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Cook Says Apple Is Focusing on Making an Autonomous Car System (bloomberg.com)
An anonymous reader shares a Bloomberg report: After years toiling away in secret on its car project, Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has for the first time laid out exactly what the company is up to in the automotive market: It's concentrating on self-driving technology. "We're focusing on autonomous systems," Cook said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. "It's a core technology that we view as very important. We sort of see it as the mother of all AI projects," Cook said in his most detailed comments to date on Apple's plans in the car space. "It's probably one of the most difficult A.I. projects actually to work on." [...] "There is a major disruption looming there," Cook said on Bloomberg Television, citing self-driving technology, electric vehicles and ride-hailing. "You've got kind of three vectors of change happening generally in the same time frame." Cook was also bullish about the prospects for electric vehicles, a market which last week helped Tesla become the world's fourth-biggest carmaker by market capitalization, even as it ranks well outside the top 10 by unit sales."It's a marvelous experience not to stop at the filling station or the gas station," Cook said.
Hardly anyone is doing research on breakthrough battery technology. How about pumping some dollars into increasing battery capacity 4x?
Dear Cook,
Your car hobby is neat, but can you please just keep the MacBook up-to-date?
Thank you,
Developers Everywhere
AI and autonomous cars are the current hype cycle. So much for VR.
I don't see how Apple can pull of a whole car solution when they can't even get car play out in the field.
It might be due to the fact that they don't own the head units in car play but they aren't getting market penetration. The car play I last tried you have to plug in your phone to use it. That is so far away from 'it just works' that I switched back to the default interface.
Proof autonomous cars are about to be a mature technology, *pple is jumping into the market.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
As opposed to stopping for several hours to recharge your Tesla?
And drivers fighting over recharge points? ( http://jalopnik.com/these-elec... )
Don't get me wrong, I like Tesla vehicles, but there still is some basic maintenance and day-to-day housekeeping to be done.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-13/cook-says-apple-is-focusing-on-making-an-autonomous-car-system
It will only go to approved destinations using iRoads...
What the world needs now is a $200K+ car that can only be repaired at the factory (and all the windows are incorporated into the fingerprint locks).
And in true Apple fashion, It will only stop at Apple approved charging stations which cost 150% more than others.
https://www.bloomberg.com/poli...
Important question: how much choice will the passengers be allowed in selecting destinations?
apple maps and siri.
Any car using apple tech should be clearly identifiable so it can be given wide berth.
... is that the iCar will be really thin, will have a battery that lasts only 30 minutes (or 30 miles), will have only one multi-use port (door/window/hood/trunk), and you won't be able to open it up to make upgrades or repairs. But it will come in gold and pink, and did I mention it would be thin?
You'll be able to get any color car you want, as long as it is white.
If I get locked out of my car will I have to call the FBI to unlock it?
It'll be interesting to see how well they do. Does no one remember the "fun" with Apple Maps a few years back? I think Apple doing self driving cars shifts the focus too much from their core business. They may as well be getting into condom manufacturing. (I know, I know, bad analogies and not comparing apples to apples...)
Apple wants to own the software that goes into autonomous vehicles; it's actually pretty smart.
I really wish tech companies would quit switching directions when they have a working business model. We have plenty of companies working on AI and the market is already being driven quite rapidly. Apple is just being thrown into the grinder here. Why not be happy with your very profitable status as a maker of mobile phones (your computers are drastically overpriced for what is offered, but the phone at least is top of its class).
Jobs focused on what the customer would want.
Cook focuses on what the shareholders want.
Hardly anyone is doing research on breakthrough battery technology.
You are insane if you don't think Apple has a ton of resources researching exactly this. Apple is one of the largest consumers of batteries in the world, mostly custom... they obviously spend a lot of time researching battery technology as it could mean a huge improvement in product performance.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
It's hard to find accurate data, but there is at least as much money being spent on rechargeable battery research as there is new silicon chips.
Lots of new and exciting research being done on battery technology with many different chemistries being developed and evaluated.
Mimetics Inc. Twitter
There's already a couple dozen companies working on self-driving cars. Is Apple trying to lead, or follow?
Timmy has gone mad and he has no idea lol...
Self driving cars will have more economic impact than cell phones have. Self driving taxis will be cheaper than owning cars, so most people will ditch owning cars (like a landline) and go with car on demand. Companies will own large fleet of cars to serve everyone and you just request when you want. Most personal cars are sitting around in parking lots and garages while company owned vehicles will be running around, so you will need very few cars (about 20-25% of current cars). Also, these will be fairly standard non-custom cars mass manufactured long lasting vehicles. They can offer ride sharing during peak hours to minimize traffic and may even let kids ride alone to school, libraries etc.
No more owning car, garages, insurance, gas, oil change, repair, gas stations, dealership, auto parts stores, parking fines, traffic violations, stuck vehicle on road. Manufacturing will be highly trimmed. Parking lots will be smaller and traffic will be lighter. People will be able to live in high density apartments without worrying about traffic. It will also reduce traffic accidents.
Oh and they will be all electric vehicles. Built in intelligence in vehicle will mean that they will go to charging stations on their own during low demand times of the day and night and serve users during peak hours. Long distance drive? No, problem. Just exchange the car when it is low on battery. Another car will pick you up while your current car goes to charging station.
Who will make first iPhone equivalent of self driving car? That is a trillion dollar question.
If we can put self driving cars on the road, why can't we develop smart traffic lights? I just want it to be able to see that nobody is coming on the main road so it switches to red so that the secondary road is green before I arrive. Why do I have to come all the way to the intersection and stop for the sensors to switch the light?
Self-driving cars are the tulip bubble of today. Everyone has to be making one. And, almost everyone, if not everyone, is going to lose.
I'm skeptical to expect a high quality product if Steve Jobs isn't part of the project. And since he's dead.......
Only works on iRoads.
Oh the huge unproven circlejerks on Slashdot... Want to get a car to take me hiking in the mountains? Great, I'll have it drive me there, then what happens if my phone dies, or there's no signal up there? What if I want to keep my water or a jacket in the car? Do I have to wait 15 minutes for the nearest-by car to pick me up?
What happens when the car malfunctions? What about bad weather, which to date, has stumped self-driving cars pretty severely? What if I want to go somewhere that requires driving offroad? Too bad people travel at peak times, so you'll need enough capacity to manage peak 5PM rush hour traffic.
Of course, like the rest of the basement-dwelling neckbeards, are you going to tell me next that this will all be the norm in 5 years, like that bullshit ThinkX study? While even Intel admits 20% by 2035 is their optimistic target.
I have an idea: NUCULAR POWERED STEAM ENGINES.
In theory, it's not such a bad idea :
it's already used by military nuclear submarines, by military aircraft carrier, and by a few russian civilian icebreaker (when you're out in the polar ice in the middle of nowhere for several months in a row, it's much more practical than having to refuel every couple of days back in the civilisation).
I think there have even been a couple of experiments with trains.
In practice :
it's going to be hard to scale down all this, including all the radiation shielding, to the size of a car.
And still correctly shield against radiation even in this small form factor.
And still pack enough oomph to carry around this heavy car including the super-heavy radiation shields.
That's why on Earth, for manned vehicle, this has been limited to concepts.
On the other hand on Mars, unmanned vehicles like Cursiosity use RTG - Radioisotope-powered Thermoelectric Generator - to supplement their battery charging.
It's still a nuke drive, except that there isn't a sustained chain reaction (as a nuclear reactor) but just natural isotope decay, and the reaction's heat isn't directly driving a steam engine, but is directly producing electricity - basically the opposite of a Pelletier cooler, which slowly charges a battery (and keeps the rover hot enough against the cold weather) that can then subsequently be used to drive normal electrical motors)
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
Self driving cars don't have to be self driving alone, it can have manual override. It can also warn you that manual override will be required if you are going off road area or where it is not safe for auto-driver mode. It will only allow you to go to those places if the passenger has a valid driver license. It can also tell you if you are going too far away from nearest charging station and your battery is too low to return to charging station. Unlike regular cars running out of gas, you have much lower chance of running of battery in intelligent cars.
"if my phone dies or no signal": Just use it like a regular car. In most cases you won't have to. Cars can download local maps before going anywhere. So even if there is no signal, it can still drive. What if you lose your keys in current car? Probability of losing key is not all that less than phone dying. You don't always rent for one way journey. You can also rent for hour/day when going to places where getting a taxi is harder or signal is low. So even if your phone dies, you can still have your car.
"if I want to keep my water or a jacket in the car": Looks like you have never gone outsize 15 min walk radius of your car. Guess what, you can summon self driving car to where you are instead of you going to the car! Remember, you can rent self driving cars by hour, day as well. Nothing stops you from doing that.
"What happens when the car malfunctions....": This is bigger problem now. If your owned vehicle malfunctions, you are stuck until tow truck, taxis arrive. If rented car or taxi malfunctions, you get another one, as simple as that.
I never said 5 years. That is your figure. Go argue with yourself.
Self driving taxis will be cheaper than owning cars, so most people will ditch owning cars (like a landline) and go with car on demand.
I was in Paris last week, and used a self-cleaning automated public bathroom in one of the downtown tourist areas.
It stank. There was garbage in it. There was small pile of shit on the floor. And there was no toilet paper. The second one was better, but it was still an experience I'd rather avoid.
How are you going to prevent your self driving car on demand fantasy from ending up there?
What's to stop the car picking you up from being full of garbage, condoms, urine and vomit? What stops prostitutes / johns from using one to conduct business? Who wipes the semen off the seat afterwards? What if the last passenger has a bad cold and sneezed all over the car?
"No more [...] stuck vehicle on road."
Wait... why? Just because you own it doesn't mean it won't break down. Or get stuck in the mud. Or end up in a ditch. Or get into an accident. While you are in it.
There are already car share programs, and they definitely serve a need. But its not utopia. The cars are pretty crappy, they are cheap and beat up, and 'base models' with no luxury, they are maintained so they work 'well enough' but they are all pretty abused and beat up.
My car is an extension of my home; it is comfortable and well maintained. It is a reflection of me. A self driving version would have the book I want to read while it drives, apps I want to use loaded into its entertainment system, maybe it'll have upgraded sound, comfortable seats, maybe a premium display to plays games or work on.
A cars2go or zipcar is a generic little shitbox; it's cheap, its small, its utilitarian, its ugly, its cheap. You can't leave stuff in it. The stereo is crap. Its covered in branding, and likely soon will have ads. The self driving version will be much the same...t's adequate as a means of transportation, and its handy as a car for people who don't really need a car all the time, but need one often enough that renting one each time is a big hassle... but as the be-all-end-all of how everyone is going to to want to live?
I doubt it.
Who will make first iPhone equivalent of self driving car?
The iphone is a status symbol; its expensive, its personalized, its yours and yours alone. Your self-driving car fantasy is actually much better represented by shared-use public payphones.
Why spend $900 on a phone you have to carry around everywhere, pay a monthly contract, worry about losing it, worry about dropping it, worry about keeping it charged ... when you can just carry a few quarters and use any of millions of public phones scattered around the country...at gas stations, at parks, at hotels, at malls, just on the side of the road, at corner stores, at bars and restaurants...
The personally owned cell phone systematically OBLITERATED the pay phone. The analogy isn't perfect, of course, but a lot of it holds up pretty well. And now payphones are dying species -- but even in the early days of cellphones when people really still did have a choice, (and cellphones were a lot crappier than they are now) it was no contest.
The intelligent road takes control of the (dumb) cars that drive on it. All cars drive at a high, constant speed, there are roundabouts at intersections. Changing of the lanes, etc. is all controlled by the road and happens very smoothly. (Hey, that's so cool - you modify some algorithm in the road software and the fuel economy improves for all cars driving on the road.) There was a startup allegedly working on a similar concept but I cannot find their site.
... a new destination has been selected for you - your convenient Apple Store.
Payphones are of no use for incoming calls. That is a very big difference.
Self driving cars will have more economic impact than cell phones have.
How much do you want to bet the net economic impact of smart phones has been negative? People playing games and texting instead of working, etc....
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Self driving taxis will be cheaper than owning cars, so most people will ditch owning cars (like a landline) and go with car on demand.
That is nothing like ditching landlines. People got rid of their landlines because cell phones provided a personalized communication device that they could keep with them. A generic car that someone else owns and disappears after use is a completely different use case.
Also, these will be fairly standard non-custom cars mass manufactured long lasting vehicles.
Yeah, no. They'll be cheap and disposable with an expected lifetime of 3-5 years. With that kind of use, these cars will wear faster than the normal car. And at the prices they'll have to charge to make them cheaper than owning a car ($5/trip or less), they're not going to spring for the extra durable upholstery or premium maintenance and cleaning. The cars may still run just fine, but after a few years of constant service, they'll have seen things. Terrible, terrible things. And if nobody owns cars anymore, that means no secondary market to sell them on to make back part of the purchase price. Instead, they'll be stripped for parts and replaced with newer models. So all of the parts that can't be reused only have to be durable enough to last until the new car smell wears off. It'll be a race to the bottom.
[Sunshine and rainbows snipped]
That's nice, but it's all still science fiction. You left out the complimentary all-you-can-eat soft serve ice cream and therapy animals available on demand. And in-seat medical diagnosis, massage, and more (for an extra fee). And ads, lots of ads. Ads, ads, ads. Ads on the outside, ads on the inside. Ads to turn on the air conditioning, ads to turn off the ads. Premium ad-free versions with ads only while the car is stopped. Ads based on where you're coming from, where you're going, what you're wearing, what you say, and how you act. Ad responses captured by monitoring your breathing, heart rate, eye movement, etc. And all of this documented in your personalized advertising profile sold to anyone who will pay. I have seen the future and it wants to sell me things.
Most of these assumptions are correct - except for the traffic. That will increase with all the empty self driving cars on their way to go and get someone and to go self-charging.
Even Elon Musk indicated as such - and started the boring company...
Your math with less cars on road when automated because I wouldn't have a car in a parking lot whilst at work is just wrong. I still require that car to get to work and to get home. This goes for all peak workers. That won't change. And that time is the peak usage for any city. You cannot reduce that. So when peak is not in effect, where do those extra cars go? Hint- it's not 20-25% less, it then becomes who can collect rides the most frequent.
Now can you make your products in the USA rather than Designed in Cupertino by H1B slaves, manufactured in China by Child Labor protected by suicide nets, 0% upgradable 0% recyclable?
all service and maintenance at apple shops at dealer pricing.
Also apple XM for only 30% more then xm price just be happy that they can't get 30% of each toll paid.
and the taxes / upkeep / liability of an large fleet will make places like uber / lift not want to be part of it. Apple may have change high prices to keep in profit running one.
most people will ditch owning cars (like a landline) and go with car on demand.
I fail to see how this viewpoint fits into the American dream of owning luxury stuffs and keeping up with the Joneses. Nobody likes to ride in someone else's car. By any name or ownership, it's still just a taxi. Even in 3rd-world countries, people own and self-repair rusty beaters instead of renting vehicles.
Plus, even if taxi prices tank due to automation, not everyone lives in a bustling city where distances traveled is low enough so taxi services can meet demand and turn a profit.
Yep. The analogy wasn't perfect. I said as much upfront.
But are you really arguing that if payphones worked better for incoming calls cellphones would never have taken off?
We could have upgraded the payphone network infrastructure, gave everyone a 'personal number' and a 'voice mail service' attached to it, then you walk up to any payphone, punch in 'your code', and that would register it to receive incoming calls to your number, you could also check any voice messages for you. Outgoing calls made from the payphone would have your number as the caller id.
Someone could have built that system fairly easily, and personal cellphones still would have pretty much steamrolled it into irrelevance, no matter how cheap that other service was.
These are all good points. I'd like to add that this is a non-starter for a HUGE group of people: parents with kids that require car seats. I don't know, maybe they will build car seat technology into it, but it would be a disgusting pool of snot, spit up, germs and goldfish. It also doesn't account for the (smaller) group of people who need work trucks for hauling and towing, and people who like to work on cars as hobbies. Oh, and did I mention rural folks? This would just be another tax on the have-nots who would enjoy higher costs when demand from city-folk drops off.
People's concept of self=driving cars will be entirely premature. I'd say they're on the road first by 2040-50. No earlier.
Any company that brings it out first will be sued out of existence. People love staging accidents. Even if it's perfect, some pedestrian will knowingly step out in front of it and voluntarily get hurt for a payday. Even if they don't get it, the lawyer fees will kill the company.
People are why we can't have nice things.
Payphones had one problem, you could call people, people couldn't call you (readily). Smartcars won't have that problem.
But the communal aspect is entirely valid. I can only think the service will be linked to an account, with cameras inside the car. People won't trash it like they won't trash an apartment either, if they have a stake in it like a security deposit to an apartment, a credit score to their financial life, etc, into it.
I wonder what the Apple car will look like when it's released.
I'm not so sure about that - I want to be able to keep my stuff in my car, and know that the mess is my mess. Sure, some people will go for cars on demand, and I think that a lot of people will shed the 2nd or 3rd cars in a family. But I think there will be demand for private cars for some time yet.
I'm also skeptical that you're going to see standard cars - I'm thinking more an explosion of customization. If you look at the skateboard type platform that electric cars can offer (like Tesla), you can see that bolting any type of body on top is really easy. With low volume manufacturing taking off, I can see you being able to do lots of crazy customization for a reasonable cost. That would be especially true when the self driving tech is advanced enough that safety features can be scaled back. If the chance of an accident is basically nil, you can sit in whatever seats you like without worrying about seatbelt placement etc.