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New Apple SUVs With Expansive Autonomous Driving LIDAR Setup Spotted on the Road
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But according to another article earlier this week, Apple has stopped all self-driving car research.
I would think that perhaps any self-driving technology would be an extension of CarPlay, as far as integration with the vehicle goes. The sad irony: Toyota (Lexus) absolutely REFUSE to integrate Car Play (will never buy a Toyota or Lexus until they do). So why test using their cars!?
Have you never ridden a subway?
Like when bus drivers fall asleep, drive drunk or have heart attacks?
How would this be handled any differently than car theft?
A lot of self-driving tech companies are using Lexus vehicles, so they are not buying them. Merely renting out under contract. They test the new hardware, while also giving Lexus free PR.
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Because Tesla is not using LIDAR. Tesla is using RADAR. If Tesla were to use LIDAR, their vehicles would start at $110k, not $60k.
LIDAR is also considerably more expensive than RADAR.
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They stopped developing their own car, but will continue to develop self-driving software.
More smoke great, let's see what the competition is up to when flyover is actually usable, meanwhile 2017 seems to soon to actually come up with something professional.
Surely you mean "it will free humanity from the burden of driving cabs".
Finding something to do with cab drivers is another, orthogonal problem.
Slow news day? I see this thing all the time. And the google ones. And the maven ones. and the uber ones. this site has really started to go downhill
I think that has to do with several factors:
1 - A vehicle with enough capacity to carry all of the on top electronics as well as all of the inboard modules that this array is definitely connected to.
2 - A vehicle to comfortably accommodate 2 - 4 people for extended test periods with good lumbar support. (I wouldn't want to spend 8 hours a day in too many other vehicles that cost less)
3 - A hybrid version to save fuel where possible. In the majority of autonomous test phases, this will be going under 35 mph. Those vehicles actually do very well on mileage at those speeds. And gas there is usually over $3 a gallon.
4 - Image. We know that several silicon valley companies are all about that.
So, while a Highlander, Explorer, or several other mid-SUV's would do the basic job, this one is probably the sweet spot for what they want to accomplish.
Ok, I think I'm starting to see why Tim Cook was awkwardly excited about augmented reality...
My guess is that Apple is mapping 3D street data for augmented reality, perhaps in the form of an overlay translucent display for your car. That would be pretty cool if it works right.
My guess is that Apple is mapping 3D street data for augmented reality, perhaps in the form of an overlay translucent display for your car. That would be pretty cool if it works right.
Autonomous bus locks all the doors, takes the lady to the nearest hospital, calls police so they wait for her and the rapist. Hacking the bus is a slightly little more difficult than hacking an iPhone (in other words, impossible).
If your car gets hacked, which isn't going to happen, someone from the nearest Apple Store comes out and resets it. That's because you don't need to store data in your car. The blackmailing that we have seen is when your data is taken hostage that you cannot replace. That doesn't happen with a car.
If she is behind me, she will have to learn that I get slower, the closer someone drives behind me.
In case you haven't noticed... competition is on par and in many aspects ahead of Apple. Apple is the one playing catchup lately. That's why I'm curious how well the iPhone 8 will sell because many companies already offer what the iPhone 8 has to offer if the rumors hold true. I don't care if the iPhone is milliseconds faster. I care about good hard and software for a reasonable price. $ 999,- doesn't sound reasonable to me. I hope Apple will surprise me and sell the iPhone 8 for the price of the iPhone 7 plus. If the iPhone 7S plus holds the same form factor it's reasonable to assume it will sell at lower price. The form factor of the iPhone 8 looks already very retro to me and I think sales in China will sink further. Maybe it's good for Apple to get a wake up call.
Apple has had several Lexus SUVs equipped with sensors and cameras out on the road to test its self-driving software platform since April, but MacRumors reader Amy, who lives near one of Apple's offices in Sunnyvale, California, recently spotted one of Apple's Lexus SUVs with a new LIDAR setup.
Amy sees Apple's autonomous SUVs on a regular basis in the Sunnyvale area, which was previously rumored to be the spot where Apple is conducting all of its "Project Titan" research. The Lexus in question is parked directly outside of Apple's Sunnyvale location.
The vehicle has a different LIDAR arrangement than we've seen previously, with far more sensors and cameras at the top. Apple also appears to have added new Lexus models to its testing fleet. Prior vehicles spotted were 2015 Lexus 450h SUVs, while this vehicle is a 2016 or 2017 Lexus 450h with a new design.
It isn't immediately clear what function the additional LIDAR sensors serve, but Apple is using these vehicles to test its self-driving software platform that's in development. Other LIDAR arrangements have also been spotted atop Apple's SUVs.
As can be seen in the photos and video, there are two main LIDAR setups at the front and the back of the vehicle, each surrounded by four other components laden with sensors and cameras.
The LIDAR systems on the car are designed to send out laser beams to allow the car to accurately detect its surroundings, essentially creating a 3D map of the environment around the vehicle.
GPS sensors allow the car to orient itself relative to its surroundings, helped along by radars located at the front and back of the car to measure distances to objects and wheel sensors to measure wheel movements. Cameras located near the LIDAR sensors let the car detect traffic lights, people, cars, and other moving objects.
It's a highly complex system, and Apple's SUVs are collecting enormous amounts of data every second and then processing it with Apple's unique software to pilot the car.
While Apple is testing self-driving vehicles, there are people in the vehicles at all times ready to take over should something go wrong. The photos we're sharing today clearly depict both a driver and a passenger monitoring the car's progress.
Apple's car project started off with the company planning to develop a complete autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle, but internal strife, leadership issues, and other problems led Apple to shift focus.
Under the leadership of Apple's Bob Mansfield, the company is now working on an autonomous driving platform that could potentially be used in third-party vehicles.
Along with the SUVs, rumors suggest Apple will soon test its self-driving technology in a self-driving campus shuttle designed to ferry Apple employees between different Apple offices in the Bay Area.
Article Link: New Apple SUVs With Expansive Autonomous Driving LIDAR Setup Spotted on the Road
Sighting a new Mac Pro would be of more interest...
To try to demonstrate relevance and prop up the stock which is worth 800+ billion market cap.
yet with iOS/MacOS/WatchOS/TVOS there is no 'relevance demonstrated' with lidar or self driving cars - not even with the iOS11 'Car Do Not Distrub' software implementation; although the closest thing to relevance. I'm thinking Apple should be working with established players and work on boosting their Maps application and software to work in tandem, not build their own to no goal/end. But you maybe right.
The solution to this would be to pass a law that phases out human driven vehicles at least on certain roadways as a start. Once all of the vehicles are self driving the speed will be set and you will be unable to modify it to go faster. A roadway will be posted with a certain speed and that is what the car will set to.
Now the only thing I question is how well the self driving car will deal with poor road conditions. Where I live there is a lot of snow and ice. It's going to be interesting at how well it deals with those sorts of conditions. I also wonder if a system fails how the companies deal with the legal aspect. Right now most accidents are due to driver error. In this case if something goes wrong the manufacturer will be 100% liable.
Yeah same here, I love seeing more of the ground and sky
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RX hybrid is close to $60k.
