It’s only a few weeks that reports suggested that Apple’s ambitions to enter into the car market had pretty much ground to a halt. Despite lay-offs and hints to suggest priorities have changed, Apple is very much back in the self-driving car game according to recent letters.
A recent letter from Apple to the US’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been uncovered, outlining exactly what their intentions in the car market are. They come directly from Apple’s Director of Product Integrity, Steve Kenner. Steve was recruited from Ford to work inside the proposed car venture, dubbed Project Titan.
It seems Apple are indeed all in, telling the NHTSA that they are “investing heavily in the study of machine learning and automation. They’re clearly excited about the potential of automated systems in many areas, including transportation”. They clearly have some issues with established motoring brands getting an advantage over new entrants into the market. They are arguing for a level playing field and the red tape to be of equal length to all parties involved.
Self-driving car issues
It is believed that Apple has already faced difficulty from suppliers and manufacturers for support. The old brands appear to be closing ranks to attempt to stifle what they may perceive as a serious threat to market share. This is not unique to Apple; Google is facing similar issues with its Autonomous car project(s).
Although those hoping to be driving a shiny new machine with an Apple logo on the hood may be disappointed, because this letter seems to support Bloomberg’s reporting of a switch from hardware to software. Apple makes no mention of building an actual car, and only outline their machine learning and automation pursuits.
Apple clearly has many fingers in many pies, and are looking for the next big thing in their history. Could it be a self-driving car? Could it be AR? Only time will tell if the search for more revenue will pay off.