3 CarOS
Image via Shutterstock
An actual “Apple Car” may not be on the horizon. But it’s long been a poorly kept secret that the company is working on vehicular tech. Apple CEO Tim Cook even blew the lid off that secret in an interview last year.
The project, codenamed Titan, was originally rumored to be the development of the aforementioned Apple Car. But a series of roadblocks may have caused the project to switch gears.
Now, Project Titan is largely rumored to be focused on creating underlying autonomous systems for self-driving vehicles. In other words, Apple may very well be working on something akin to “carOS.”
Apple has as many as 5,000 people working on the project — and it’s continuing to hire high-profile talent for it. And if a recent court case is any indication, there’s a lot of work already done.
The Cupertino tech giant is also fielding one of the largest fleets of self-driving cars currently on public roads in the U.S. That fleet has been growing steadily, too. But its ambitions in the car sphere may span beyond autonomous sensors.
As an example, the company has patented several technologies related to AR navigation systems and VR experiences — specifically for use in a self-driving vehicle. And those aren’t the only car-related patents, either.