On the eve of the Christmas holidays, an American technology company announced its intention to postpone the implementation of its ambitious project for at least another three years.
Previously, the company announced the imminent creation from scratch of its first fully autonomous electric vehicle as part of the Titan project. However, the launch of the driverless cars has now been postponed, as the realization of this plan is currently impossible. Developers have encountered the fact that producing a fully autonomous vehicle, without a steering wheel or pedals, is not feasible with current technologies.
According to the news agency Bloomberg, Apple’s new plan had been in limbo for several months until the company’s engineers realized the need for a less ambitious design. It specifically includes a steering wheel and pedals. The new model will only demonstrate fully autonomous capabilities on highways.
In other words, the company will develop a car that allows the driver to be more flexible. In autonomous driving mode, they will be able to watch movies, read books, or play games. The vehicle will also advise them when to switch to manual control, for example, in difficult city driving conditions or sudden bad weather.
In recent years, rumors about the creation of a self-driving car by Apple have kept the company’s competitors on edge. However, there has been a lack of specific information regarding the timeline for the implementation of the Titan project.
Back in 2015, the Wall Street Journal noted that several hundred Apple employees were secretly working on creating a fully autonomous electric vehicle. In 2016, news emerged about layoffs affecting members of the tech giant’s automotive team.
Fantasies about Titan
Meanwhile, experts from the British leasing company Vanarama, intrigued by the secrecy of the project, presented their vision of a driverless “Apple” electric car. To create a 3D visualization of the new vehicle, Vanarama’s designers researched numerous registered patents from Apple.
The designers were likely inspired by the Tesla Cybertruck’s concept fantasy, featuring its solid glass roof that serves as windows, a sunroof, and a windshield all at once.
According to the visualization, the Apple car is equipped with retractable door handles. The adaptive double doors provide passengers with a certain level of comfort during boarding. The grille on the bumper is reminiscent of a detail from the Mac Pro. By the way, this use of a grille in this case is quite practical, as electric vehicles do not require the same level of airflow as internal combustion engine cars.
The cabin is equipped with a large touchscreen infotainment display that occupies the entire front panel. The steering wheel features a smart screen with plenty of visual cues for the driver and a voice assistant, Siri. The concept includes three pedals – a hint at a manual transmission, which, of course, is not present in this model.
The front seats can rotate 180 degrees, which supposedly emphasizes the desired autonomy of driving. The Titan, as envisioned by the designers at Vanarama, has no soft upholstery or carpets. This makes the interior quite austere, the publication reported. Designboom .
A variation on the theme of a new car, according to its creators, was developed without any knowledge of the true form of Titan. After all, Apple’s patents did not reveal it. Therefore, this is merely a fanciful version of what an electric vehicle might look like.
Interestingly, Apple refrained from commenting on this visualization.