” — Apple CEO Tim Cook on Apple’s plans in the car space.

            Since early 2017, Apple has been testing self-driving vehicles on public roads in California, using several 2015 Lexus RX450h SUVs leased from Hertz. The SUVs have been spotted on the streets of Cupertino host of sensors and cameras as Apple prepares its self-driving software, and testing has ramped up over the years.

                Apple has held talks with four suppliers of LiDAR sensors that are smaller, more affordable, and more easily mass produced than current LiDAR systems, which are too bulky and expensive for use in mass produced vehicles. Apple is aiming for a “revolutionary design” that could potentially be used in a future autonomous vehicle.

                 Apple has several teams working on different aspects of the autonomous driving software that’s in the works. In Canada, a team made up of two dozen former BlackBerry QNX customers are helping to develop the base operating system, while another team works on developing the software that will run on it, such as a heads-up display and self-driving capabilities.

                  Apple is also working on a self-driving shuttle service called “PAIL,” an acronym for “Palo Alto to Infinite Loop.” The shuttle program will transport employees between Apple’s offices in Silicon Valley. Apple is partnering with Volkswagen and will be installing its self-driving software in Volkswagen T6 Transporter vans to serve as an employee shuttle.

                   We still have years to go before an Apple Car is ready to debut, and we’ll likely hear much more about the project as Apple will need to seek deals with a whole new set of supply chain partners in order to manufacture a vehicle.

               According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple’s initial vehicle chassis could be based on Hyundai’s E-GMP electric vehicle (BEV) platform, which uses up to two motors, five-link rear suspension, an integrated drive axle, battery cells that can provide range over 500km on a full charge, and can be charged up to 80% within 18 minutes through high-speed charging. A high performance model based on E-GMP is capable of accelerating from 0-60 miles per hour in less than 3.5 seconds, with a top speed of 160 miles per hour.

                  Hence, we can just wait for the official update by the company on its car project. No doubt, the apple car project is a project of its kind, which is awaited by each and every one of us.