Apple Innovatively Tests its Smart Car
Official documents submitted by Apple to the California Department of Motor Vehicles reveal an increase in the number of miles driven by the company’s vehicles on the state’s roads.
This occurred during the period from December 2022 to November 2023 at a rate three times higher compared to the previous year.
This agency is responsible for issuing driving licenses, vehicle registration, managing driving tests, and verifying driver and vehicle compliance with legal requirements in California.
According to the official documents, the total number of miles driven by Apple cars in California last year was 452,744 miles, but most of this distance was covered in the latter half of that period, with Apple cars covering 83,900 miles in August last year.
California’s agency license for Apple stipulates the necessity of a human driver behind the wheel during testing periods. This step allows the agency to verify the safety of tests on humans, including pedestrians and other drivers, while enabling companies to study how their cars interact with varied road conditions.
At its annual developer conference, Apple launched an update to the Apple CarPlay system, transforming the service from a mere entertainment system into an interface for using all car features and settings.
Many companies conduct tests on California roads using driverless smart cars, such as Waymo, a subsidiary of Google, and Zoox, a subsidiary of Amazon.
Only two companies have obtained a license to provide fully self-driving transport services on California roads, namely Waymo and Nuro.
Last month, a Bloomberg report revealed Apple’s retreat from plans regarding the production of fully autonomous cars, but it will focus solely on developing software within the car to provide advanced artificial intelligence benefits to autonomous driving systems.
According to the Bloomberg report, the main difference between Apple’s self-driving system and what Tesla cars offer is that Apple will not allow fully autonomous driving, requiring drivers to focus on the road at all times.
Apple is expected to officially enter the smart car market by 2026 or 2028 according to the Bloomberg report.
