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Mysterious Apple Car Spotted Roaming Bay Area Streets

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shoorty0690

macrumors member
Jul 5, 2009
68
48
Could this potentially be a project that is integrated in CarPlay? Maybe it's to track driving habits while using CarPlay. Or maybe it's a way for people to keep track of the road while using this new system.
 
flyinmac

flyinmac

macrumors 68040
Sep 2, 2006
3,579
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United States
dacreativeguy said:
A DeLorean! If you are going to build a time machine, street view mapper, or self driving car, why not do it with some style!
Click to expand...

A DeLorean would be as reliable as Apple's software. It's in perpetual need of repair and patchwork.

Actually, now that I think about it, a DeLorean would very much be a good fit for Apple.
 
viorelgn

viorelgn

macrumors 6502
Sep 16, 2013
303
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Romania
They are capturing ground level geometry and texture maps. In future versions of Apple Maps you will be able to see medians and dividers as well as houses, storefronts and signs.
 
S

sflarc51

macrumors newbie
Oct 4, 2011
19
0
Spotted in Fort Lauderdale / Hollywood on I95

I saw during evening rush-hour on Tuesday, February 17th southbound on I95 just south of the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood airport a white minivan very similar in style to that shown in this article with the exact same camera equipment atop of it. I just figured it was another mapping vehicle and nothing more. The van was completely unmarked so I assumed it wasn't Google as I've seen many Google mapping vehicles in the past and their camera equipment is vastly different and the vehicles clearly marked with Google branding. I didn't notice, however, if anyone was operating the vehicle.
 
M

Mark Booth

macrumors 68000
Jan 16, 2008
1,654
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I spotted one of these "mysterious" Apple vans in Rancho San Diego, CA today. It was parked at a convenience store. There were two guys inside (one in the passenger seat and one in the driver's side rear seat). The driver's seat was empty so, presumably, the driver was inside the convenience store. I grabbed a couple of photos with my iPhone:

i-bX7PDmN-X2.jpg


i-wbSKHKM-X2.jpg



I wasn't far from home so I drove home and got my digital SLR. As I arrived back at the convenience store the van was driving away but I captured a couple more photos (the first two were shot through my vehicle's windshield).

i-44nSWSW-X2.jpg


i-mc5fsM5-X2.jpg


i-ffr9R5M-X2.jpg



Mark
 
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Mark Booth

macrumors 68000
Jan 16, 2008
1,654
494
BTW, those little silver things at the front and back of the roof rack (the things that look like inverted soup cans) have a little window cut in them and they were constantly spinning around (even while the van was parked).

Mark
 
W

Wallabe

macrumors 6502a
Mar 15, 2015
660
205
These are just retrofitted cars. If Apple do come out with their own cars, do you think they will offer cases for these cars? Or at least bumpers? :D
 
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M

McHains

macrumors newbie
Mar 19, 2015
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Just cruising today from South Beach to the airport.
Not sure which car is more interesting...the modified Corvette Stingray or the minivan from Cali.#
 

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t0mat0

t0mat0

macrumors 603
Aug 29, 2006
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How Enderle gets quoted in MR I don't know.
He ain't no expert. A decent expert is in complete disagreement:
http://www.cultofmac.com/312720/mysterious-apple-minivans-are-mapping-vehicles/

almost certainly a mapping vehicle said:
said Paul Godsmark, chief technology officer with the Canadian Automated Vehicles Centre of Excellence
Click to expand...

On mapping vehicles, the LIDAR units are usually mounted high, to get the necessary height for modeling, and tilted down. As the vehicle drives along the road, the LIDAR units capture a 3-D model of the road and its surroundings. It is “effectively building the model by taking slices as the vehicles moves,” Godsmark said.

He pointed to other mapping vehicles, like this TomTom vehicle with LIDAR on the back, these Mandli mapping cars and this Verus Geomatics truck, which is typical of vehicles used for asset-management purposes.

LIDAR is also used in autonomous vehicles like Google’s prototype car, but for those purposes the units are usually mounted horizontally, as in Google’s first self-driving vehicle, Bosch’s autonomous vehicle, this self-driving Land Rover and Nissan’s self-driving cars.

The LIDAR units are mounted horizontally to maximize the sensor range, Godsmark said. “I am fairly certain that the vehicle in your photo is not an autonomous one, but that it is being used for mapping,” he concluded.
Click to expand...
 
T

Tech198

Cancelled
Mar 21, 2011
15,915
2,151
Jeezus,..!! this things go all over the place.

However, this this is still a rumor until Apple makes it public, i still have to say "how do u know".

Just because it may have the same number plate, don't u think it could just be something to confuse everyone ?

The Apple watch was different, but i cannot see Apple ever doing an Apple car... Yes they hire employees, bu it will be for nothing.... Not everything they deign is a success.

If u come back in 2020 and i''m wrong, i'll let u call me a bastard. :D
 
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