There is a lot of information about Apple’s self-driving car development project, Project Titan, but there are reports that it is expected to launch a fully autonomous vehicle in 2025 as soon as possible.
Over the past few years, Apple has been exploring two options among Project Titans. One is the development of cars with conventional limited autonomous driving capabilities, which focus on steering and acceleration, and the other is the development of fully autonomous vehicles.
Apple engineers under Kevin Lynch, who took over as the new lead on the project after Project Titan’s director retired, are said to be working on developing fully autonomous driving vehicles. Doug Field, who has so far led Project Titan, is a longtime veteran of the automotive industry. On the other hand, Kevin Lynch, who took over as the new leader of Project Titan since September, has been in charge of developing the Apple Watch software.
In 2020, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that Apple’s self-driving car would appear as early as 2025. Similarly, insiders say that Apple will launch a self-driving car within four years. Additionally, whether Apple can launch fully autonomous vehicles by 2025 will depend on its development team and Apple’s capabilities. It is reported that if a fully autonomous vehicle is not completed by 2025, the launch will be delayed or the autonomous driving function will be introduced without some.
According to information obtained, the fully autonomous car that Apple is targeting is being designed to have no steering wheel and pedals in the car. In addition, Apple is said to be considering implementing lounge seats such as Canoo products. Moreover, Apple cars are equipped with large touch-screen infotainment like an iPad in the center of the vehicle, so this system is said to be closely integrated with Apple services and devices. In addition, Apple is considering a design that does not include a steering wheel in the car, but it is said that it is also considering installing an emergency control system.
In addition, sources say that Apple has reached an important milestone in the development of autonomous driving systems based on automobiles. Details are unknown, but it is reported that Apple has completed the core design of a processor that will be installed in first-generation autonomous vehicles. In addition, this chip is said to be designed by the Apple Silicon development team, which is being developed by Apple for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
It is pointed out that Apple may soon enter self-driving function tests on the road, and field tests using the new design chip and updated self-driving sensors are scheduled. According to the California Automobile Authority, Apple is using 69 Lexus vehicles to test its autonomous driving technology.
Apple appears to be partnering with automakers to develop its own autonomous vehicle. A possible partnership with Hyundai and Kia was once reported, but now it’s unclear which manufacturers Apple will sign with.
Because of this situation, there are also skeptical voices from within Apple about the timeline of 2025 at the earliest. Apple is also hiring many engineers to accelerate Project Titan, including a former Tesla autonomous driving software development director, a former Volvo climate system expert, a battery systems engineer at an automaker, and a sensor engineer at General Motors.
In addition, Apple seems to be considering the possibility of making its self-driving cars compatible with the CCS standard for electric vehicle fast charging that is being distributed in Europe. If this is realized, Apple’s cars will be able to be charged at the already widespread charging station for electric vehicles. Related information can be found here.