Apple Ventures Into Self-Driving Cars: Project Titan Confirmed

Self-driving cars are the way of the future. At least, that’s what numerous car companies believe, as Tesla, BMW, Honda, and a few others have been working on and testing out their first driverless car models in order to prepare them for public release. At least one non-auto company seems to also believe that self-driving cars are the way of the future, evidenced by it venturing into that industry and developing its own driverless car model.

The Apple That Falls Far From the Tree

Throughout the decades Apple has been known as a strong and reliable brand for computers, mp3 players, smartphones, and tablets. The innovation of the iPhone led to the smartphone boom in the United States, and the rise of other touch screen devices such as iPod Touch-like mp3 players and tablets. Over the past few years, it has been rumored that the tech giant was looking into expanding its reach into the automotive industry. Thanks to documents that have been obtained by The Guardian, it has been confirmed that Apple is indeed developing a self-driving car. Not only has it been developing one, but it is further along the development stage than anyone had previously thought. The tech giant has reportedly been eyeing a former naval base as the testing ground for its self-driving car, and has even scheduled test runs.

A Naval Base Turned Testing Ground

Apple plans to test out its self-driving car, codenamed Project Titan, at GoMentum Station, a 2,100-acre area near San Francisco that used to be known as the Concord Naval Weapons Station during World War II. It has since been converted into a high security private testing ground for the cars of the future, which use connected vehicle (CV) and autonomous vehicle (AV) technologies. It is guarded around the clock by armed soldiers to keep everything that goes on inside the grounds as secret as possible. The facility contains 20 miles of city streets and highways, and features railway crossings, tunnels, overpasses, and more to simulate real-world driving applications. Confirmation of the super secret Apple car project came after The Guardian obtained documents that show Jack Hall, a program manager at GoMentum Station, writing to Apple engineer Frank Fearon, wanting to postpone a planned tour of the testing facility but also saying that they still wanted to meet in order to keep Apple’s testing schedule moving along.

Apple is Serious About Project Titan

In a world where many other companies are investing prime capital into the development of autonomous cars, it should be no wonder that Apple lauded as one of the top innovating tech companies of today, has decided to venture into the automotive industry. While there were doubts that a computer company would succeed in automotive development, Apple has taken the necessary steps to ensure the success of its super secret self-driving car project. Apple CEO Tim Cook has been meeting with top executives in the automotive industry over the past few months, like Sergio Marchionne of Fiat-Chrysler, to gain more knowledge on the process. The company has also been bringing onto its Project Titan team many automotive experts from well-established companies like Mercedes-Benz and Tesla Motors. As the world continues to change and new trends develop, companies that wish to stay relevant must keep up with those trends. Recent years have shown that the next big trend is going to be self-driving cars, so it’s no wonder that Apple has decided to branch out from handheld devices and desktop computers to begin developing its first motor vehicle.


 

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