News that Apple is working on a self-driving car isn’t all that new. It’s been known in the past that the company has been kicking around the idea of a self-driving car of their own. However, it wasn’t clear just how far along the company is compared to Google who has been working with their self-driving cars for years now with road tests going back to 2012. Now it seems that Apple is a bit further than most would have anticipated which could mean that they are racing against Google to bring out a self-driving car to the general public first.
There are all kinds of factors that could play into this possible race although one thing is for sure, Apple is steadily moving forward with their development right behind Google. Apple is already working on testing locations where it seems that Apple’s “Project Titan” team has already worked with GoMentum Station which is a now-defunct naval base. This particular area will be used for Apple to further test their driverless cars as they prep them for trials out on public roads.
It is not completely clear just how far away Apple is with Google and it’s likely it won’t be know for some time. Apple is one company that keeps their developments incredibly secretive whereas Google has been more open with the development of their driverless car. Additionally, Google has already started testing their vehicles on public roads across the streets of both California and Texas. Again, there is currently no indicators of just how long it will take Apple before they start doing trials on public roads.
The big question that might be on minds of consumers is just which company will be able to break into the general public market first. Obviously we’re still some time before that race comes to an end, as this is a sensitive product going out into the market. Not only will it have to operate perfectly for those within the car but also maneuver safely around vehicles being operated by individuals. For now we’ll have to wait and see how well Apple’s driverless vehicle will handle their initial tests at the GoMentum Station.