If Apple develops a self-driving car, the tech giant won’t be the first company to throw its weight behind autonomous transportation technology. Tesla has been making waves with its self-driving prototypes for a while now, and even Google has toyed with various types of autonomous vehicles. But Apple wasn’t the first company to release an MP3 player, either. The infamous Silicon Valley power player is known for making waves in whatever industry it enters, upsetting former leaders and establishing new standards in the process.
So there’s a good reason to be curious about Apple’s rumored foray into the automotive world, and a good reason to pay attention to all of the media attention pointed in Apple’s direction lately concerning self-driving vehicles. And, by all appearances, there’s a better reason to pay attention now than ever. According to recent rumours, Apple is closer than ever to creating a self-driving “iCar.”
Apple’s GoMentum Station Ambitions
As far as the auto industry goes in the San Francisco Bay Area, there’s one test center that has positioned itself as the industry leader for self-driving technology. The GoMentum Station is located on a former U.S. naval base, and includes more than 20 miles of private roadways ideal for testing self-driving vehicles. And recently, Apple met with GoMentum station to express interest in using the facilities.
“We would … like to get an understanding of timing and availability for the space, and how we would need to coordinate around other parties who would be using [it],” records show Apple leadership stated. The “other parties who would be using it” mentioned are almost exclusively automotive companies testing self-driving technology.
Apple’s Hiring Spree
Next to the recent meeting between Apple and GoMentum, the most definitive evidence that Apple is in the concrete stages of developing an “iCar” self-driving vehicle lie in the mega-corporations recent personnel changes. Throughout this year, Apple has been hiring a significant number of automotive industry veterans, as well as experienced workers from other high-tech industries which could be beneficial to a self-driving car development team. Specifically, Apple has reportedly been poaching some of Samsung’s leading experts in high capacity batteries, like the kinds that could be used in an automotive project.
Of course, rumours of an “iCar” have been swirling for a while, and it’s hard to tell if recent murmurings can be trusted. However, more than ever before, it looks like an Apple car of some sort is on the horizon.
