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posted by LaminatorX on Saturday August 15 2015, @04:32PM   Printer-friendly
from the Less-space-than-a-nomad dept.

Apple is building a self-driving car in Silicon Valley, and is scouting for secure locations in the San Francisco Bay area to test it, the Guardian has learned. Documents show the oft-rumoured Apple car project appears to be further along than many suspected.

In May, engineers from Apple’s secretive Special Project group met with officials from GoMentum Station, a 2,100-acre former naval base near San Francisco that is being turned into a high-security testing ground for autonomous vehicles.

In correspondence obtained by the Guardian under a public records act request, Apple engineer Frank Fearon wrote: “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].”

Automobile manufacturing is a radical departure from Apple's core business. Can they pull it off?


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  • (Score: 2) by frojack on Saturday August 15 2015, @08:30PM

    by frojack (1554) on Saturday August 15 2015, @08:30PM (#223349) Journal

    Range doesn't matter unless you own the vehicle.

    If, as some speculate, Apple does not plan to sell to individuals, but rather provide taxi-like rentals of driverless vehicles in big cities, the fact that it has to go charge itself after taking you to the office each morning really won't bother you. You won't have to bother with it.

    By the way, the vast majority of charging stations in this country have nothing to do with Tesla.

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  • (Score: 2) by RedBear on Saturday August 15 2015, @09:10PM

    by RedBear (1734) on Saturday August 15 2015, @09:10PM (#223360)

    That's a hell of a speculation that I put no stock in. There are still too many tests to be done and regulations to be written before fully autonomous vehicles are going to be allowed to drive around by themselves on public roads. It will be years before you'll be able to order up a self-driving taxi. No, people are going to want to own these things.

    I am perfectly well aware that most of the public charging infrastructure has nothing to do with Tesla. It's also mostly level 2 charging with the standard J1772 plug. Great for nightly home charging or charging during work. But I was referring to the available high speed charging options. So far Tesla's Supercharger network is the only one that is capable of charging a high-range vehicle fast enough to impress even mainstream drivers who still pretty much view BEVs as a joke. The fact that you normally don't need any type of quick charging option just doesn't register with traditional drivers. So the existence of the Supercharger network is a huge asset to Tesla. It makes people psychologically comfortable with buying a Tesla BEV rather than some range-extended hybrid.

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    • (Score: 2) by frojack on Sunday August 16 2015, @12:36AM

      by frojack (1554) on Sunday August 16 2015, @12:36AM (#223401) Journal

      There are still too many tests to be done and regulations to be written before fully autonomous vehicles are going to be allowed to drive around by themselves on public roads.

      Are yee daft mon?

      4 states currently license the use of self driving cars on the public roads in normal traffic.

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      • (Score: 2) by RedBear on Sunday August 16 2015, @11:20AM

        by RedBear (1734) on Sunday August 16 2015, @11:20AM (#223505)

        Are yee daft mon?
        4 states currently license the use of self driving cars on the public roads in normal traffic.

        'Tis yee who art daft, me boyo.

        Those licenses are only for testing purposes and there must be a qualified human driver at the wheel ready to take over at all times. That does not fit the definition of a "fully autonomous vehicle" capable of driving itself to meet you and then driving itself back to some charging station with no human occupant.

        No public officials are going to allow cars to drive themselves on public roads without a supervising human test driver sitting at the wheel for quite some time, until the technology has matured and been proven many times over to actually be more reliable than a human driver under all testable circumstances. My guess is a minimum of 7-12 years for this progression of testing and validation. That's just the way it is. The technology is still in its early stages. It's progressing quickly but still needs extensive testing. If nothing else we still need to work out insurance rates and legal/liability issues around what happens when there is finally a horrible accident involving one or more fully autonomous vehicles. Bad weather, bad luck and human drivers guarantee a major accident will eventually happen. With no driver, who do you blame? Who do you sue? Who goes to jail, if anyone? Is the manufacturer liable, or just the vehicle owner? Why, or why not? These and many other questions need answers.

        Depending on the circumstances around the first few major accidents (a few kids getting run over, for instance) there could easily be an irrational fear-based public backlash against self-driving cars that would bring the whole idea to a screeching halt for another 20 years. Seeing fully autonomous vehicles on the road in the near future is very far from any kind of a sure thing. Therefore for Apple to be planning on selling their electric car as nothing but a self-driving taxi makes very little sense to me.

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