When Apple revealed to the world that it was working on its own autonomous car, speculation ran rampant about what it could mean. As it turns out, Apple's own research and development team had tons of ideas, too -- so much so that the effort became unfocused and overwhelming. That led to last year's reorganization of the project to create autonomous software systems rather than a full-fledged vehicle.
While that means we won't be seeing the iCar anytime soon, I wouldn't count out seeing one ever. It seems as though building the autonomous sensors and software -- which Apple calls CarOS -- is the most important first step. Once that is in place, the company could proceed to make a car, or with mountains of cash, buy an automaker to help.
Here are some of the features Apple engineers initially contemplated:
- Automatic doors that open and close silently.
- Virtual or augmented reality incorporated into interior displays.
- Spherical wheels that allow the car to drive sideways.
Before all those things can happen, however, Apple needs to get the underlying technology right. That's a big enough job on its own and appears to be the direction the company is now going. It has been adding autonomous software experts, with employees reporting improved morale under new project head Bob Mansfield.
Source: Bloomberg Pro Terminal
Jr Trader Alexander Kumanov
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