Apple May Now Manufacture Autonomous Vehicles (Report)

Apple opines that it is excited about its potential for automated transportation and the company is requesting US regulators not to restrict testing of such vehicles.

Apple Is Investing In the Study of Machine Learning And Automation

A letter has been sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration by Steve Kenner. He is director of Apple's product integrity. The letter signifies the company's interest in self-driving vehicle technology. Tech2-Firstpost reports that Apple is heavily investing in machine learning and automation study.

 In fact, the company believes that special attention is required in certain areas. These may include the impact of self-driven cars on employment and public spaces, piracy and security in design, algorithmic decisions for safety and mobility and legality of such vehicles along with their occupants. The software would decide regarding the actions to be taken in potentially dangerous situations.

Apple Wants To Move beyond Smartphones

Apple now wishes to move beyond the integration of Apple Smartphones towards vehicle infotainment systems. But the company never made any official statement regarding this in the past. There are other companies like Google, Tesla, Ford Motors, Daimler General Motors, and Volkswagen who are pursuing the production of self-driving cars.

According to reports on PhysOrg Apple has a separate organization called Project Titan which is engaged in automotive projects? It is speculated that Apple may concentrate on developing underlying technologies, especially for autonomous vehicles. Hence the company may not produce a completely self-driving car.

Encouragement For Data Sharing

Apple may also encourage data sharing in particular for accidents. This means that the autonomous car manufacturing industry will be able to build a more comprehensive data set which otherwise is difficult for a single company.

The first production models are expected to hit the market in 2020. Major auto manufacturers and technology groups are entering into this market as it is considered as the future of automobiles and electric power.