Apple once again increases autonomous car fleet team; number of cars still at 69

Staff Writer | Sep 29 2022 - 8:21 am PT

Apple is continuing to slowly expand its autonomous vehicle testing program in California. According to new data published by the California Department of Motor Vehicles, Apple now has 15 new drivers registered to its crew. The number of self-driving vehicles, however, remains the same at 69 vehicles.

Apple’s self-driving car efforts in California have waned and waxed over the years, as chronicled by macReports. The number of drivers has changed many times over the years, with Apple’s team at one point nearing 200 crew members before dropping off. Apple, however, has remained at 69 self-driving vehicles for quite some time.

Currently, Apple has 180 drivers. In the past report in June, Apple had 165 drivers. For context, Waymo has 1,057 registered drivers and a fleet size of 285 – although it has diminished a lot from its previous numbers.

Top comment by Radiohedgefund

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And just like before this is R&D work on training Augmented Reality, AI and technologies (like LiDAR) that eventually filter down into their various computing devices. I'm still not convinced Apple will ever release an automobile. The iPhone famously started life as a skunkworks project of a table, projector and multitouch interface. Had the analysts seen this in 2005 they would have been telling Ikea to watch out because Apple was planning on releasing an iCoffee Table. All those ex-porsche designers coming through the doors? There was a vacant spot on Apple's industrial design team after Ive left the company. I wouldn't be surprised if the Apple Watch Ultra chassis wasn't the work of one of those designers.

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It’s important to remember that Apple isn’t testing its own self-driving car in California. Instead, it’s testing Lexus SUVs equipped with LiDAR, radar, and camera hardware.

Apple’s plans for its Project Titan self-driving car initiative have evolved over the years. By the end of 2021, it was reported that VP of technology Kevin Lynch had taken the reins of the project following the departure of Doug Field. Field had been leading the day-to-day Project Time efforts with a team of “hundreds of engineers” prior to departing for Ford.

Apple is said to be weighing a number of different options for Project Titan, but its ambitious goal is to ship a self-driving EV without a steering wheel by 2025. Now, the company is struggling to form a new team to run this project.

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