We knew Apple could be working on an electric car, but newly surfaced information suggests they could be working on a project even more futuristic.
iDrop News first began following up on the suspicions of an Apple Car several months ago when it was discovered Apple had acquired numerous experts in the automotive business.
In May we reported on information regarding Apple’s most secretive project, the Apple Car. There were more than enough reasons to believe that Apple is working on an actual electric car, and one of those reasons was Apple’s desire to gain automotive professionals from non-competing entities.
A123, a successful large-battery producer, even went as far as settling a lawsuit against Apple for poaching many of their employees. A123 was hit even harder when Apple hired Mujeeb Ijaz, A123’s Chief Technology Officer. The connection between A123’s large-scale battery experts and automotive professionals became clear: electric Apple Car.
It was then discovered that Apple owns multiple “secret” buildings across California, and one of them is a large-scale garage. What could this garage be used for? Well, to hide a Fiat Multipla 600 of course! This particular Fiat was delivered to Apple’s garage a few months back. It turns out Jony Ive, Apple’s lead designer, is infatuated with the Fiat brand. The classic car could be a model for a futuristic, rounded, Apple Car.
Another interesting player being recruited into Apple’s vehicle stratosphere is Paul Furgale. Furgale is an experienced researcher in the field of automated driving, aka self-driving cars. This interesting and futuristic idea seems right up Apple’s alley.
Find below the abstract work Furgale contributed to, which was published in Intelligent Vehicles Symposium.
Future requirements for drastic reduction of CO2 production and energy consumption will lead to significant changes in the way we see mobility in the years to come. However, the automotive industry has identified significant barriers to the adoption of electric vehicles, including reduced driving range and greatly increased refueling times. Automated cars have the potential to reduce the environmental impact of driving, and increase the safety of motor vehicle travel. The current state-of-the-art in vehicle automation requires a suite of expensive sensors. While the cost of these sensors is decreasing, integrating them into electric cars will increase the price and represent another barrier to adoption.
The V-Charge Project, funded by the European Commission, seeks to address these problems simultaneously by developing an electric automated car, outfitted with close-to-market sensors, which is able to automate valet parking and recharging for integration into a future transportation system. The final goal is the demonstration of a fully operational system including automated navigation and parking. This paper presents an overview of the V-Charge system, from the platform setup to the mapping, perception, and planning sub-systems.
With $202 billion in the bank, the sky is nearly the limit with Apple. Apple could be recruiting Furgale to work on a complete transportation reinvention like the V-Charge project. They could also be working on a smaller project, such as automated driving.
With all the continuous incremental acquisitions of car developing experts, Apple seems to be plugging along diligently, to create a futuristic self-driving car to give Google a run for their money.