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First Apple Car to Be Fully Autonomous and Designed to Operate Without a Driver

newyorksole said:
What are you skeptical about? Seriously. Apple may not be perfect, but I don’t understand how their cash on hand, resources and influence can make you skeptical....
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Because this is 1) a rumor and 2) people have been talking about self-driving cars being just around the corner for so many years now and it hasn't happened.

I don't know that throwing cash at something is enough to get around the issues of making a computer that can handle the world's biggest obstacle course (open roads with thousands of variables) with life and death consequences. Honestly, I'm not sure if it will ever be possible.
 
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With working from home becoming permanent I'm starting to wonder if we really need a car, much less the two we have now. I need to sell the second one for sure. Might just be worth it to use these robotaxis in the future and not own a car, or just maintain an older one for emergencies. The thing that sucks is that I was hoping to become more of a car guy as I get older and can afford nicer cars. But by that time it might be illegal to drive cars and then how much fun can you really have in a Porsche GT3 RS or McLaren 765LT outside of the track?
 
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I’m wondering about the liability issue. It seems it might have been some what addressed in California but in other jurisdiction?
 
Billion dollars and a decade later we'll still be reading about autonomous cars that are "coming soon".
Like fusion - it'll always be just-around-the-corner"
 
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jayducharme said:
I too am skeptical about this. Apple is a consumer electronics firm. I don't understand why they would make a car that's sold to other businesses, not directly to consumers. And I can't see autonomous vehicles being deployed that quickly. The biggest problems for autonomous vehicles are the other vehicles on the road that are driven by humans. If all cars were autonomous and could communicate their proximity, roads would be much safer than they are now. But until people allow that to happen, human drivers will always be the wild card that causes most of the accidents. Unless Apple has found a way to mitigate that, autonomous cars will be an interesting technical experiment with limited real-world use.
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The article doesn’t say it won’t be direct to consumers. Just that it would be a good tool for delivery and robottaxi businesses, like how the iPad is a good tool for restaurants and other businesses.
 
Rob_2811 said:
Will Apple slow it down after the first year to 'protect the battery' ?
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Tesla tried this for about a week several years ago. People rightly complained, and Tesla immediately reversed course, giving customers the option to pick whether they wanted to prioritize performance or longevity of the battery (when you turn on max performance, it lets you know the battery may not last as long and offers a "I want my mommy" button to back out of ludicrous performance.)
 
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So it won't be a car but rather a automated taxi than is assigned certain routes and cannot be changed.
 
jerryk said:
Why restricted areas and good weather? My Tesla works fine in rain and pretty much drove itself down to LA and back from the bay area. The only time I took control was stopping for food since I wanted to drive by places and see what the lines were like. Also, works pretty well on city streets including the subdivision I live in.
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Take it out of California. Head to Pittsburgh for a weekend. Let those sensors get covered up by road salt and slush then get back to us on that.

I've got a Honda Ridgeline with all sorts of sensors behind the "H" logo on the front (and other places). As soon as the slush gets all over the nose of the truck, you can forget about Lane Keep Assist or any of those other cool features.
 
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erinsarah said:
Take it out of California. Head to Pittsburgh for a weekend. Let those sensors get covered up by road salt and slush then get back to us on that.

I've got a Honda Ridgeline with all sorts of sensors behind the "H" logo on the front (and other places). As soon as the slush gets all over the nose of the truck, you can forget about Lane Keep Assist or any of those other cool features.
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That is probably why Tesla's model gets much of their forward data from the 4 cameras in the windshield where the wipers will keep the view clean. Also, why the side cameras point slight backward to keep them out of the splashing. They also heat their radar transceivers to ensure any ice melts off. Watch TeslaBjorn's youtube videos driving through Norway in slushy roads.
 
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Music as a service: iTunes & Apple Music
Books as a service: Apple Books
File storage as a service: iCloud Files & Backup
Software as a service: iCloud Apps
Software store as a service: App Store
Movies & TV as an service: iTunes & AppleTV+
Fitness as service: Apple Fitness+

Personal transportation as a service: Apple Car
 
jerryk said:
Why restricted areas and good weather? My Tesla works fine in rain and pretty much drove itself down to LA and back from the bay area. The only time I took control was stopping for food since I wanted to drive by places and see what the lines were like. Also, works pretty well on city streets including the subdivision I live in.
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What’s it like on dirt roads away from the city?
 
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