There have long been rumors and reports that Apple Inc. is going beyond its mobile phone and computer business to build driverless vehicles. Not until recently, however, has Apple openly acknowledged that it is indeed developing self-driving cars.
In a letter to US National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration quoted by BBC News, Apple's product integrity director Steve Kenner said the company is excited about the potential of automated systems for areas like transportation. The letter also cites the social benefits of automated vehicles.
Apple's Kenner also told the US regulator that it should not have too many rules on testing driverless vehicles and that the government should treat established manufacturers and new players equally. A statement from Apple said Kenner's letter was due to its heavy investment in "machine learning and autonomous systems," the Daily Mail reports.
Apple joins a host of car manufacturers and technology giants like Google, Ford, Nissan, Uber, and Tesla in developing fully automated cars. Tesla, for one, has said all the cars it is manufacturing will have the capability to self-drive.
Reports say the first fully automated vehicles will hit the roads by 2020. There have been concerns, however, about the safety of driverless cars. This is why Kenner, in his letter, also proposed that companies share data on vehicles tests, including information about crashes, to help improve the technology.
As well as writing a letter to the US government, Apple has registered internet domains such as apple.car and apple.auto that indicate it is getting into the car business, BBC News reports.
Kenner's letter, however, provided no exact details about an autonomous car project. Apple has also yet to make a formal announcement regarding its development of the technology.
Rumors that Apple is interested in jumping into the car market first came out in early 2015. The initiative was said to have been named Project Titan and involved more than a thousand engineers and other personnel, according to The Guardian.
So far it is not yet clear whether Apple will build its own self-driving cars or just developing the technology for such vehicles.
