New video rumored to show close-up of Apple car's updated 'Project Titan' testbed

A short video clip is said to show updated test hardware for Apple's self-driving car platform, suggesting that the company is making some progress.

The new system includes an assortment of cameras and radar units, as well as six Velodyne LIDAR sensors, all housed in white plastic. The 10-second video was shot by MacCallister Higgins, the co-founder of a self-driving startup called Voyage. Another Twitter poster said he snapped a photo of the same hardware "a few weeks ago" when a car pulled up to an Apple shuttle stop, waited, then continued on.

Speaking with The Verge, Higgins speculated that Apple's computing hardware is likely situated on the roof of the cars — unlike other companies' self-driving vehicles, which normally move that equipment into the trunk.

Going to need more than 140 characters to go over 's Project Titan. I call it "The Thing" pic.twitter.com/sLDJd7iYSa
— MacCallister Higgins (@macjshiggins) October 17, 2017

Apple has been largely quiet on its self-driving efforts, apart from confirming that it is doing research and development. Its hand was likely tipped by the need to drive on public roads.

The company's long-term goal is thought to be the ridehailing market, likely in partnership with other firms rather than anything operated by itself. In the meantime it's said to be developing a "PAIL" (Palo Alto to Infinite Loop) shuttle for its workers, which might explain the behavior of test vehicles.

30 Comments

Soli 9981 comments · 9 Years

About 7 years ago

Maybe it’s overkill for research sake, but that seems more like it’s designed for street level mapping, not specifically for self driving.

tmay 6455 comments · 11 Years

Soli said:

Maybe it’s overkill for research sake, but that seems more like it’s designed for street level mapping, not specifically for self driving.

Proof of concept stage.

Now comes Apple's secret sauce to miniaturize it.

JinTech 1054 comments · 9 Years

tmay said:

Soli said:

Maybe it’s overkill for research sake, but that seems more like it’s designed for street level mapping, not specifically for self driving.

Proof of concept stage.

Now comes Apple's secret sauce to miniaturize it.

Remember when the iPhone was in development? They were essentially testing huge bricks because they could not see what the final product was going to look like.

tmay said:

Soli said:

Maybe it’s overkill for research sake, but that seems more like it’s designed for street level mapping, not specifically for self driving.

Proof of concept stage.

Now comes Apple's secret sauce to miniaturize it.

I'm not talking about size.

Soli said:

tmay said:

Soli said:

Maybe it’s overkill for research sake, but that seems more like it’s designed for street level mapping, not specifically for self driving.

Proof of concept stage.

Now comes Apple's secret sauce to miniaturize it.

I'm not talking about size.

I'm not only talking about street level mapping; one leads to the other.