February 03, 2021
The new emphasis was confirmed Friday
The new emphasis was confirmed Friday by a person with knowledge of the project.
San Francisco: Apple may not become an automaker, but it still wants to develop
its own self-driving technology. The iPhone-maker's automotive project, long an
open secret in Silicon Valley, is shifting to focus on creating the technology
for an autonomous vehicle that doesn't require a human driver. The new direction
apparently doesn't foreclose the possibility that Apple might someday build its
own car, but it opens the door to partnering with other car companies.The new
emphasis was confirmed Friday by a person with knowledge of the project, after
the New York Times reported that Apple is "rethinking" its automotive strategy.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to
discuss the project.Apple had no official comment Friday and has consistently
declined to confirm its automotive ambitions. But Elon Musk, the chief executive
of electric-car maker Tesla, has said that Apple has hired hundreds of
engineers, including some from Tesla, to work on an Plastic Injection Industry Part
Molding factory automotive project. Local officials in the San Francisco Bay
Area say Apple contacted them last year about using a former naval base that's
been converted into an automotive testing ground.
More recently, the New York
Times and Bloomberg News have reported that Apple's initial efforts to design
its own car have suffered from management turnover and technical delays.
Industry experts say building a car is an incredibly complex challenge for any
company, even one with the engineering prowess of Apple. Automobile manufacture
also poses more regulatory and legal issues than building an iPhone or a
computer.But the tech industry has increasingly ventured into the automotive
sector, where Apple, Google and other firms are competing to develop software
that can help manage - at least - the information and entertainment systems
inside today's vehicles. Google has made no secret that it's also working on
self-driving technology, but says that it is more likely to partner with an
established automaker.Analysts say tech companies want to be involved in
automobiles because they want people to keep using their products and services,
even while driving. Meanwhile, most of the leading auto-makers have opened
research labs in Silicon Valley, in part to work on the software and the
physical systems - including sensors and other components - that are needed for
autonomous driving.Uber, the giant ride-sharing company, has also hired experts
in robotics and has begun testing cars with self-driving capabilities.
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