Apple Self-Driving Car Specs Rumor: Another Vehicle in Testing Spotted
One of Apple's self-driving cars has been spotted cruising through the streets of San Francisco Bay as the Cupertino giant continues to test the software.
Macrumors managed to capture on video one of the self-driving software Lexus RX sport utility vehicles (SUVs) in action. With all the contraptions attached to it, the vehicle pops up.
The self-driving SUV is fitted out with numerous sensors and cameras. It also makes use of a top-end Velodyne 64-channel lidar paired with several radars and additional cameras for navigation.
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Apple has been testing its self-driving software since last month, after securing a DMV permit to test autonomous vehicles. Bloomberg reported one of their earliest attempts last month with another Lexus RX self-driving through California.
The SUVs used on testing are driven by groups of six Apple employees with expertise of the self-driving technology and autonomous vehicles.
The abovementioned publication says that the team in charge of testing the self-driving software was given until the end of the year to show results pointing to the possibility of the technology.
This will give Apple the time to be able to develop partnerships with manufacturers. At the moment, the company does not plan to develop its own self-driving car.
Past reports, however, suggested that Apple made an attempt to do just that but to no avail. Should the self-driving software become successful, the tech giant is expected to instead sell the tech to automakers, which will implement it on their vehicles.
At the moment, there is not much known about the Apple's self-driving software but the testing of the tech will be done publicly including information on the miles traveled or any incident such as accidents.
That being said, fans of Apple's attempt to perfect its technological breakthrough should hear more about it in the coming months. They might even stumble upon the Lexus RX SUVs being tested.
