Apple self-driving car project is currently in neutral
13 July 2022
Despite years of development, the attempt to create a workable Apple self-driving car has stagnated, with its team beset by setbacks as competitors sprint ahead, according to a report on Monday from the Information technology news outlet (Tuesday in Manila).
Around eight years ago, rumors of an upcoming Apple vehicle initially surfaced. At the time, the vehicles were being hailed as the company’s first new “major thing” since the passing of renowned co-founder Steve Jobs in October 2011.
However, according to The Information, which cited interviews with project workers, self-driving Apple self-driving cars have encountered difficulties on the streets close to their Silicon Valley headquarters, bumping curbs, veering off the road, and nearly colliding with a jogger who was lawfully crossing the street.
According to the report, team problems were caused by constantly changing objectives and directives, worker churn, and senior Apple executives who lacked confidence in the project.
In an interview published by The New York Times early last year, Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook described self-driving cars as the perfect fit for the computer company.
Cook suggested that building an automaker-useable platform for autonomous driving technology would be an option for Apple self-driving.
He showed enthusiasm for the autonomous driving technology being developed by Tesla, an electric vehicle manufacturer.
Apple admitted last year that it had reduced its team dedicated to self-driving car technology, but emphasized that it was still in the race.
Most major automakers and many technology companies are currently developing autonomous vehicles, which are regarded as the future of the automobile, alongside electric power.
Waymo, Google’s parent company Alphabet’s self-driving unit, expanded its robotaxi service to riders in San Francisco less than a year ago, taking another step toward fully autonomous ride-hailing.
The company allows “trusted testers” to hail rides in self-driving cars that are accompanied by a “autonomous specialist” for backup.
The expansion of the Waymo ride-hailing program, which has been in operation in Phoenix, Arizona since 2017, comes as competitors work to launch similar operations.
Waymo has jumped ahead of most competitors and raised billions of dollars in preparation for a larger launch.
Apple originally made its aspirations for self-driving technology public in 2016, and since then, Cook has stated that he believes this technology will be a “core technology” in the future.
